The Chemical Composition of American Food Materials, by W. O. Atwater and A. P. Bryant, Washington, 1895

The research of W. O. Atwater in the chemical analysis of the American diet provided an important foundation for those advancing scientific cookery. His most definitive contribution was the publication of food composition tables begun by the Department of Agriculture in 1895. In them, he lists all known foods and the previously unknown

amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fat and calories in each item.

Applying German techniques to food analysis, he postulated that the American diet was wasteful and unhealthy. Since chemical analysis showed no nutritional difference between expensive food and cheap food, the important thing was to ingest just enough protein, fats and carbohydrates to perform their specific nutritive tasks, not, as most Americans believed, to eat as large or small amount of undifferentiated food mass as the body required.

Atwater’s research buttressed Edward Atkinson’s ideas on diet reform and worker productivity. Atkinson believed that if American workers could be persuaded to increase their intake of protein and fats by finding them in cheaper foods, this would result in improved labor productivity and a higher standard of living.