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Show 158 fare of the negro, creole, mestizo and mulatto, which make up the bulk of the Caribbean peoples. Moreover even the most healthy classes lack proper knowledge of the basic principles of a rational diet. Dr. Quintana reaches these conclusions: 1) The people of the Caribbean waste or do not use many nutritional treasures found in their land and climate; 2) The most difficult foods to obtain are those originating in animals, such as milk, eggs and meat and the workmen cannot get them if their salaries are not proportionate to the cost of these products; 3) Neither legal measures nor perfect and assiduous work by health institutions are sufficient to bring about a change in the nutritive habits of the people, that are so deeply rooted. An intelligent propaganda program, conducted in conjunction with the development of the economic resources available to workmen of average salary, is urgent. The following recommendations are made to remedy this situation: a) Development of the milk and cattle industries by the governments of the Caribbean countries through every possible means, b) Promotion of fishing industries; c) Promotion of canned meat and powdered milk enterprises; d) Promotion of industries based on milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products; e) Utilization of skimmed milk for children; f) Promotion of all canning and other food preserving industries; g) The increase of soy bean production is especially urged not only because of its easy and cheap cultivation, but also for its enormous nutritive value; h) Establishment of free courses in scientific cooking; i) Introduction in the school curricula of courses in dietetics; and j) Official control of the daily menus of hotels, boarding houses, barracks, schools, jails, restaurants, etc. Biraldo Jaramillo, Gabriel (Colombia), "Aspectos Historicos de la Alimentacion Indigena," America Indigena, II No. Ill (July, 1942) Mexico, D.F., pp. 49-53. English Summary: The author comments on the conclusion of Prof. Jorge Bejerano's book, Alimentacion y Nutricion en Colombia, that the Indian diet in pre-Columbian times was excellent and had a high nutritive value. Recognizing the difficulty of generalizing about any aspect of the culture of Indians throughout the Continent, Sr. Giraldo Jaramillo makes a detailed analysis of historical sources that deal with the Indian diet, from Francisco Hernandez, physician of Felipe II, through Father Cobo, until present day ethnologists such as Spinden and Latcham. Certain foods were lacking in the pre-Columbian diet; without such elements as wheat, barley and rye, and plows for working the land, there is indicated both the poverty of cultivated land and inadequate nutrition. In referring to the Indians Las Casas stated that "Their meal is such that the fare of the Christian missionaries in the wilderness does not appear to have been more scanty, less delightful or poorer." |