Work on food, planned by the U.M. (Use and Management) Section of the U.K. committee, was limited to sources of protein because we agreed that more problems calling for research were likely to arise in getting adequate supplies of protein than of other types of food. Deer meat can be produced on land too rough and exposed for sheep; parts of the work on their metabolism and food requirements necessitated building a mobile laboratory. The manner in which the nutritive value of maize is affected by changes in the ratios in which the component proteins are present, stimulated similar studies on barley and groundnut. There is good quality protein in coconuis and leaves but its use in human food is restricted by the presence of fibre. Methods for separating protein from fibre and other deleterious components were improved. In cooperation with scientists in India and Nigeria, the potential yield of protein from different leafy crops was measured. Various abundant but protein-deficient foods, e.g. cassava, were ‘ ennobled ’ by growing micro-organisms on them with the addition of a cheap source of nitrogen.
Industrial development and evaluation of new protein sources: Micro-organisms