HANDBOOK OF NUTRITION: XII

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Abstract
Over 50 per cent of the American diet consists of foods of plant origin. Indirectly as foods for animals, plant products make an additional contribution to the human diet through their influence on the nutritive value of animal products. In discussing nutritive values, it is necessary to make use of certain average figures for nutrient composition. Foods of plant origin are subject to rather wide variations in composition as influenced by genetic, soil and climatic factors. It is beyond the scope of this article to consider these factors. Their importance is illustrated by the study of Schultz and his co-workers1 revealing wide variations in the thiamine content of wheat and of cereal grains of different origin. Some of the factors influencing mineral nutrition have recently been reviewed by Maynard2 and by Beeson.3 Fortunately the consumer seldom gets his supply of a given food from a single agricultural