Economy in Food (1899)

AUTHOR: Clubb, Henry Stephens

In this short article, Clubb advocates for veg*ism on the basis of its economic sustainability. Clubb calculates that compared to beef, lentils save up to “48 cents on each pound of solid nourishment” (149). Further, lentils “furnish more than double the amount of the nitrogenous element than beef and furnish the carbohydrates as well, of which beef is entirely destitute” (149). Other food items such as peanuts compare even more favorably. Clubb admits that fruits in particular tend to be rather expensive and suggests that consumers look for opportunities during the fruit season as well as preserving the fruits until they are in season again. He also thinks that the purchase of canned fruits is a viable alternative.

He then goes on to quote several sources (including H. S. Salt) on the economic disadvantages of animal food, specifically beef, eggs, oysters, and milk (compared to sugar), particularly if account is taken of the economic loss due to land needed for cattle. In addition, one has to factor in loss due to disease (which is only partly mitigated by actually selling some of the diseased meat, which, in turn, is responsible for “disease, insanity and premature death” in our populations). For Clubb it is thus obvious that “[i]t is impossible to produce flesh-meat as cheaply as it is to produce vegetable food, because it is from vegetable food that meat is usually produced, and it takes from five to seven pounds of grain and other vegetable food in proportion, to produce one pound of meat” (150).

Last updated on August 19th, 2024

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