history of meals for millions, soy, and freedom from ... - SoyInfo Center

Caltech kitchen palatability became boss of the experiment.
The result, late in 1944, was the ‘multi-purpose meal.’
“Its tasty formula is dominated by 68 percent of
soybean grits, low in fat and high in protein. To this are
added dehydrated potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, onions,
leeks, parsley and spices. It is fortified with calcium,
concentrated Vitamins A and D, and the major B synthetic
vitamins. It is a satisfying, sustaining food; it has eye
appeal, bite appeal and taste appeal. I’ve eaten it, and can
testify that it’s good.
“The multi-purpose meal, or MPM, is simple to
prepare. All that’s needed is a kettle, water and the fire to
boil it for 30 minutes. Two-and-a-quarter ounces of MPM,
dry weight, furnishes the major portion of a highly
palatable, nutritious meal for one person. It becomes a
casserole dish, a stew or a soup, depending upon whether
you add five, eight or 14 ounces of water. One ounce of any
kind of fat brings the caloric value of MPM up to one third
of a day’s life-sustaining ration. If no fat is to be had, then
two slices of bread make up the necessary calories...
“The new meal is well within the economy of the
liberated nations. For five cents per serving, MPM can give
Europe’s hungry the nutritional equivalent of a meal
consisting of one-quarter pound each of beef, peas and
potatoes, and one-half pint of milk. Because it is
dehydrated, MPM is compact and easy to ship.
“Of course the proof of this life-saving pudding is in its
eating, and it has come triumphantly through its field trials.
It is being served regularly to 7,000 children in the
Burbank, California, schools and in more than 200 other
schools in southern California, with high acceptance by
pupils and teachers. In varied entrée combinations, it is
being served at a rate of 400 meals a day in Clinton’s Los
Angeles cafeterias. MPM passed the exacting palatability
tests of George Mardikian, famed owner-chef of the Omar
Khayyam Restaurant in San Francisco, and under his
supervision it was served regularly to the delegates at the
United Nations Conference. No element in it violates the
dietary customs and laws of any nation; and delegates from
all parts of the world spoke highly of its palatability.
“Caltech’s scientists, Clifford Clinton and the
California dehydrators who developed MPM have taken out
no patents. Its formula and know-how are free to anyone
requesting it from the California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, Calif.”
Note 1. This is earliest document seen (Jan. 2011) that
mentions “Meals for Millions” of Los Angeles, or that
mentions their “multi-purpose meal.” It is also the earliest
published document seen concerning Clifford E. Clinton in
connection with this organization (which he founded) or this
food (which he conceived of and paid to have developed).
Note 2. Victory in Europe Day was 8 May 1945. On
that date the World War II Allies formally accepted the
MEALS FOR MILLIONS, SOY, AND FREEDOM FROM HUNGER 27
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2011
unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi
Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.
31. Los Angeles Times.1945. Quiz ‘em. Oct. 21. p. E13.
• Summary: 2. Hungry Europe: What is the multi-purpose
food that we are making to alleviate hunger in Europe?
Answer: It’s a dehydrated mixture. A pound of it will
make 5 pounds of stew, or a 5-gallon can of it will make
1,000 bowls of soup.–I.D.W., Taunton, Massachusetts.
Note 1. This is the earliest document seen (and the
earliest item seen in the Los Angeles Times) (Jan. 2011) that
mentions “multi-purpose food.” It is not a real article but a
very brief letter to the editor. The Times has not yet
mentioned the “Meals for Millions Foundation” or Clifford
Clinton’s work with famine relief. One soon gets the strong
impression that the Los Angeles Times was deliberately not
covering Clinton’s work with Meals for Millions and multipurpose
food.
Before 1960 the Los Angeles Times had been part of the
power structure in Los Angeles. Harry Chandler (Otis
Chandler’s son; 2nd generation) ran the paper from 1917 to
1944. He was ruthless and a real estate speculator. When
Clifford Clinton and the CIVIC committee (see Food for
Thot, March 12, 1970) worked to clean up waste and
corruption in Los Angeles from about 1936-1941, the Times
strongly opposed their efforts and either gave their reform
work scant coverage or covered it with critical, one-sided
articles.
In 1944 Norman Chandler (Harry’s son and 3rd
generation) took charge of the paper, and with his wife
Dorothy Buffum, tried to make the paper more respectable,
but their work was opposed by other branches of the
powerful Chandler family.
In 1960, Otis Chandler (4th generation) took charge of
the newspaper. He transformed the Times from a journalistic
outcast to one of the most respected papers in the USA, and
made excellent money at the same time. “Let’s Be the Best”
was his motto, and he won 12-14 Pulitzer Prizes. The right
wing faction of the Chandler family hated his new policy of
fair and balanced reporting, and manipulated behind the
scenes.
Therefore any articles about Clifford Clinton or his
work published in the Los Angeles Times before 1960 must
be viewed with caution and in light of the views of the
newspaper. Source: “Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and
Their Times,” documentary on PBS-TV, Oct. 2009.
Note 2. This short article also appeared in the Chicago
Sun on this same date.
32. Soybean Digest.1945. To feed world’s starving peoples:
M.P.M. Five-cent soy meal. Dec. p. 14.
• Summary: Based on an article by Paul de Kruif in
Reader’s Digest, this one adds some details. “A food
consisting of 68 percent soy grits combined with dehydrated