p. 11 | BEEF DEMANDS BEER

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 23, 1901

BEEF DEMANDS BEER.

A recent issue of the Scientific American says: “In 1897 in Germany 1,383,700,000 gallons of beer were consumed, 1,192,000,000 were drunk in Great Britain, 180,000,000 in France, and 90,000,000 in Russia. It is estimated that 36 gallons per head are drunk in Belgium, 32 in Great Britain, 25 in Germany, 21 in Denmark, 12 in Switzerland, 10 in the United States, 9 in Holland, 5 in France, 3½ in Norway, 2½ in Sweden, and one in Russia. A writer in the North American Review declares that a large quantity of beer is consumed in order to satisfy the craving for the elements which are eliminated from wheat in making white bread.”

It will be observed that the foregoing figures represent nothing more than the beer that has been drunk; they do not include wines, whiskies, and numerous other alcoholic drinks. The suggestion of the doctor who writes for the North American Review is worthy of consideration. And in connection with the thought that the system is being deprived of the natural food elements that are taken out of the flour for making white bread, there are some other points that should be thought about.

This is an age of stimulants and stimulation. Every nerve is drawn to the highest possible tension in prosecuting business or pleasure, or, more frequently, in trying to prosecute both. Flesh foods, which form the most stimulating diet that can be eaten, have come to be almost universally used. A beefsteak or a mutton roast is not merely a food; it is a stimulant as well. And this flesh-food stimulant calls for other stimulants and irritants. The flesh-eater desires with his meat such things as pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and other similar stimulants and irritants. And by thus stimulating the body thru the foods that are eaten daily, the system clamors for stronger and still stronger stimulants. At first tea and coffee seem to satisfy the demand. But in thousands of instances wines, beer, and other strong drinks are soon indulged, so that this increasing craving may be satisfied.

The tendency, however, is strongly running toward a more and more exciting life, and, consequently, toward a more and more exciting diet, and along with the diet a still greater demand for strong drink. The tastes and habits of the people are becoming more and more luxuriant and extravagant. Debasing luxuries that only a prince could afford a few decades ago are freely indulged in by the common people to-day. So-called “high living” is becoming well-nigh universal, and the spread of the drink habit is alarmingly enormous.

Should we leave the utterances of divine prophecy out of the question, any philosopher who is not blinded by prejudice would be able to see that the race can not continue in its present course without soon destroying itself. Every sincere person should honestly and earnestly study the conditions of to-day.—Herald of the Golden Age.