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

discharge so that he could act as a food consultant for the
War Food Administration [WFA] and, in 1943, for the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
[UNRRA, established by agreement of 44 nations on 9 Nov.
1943]. Clinton’s position as a food consultant once more
started him thinking about the need for a low-cost, highly
nutritious food that could be easily transported and stored.
His interest in this type of food received further stimulation
when he learned that his restaurants faced the necessity of
either closing down for one day a week, serving more
meatless dishes, or buying from the black market.” He
preferred the second choice, but realized “that some
substitute would have to be found to make up for the loss of
protein that would result from serving meatless dishes.
“At this juncture, Ernest R. Chamberlain, who was
working with Mr. Clinton in a campaign to wipe out
corruption in the city government of Los Angeles,
mentioned the work of Dr. Henry Borsook in the field of
nutrition... At Mr. Chamberlain’s suggestion, Mr. Clinton
contacted Dr. Borsook and offered to subsidize a project to
develop a low-cost food that would provide essential
nutrients. Dr. Borsook accepted the offer after he received
Mr. Clinton’s promise that the results, if successful, would
be made available to the world free of charge... Dr.
Borsook’s research ended in success when in 1944 he
produced a soybean based product which he named, Multi-
Purpose Food.” Continued. Address: Seattle, Washington.
202. Roberts, Hibbert Rice. 1967. The Meals for Millions
Foundation: a study of a non-governmental organization
(Continued–Document Part II). PhD thesis in Political
Science, University of Washington. 288 leaves. [53 + 100+
footnotes]
• Summary: Continued: “Dr. Borsook soon refined his
original formula, Formula B, so that there are now three
formulas of the American produced MPF, i.e., Formulas A,
B, and C. Formula A’s ingredients consist of: toasted soy
grits, salt, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, granulated onion,
food yeast, chili powder fortified with calcium carbonate,
ascorbic acid (vitamin C), niacin, vitamin A, riboflavin,
pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), thiamine, vitamin D, potassium
iodide, and vitamin B-12. The ingredients of formula B are
the same as formula A without the seasoning, and formula C
is identical to B except that 25% of the soy protein is
replaced by dry milk solids” (p. 11). Tables show (p. 12-14):
(1) Essential amino acids in MPF. (2) Guaranteed nutrients
in two ounces of MPF (all 3 formulas, and as % RDA and %
MDR).
“Once developed Clinton immediately began to serve
MPF is his restaurants either as a five cent meal or as a
supplement to other foods. Thus he served nourishing, lowcost
protein dishes to his customers despite meat shortages
and rationing.”
MEALS FOR MILLIONS, SOY, AND FREEDOM FROM HUNGER 82
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2011
Then “Mr. Clinton started to consider the broader
implications of the product of Dr. Borsook’s research.
Gradually he realized that MPF represented more than a
temporary expedient to overcome wartime difficulties and
restrictions. It appeared to him that MPF could provide a
possible answer to the world’s problem of hunger” (p. 14).
“Convinced that his idea was worth exploring, Clinton
and his son [Edmond] embarked upon a trip to the east coast
in 1945 to find some organization that would utilize MPF in
a program to combat starvation. They spent much time in
New York City and in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to
arouse the interest of businessmen, churches, the Red Cross,
the Salvation Army, and various federal government
officials. No one, however, showed a desire to do anything
with MPF until the Clintons contacted the East-West
Association founded by Pearl S. Buck. Miss Florence Rose,
an assistant of Miss Buck in the East West Association, had
heard of Mr. Clinton’s efforts to gain a sponsor for MPF and
persuaded her employer to grant him an interview. During
the course of the interview Miss Buck became convinced
that MPF was worth sponsoring. She felt that an
organization for manufacturing and distributing MPF would
be a kind of ‘Red Cross in Food.’ Also Miss Buck was ‘very
much impressed with the singleness of mind and the
creative energy’ of Mr. Clinton.’ Miss Rose, who was
present throughout the interview, expressed her keen
interest in the potential of MPF... In fact, her enthusiasm
impressed Mr. Clinton to the extent that he asked her to join
him in the venture of promoting MPF.” Miss Rose was
unable to accept at that time because of other commitments.
But “the first contact had been made between the future
President and the future Executive Director of the Meals for
Millions Foundation.
“The Clintons returned to the west coast shortly after
their interview with Miss Buck. Basically their trip had been
a failure... Reluctant to allow MPF’s potential to go
untested, Clinton decided to attempt to form an organization
of his own. His belief that the need for such an organization
did exist was re-enforced by the response to an article by
Paul de Kruif in the September, 1945 issue of the Reader’s
Digest,” titled “How We Can Help Feed Europe’s Hungry.”
“As a result of Mr. de Kruif’s laudatory account, requests
for information about MPF came to Mr. Clinton from all
areas of the world. Many of the letters contained
contributions, which he had to return since no means existed
for using them. Subsequently a small token organization
was formed and incorporated in the summer of 1946 as the
Meals for Millions Foundation.
“Almost immediately the foundation ran into
difficulties. Mr. Clinton found that he could no longer
afford the time nor the energy to provide the leadership and
the spark necessary to make the foundation a success. In
addition to the need for a full-time director, the Foundation