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

Millions Foundation symbolizes the hopeful future of one
man’s dream, to which he personally has brought so much
fulfillment.
“The son of self-supporting missionary parents,
Clinton, as a boy, saw the ravaging effects of malnutrition
on the people of China where his parents were stationed. It
was the small lad’s assignment to search out the blind
infants (left to die by their parents because of their
infirmity) and to bring them to the missionary school for
nourishment, warmth, and later, their education. A grisly
assignment for a child, but raised in the Christian
philosophy of his parents, he knew only that he must help.”
The missionary spirit was paramount in the lives of his
parents. “‘Their faith in God and their indomitable spirit
lent them the fiber to carry on their work under the most
difficult circumstances.
“‘My father first established himself in business–a
restaurant on Market Street in San Francisco–so that he
might be self supporting. Then, shortly after the Boxer
Rebellion [1898-1900], he and my mother moved our whole
family to the interior of North China so that they might
perform their missionary work. The trip from Tientsin
[pinyin: Tianjin] took three weeks by mule and oxcart–15
oxcarts in all–carrying family, furniture and all our goods.
Certainly they intended it as a permanent move.’
“But in 1906, a brief two years later, the senior Clinton
received word that his business in San Francisco had been
completely destroyed by the earthquake. From the brevity of
the cable, he did not at first realize that not only his business
but much of the city had been demolished.
“No longer self supporting, he left his wife and family
in China and returned home to re-establish himself so he
could continue his missionary work.” Eventually he
returned to China to an established mission in southern
China. He and his family had to learn the dialect of the new
area. But they could never accept the harsh fact of so many
people crippled by diseases, malnutrition, and starvation.
Young Clifford Clinton returned to California to serve
in World War I. He then worked with his father in his
restaurant and later married the equally dedicated Nelda
Patterson. But “the indelible awareness of the hungry of the
world haunted this man’s being.
“In 1931 [as the Great Depression was raging] he
moved his wife, two sons and daughter to Los Angeles
where he opened the first Clifton’s Cafeteria. While the
location was changed over the years from 6th and Olive to
7th and Broadway, with off-shoot sites in other areas, the
philosophy of the owner never vacillated.
“Moral obligation to feed the hungry: ‘We offered to
feed anyone who was hungry,’ Clinton said. ‘It was and is
our earnest belief that anyone making money from the
community must return a portion of that which he receives
back to the community. It was our duty to serve them
whether or not they could pay.
MEALS FOR MILLIONS, SOY, AND FREEDOM FROM HUNGER 95
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2011
“‘You see, we believe the Golden Rule does work. All
we had to decide was how to carry out that concept within
our own field. It was perfectly obvious to us that we had an
obligation to feed the hungry who came to our doors.’
“In the first 90-day period, over ten thousand people
lined the streets around Clifton’s Cafeteria. These were
depression years and the needy far outnumbered the paying
customers. But Clinton would not go back on his word.
“‘We had a moral obligation to fulfill our promise. We
offered a full, standard meal–soup, salad, entree, dessert–for
which people could pay 5¢ if they had it, or nothing if they
did not.’
“Soon, in the frantic melee of the hungry rushing to
feed their families, Clifton’s was so swamped that the
paying customers could not get through the doors. Lines of
hungry humanity encircled the cafeteria for blocks around.
“‘We were having difficulty just staying in business but
we would not go back on our word–we could not. The
question was never whether we should give it up, it was,
rather, how can we make it work?’
“They secured a site at 3rd and Hill and turned it into a
cafeteria where the needy could be fed. They would receive
a ticket at the 6th and Olive Clifton’s which was good for a
complete meal at the new location. This practical solution to
a seemingly impossible problem allowed business to
continue unimpeded so that the promise of food to the
hungry could be met.’
“Huge protein shortages: ‘Even as the needs of our
local people were being resolved, we realized that we were
making only a dent in the giant problem of world famine.
Later, the second World War created huge protein shortages.
It was impossible to provide nutrition for the more than two
billion people who faced apparent starvation or who would
succumb to the crippling diseases of malnutrition.’
“Impossible? The missionary’s son, reared in the
philosophy of faith in God and service to humanity, could
not allow himself to recognize that word.
“Multi-Purpose Food (MPF) is born: With his wife he
went to see Dr. Henry Borsook of Caltech. Clinton told the
prominent research biochemist, ‘This is what I want. This is
what I must have.” The specifications and requirements of
the new food are listed.
“‘It was a tall order,’ Mrs. Nelda Patterson Clinton
smiled reflectively. ‘We were a little embarrassed. After all,
Clinton was not a trained biochemist. However, as a
humanitarian and a businessman, he saw the need from a
practical angle. As far as biochemistry was concerned, we
knew we had gone to the very top in Dr. Borsook.’
“Henry Borsook, whose chief research interest was
protein synthesis and the place of vitamins in the diet, was
excited and delighted. He knew that oilseeds such as
soybeans, sesame and sunflower seeds are the best low-cost
protein grown in quantity on most continents. In this
country, millions of bushels were being pressed for