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

“The accompanying photo shows Rotarian Freeman
(right) seated at a table overflowing with the copper
equivalent of 1,189 ‘3-cent meals’ of Multi-Purpose Food.
With him is Dr. Donald Ebright, who for 22 years was in
charge of distribution of relief supplies for the National
Christian Council of India, and a former Rotarian.” Address:
Secretary, Meals for Millions, Los Angeles, California.
161. Chen, Philip S.; Chen, Helen D. 1962. Soybeans for
health, longevity, and economy. 2nd ed. South Lancaster,
Massachusetts: The Chemical Elements. xii + 242 p. Jan.
Illust. Index. 21 cm. 1st ed. 1956. [24 ref]
• Summary: This book is identical to the original 1956
edition, third printing (the dedication is to William J. Morse
and Harry W. Miller), except that: (1) Table 1, titled
“Soybean production in the United States” (p. 2) gives
statistics to 1960, instead of 1958. (2) Appendix B (p. 224-
36) has been updated based on the 1961 Soybean Blue
Book. (3) The dust jacket has been updated. On the rear dust
jacket is a portrait photo of Dr. Philip Chen and a
biographical sketch. (4) The paper is slightly thicker.
Note: In 1962 Chen wrote A New Look at God,
published by Chemical Elements (288 p.). Address: 1. Prof.
of Chemistry, Atlantic Union College, South Lancaster,
Massachusetts; 2. National Science Foundation Fellow,
Cornell Univ.
162. General Mills, Specialty Products Div. 1962. From soy
products, General Mills formulates new protein-rich foods
(Ad). Soybean Digest. May. p. 28. [11 ref]
• Summary: A full-page ad. “We are manufacturing and
marketing SMP (Soy Milk Powder) which, when mixed
with water, makes a delicious beverage for school lunches
and for supplementing diets of children unable to get cow’s
milk; also, through an agreement with Meals for Millions
Foundation, MPF (Multi-Purpose Food) which provides, in
concentrated form, the essential nutrients usually lacking
from high carbohydrate diets. Using soybeans as the key,
we have developed TSP (Toasted Soy Protein)–an unusually
low cost, high quality protein completely pre-cooked and
ready to use. Other protein foods from soybeans are in the
developmental stage. When perfected, these too will
contribute to improved world nutrition.”
The “Specialty products” logo resembles an infinity
sign. A large photo shows a little girl, with a mud wall
behind her, looking up at her mother, who is feeding her
with a spoon from a bowl. Address: 9200 Wyzata Blvd.,
Minneapolis 26, Minnesota.
163. Milner, Max. 1962. Food technology in the U.N.
protein-rich food programs. Paper presented at the 22nd
Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists,
Miami Beach, Florida. Held 11 June 1962. *
MEALS FOR MILLIONS, SOY, AND FREEDOM FROM HUNGER 69
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2011
• Summary: Mimeographed lecture in the files of the Meals
for Millions Foundation, Los Angeles. Address: UNICEF.
164. Borsook, Henry. 1962. Plain talk about nutrition.
Engineering and Science 26(1):9-14. Oct. Reprinted in
California Institute of Technology Quarterly 4(2):2-7.
Winter 1962-63.
• Summary: The subtitle reads: “What is a ‘good’ food?
Will any single food substance supply all the essential
nutrients? How many calories do you need? Some straight
answers by an expert in the field of nutrition.” The article
begins: “One of the greatest biological discoveries of this
century was the separating out of the essential from the
accidental in food... The next great discovery in the field
and it is the discovery from which all the future promise
comes, was the proof that the source of an essential nutrient
is immaterial. It may come from food which is grown, it
may be mined, or it may come from a factory.”
“How much protein do we really need, allowing a
factor of two for safety? If all of our protein were meat, the
most expensive source, it would be a surprisingly small
amount–about two ounces. Most of us eat more than twice
that. If only a fifth of the protein in our diet was meat and
the rest was in a mixture of bread or beans, we would do
very well.”
During World War II “the British government, in order
to save ship tonnage, since all the wheat had to be brought
in by ship, made the British people eat whole wheat bread
made of 85 percent extraction flour. Children soon began to
show signs of calcium and iron deficiencies. This came
about because of a material in the branny layers of the
wheat berry which forms insoluble salts with calcium and
iron; not only are the iron and calcium in the wheat berry
not usable, but the berry robs iron and calcium from the
other foods that are eaten. The British government then
added powdered chalk and an iron salt to the flour to make
good the deficiencies that this noxious material in the
branny layers had induced.”
The author then describes how Mr. Clifford Clinton, of
the Clifton cafeterias in Los Angeles, offered free meals
then 5-cent meals at his cafeterias, then pioneered the
development of Multi-Purpose Food, based on soy protein–
and the principles described above. “Mr. Clinton made a
grant to Caltech to develop this food, and in the course of a
year it was done... A foundation was then formed, Under
Mr. Clinton’s leadership–the Meals for Millions
Foundation–to raise money to make this food and give it
away.”
A photo shows Borsook, “the man responsible for the
development of Multi-Purpose Food.” Address: Prof. of
Biochemistry, Caltech (California Inst. of Technology),
California.