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ABERDEEN. SCOTLAND.
From the standpoint of nutrition I had most stimulating talks
with both Orr and Macleod. Orr especially is on some government
coAssion for alimentation in Great Britain, and I believe that
Macleod is very closely allied with the same commission. A point
they both brought out very intelligently was that in spite of the
great depression in England and the use of the dole, unemployment,
etc., there was no reason why anybody should starve in England.
There was the usual problem of the distribution of food, with a
plethora at one point and a deficiency at the other point, but in
general starvation should not take place.
The dominant factor of food selection in food likes or dislikes
is illustrated by the fact that every morning in Aberdeen there were
thrown into the river six thousand quarts of skim milk, simply because
the people would not use it. The children will not drink it and
people will not use it for cooking. It is looked upon as a waste
product and thrown away. A proportionate amount is thrown away in
practically all of the other Scottish cities. In the south of England
there is undoubtedly a great scarcity of milk, certainly not an
adequate supply, and here in Scotland is the wasteful rejection of
this important food material. It should be said, however, that the
great cost of transportation of skim milk (92 per cent water) from
Aberdeen some five hundred or more miles to London or south offsets
the food value, but it is still worthy of note that many of the poor
in Scotland are unwilling to use this food material. It reminds" one
of the experience of the American Relief Commission in Belgium, when
the Belgians refused absolutely to eat American rice sent over to them.