Interim report of the Prison Diets Committee.

  • Egypt. Wizārat al-Dākhilīyah. Prisons Department. Prison Diets Committee.
Date:
1917
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Interim report of the Prison Diets Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    It will be seen that practically we have four diets :— (a) The bread diet given to indigent prisoners in Markaz prisons, and also for a week to contraven- tion prisoners in Cairo. As prisoners are now confined in Markaz prisons for a period up to three months, I have already called attention to the necessity of giving them a more liberal diet. (b) Non-labour diet given to unemployed prisoners; but these prisoners really do a certain amount of work (cleaning cells, wool spinning, etc.). (c) Industrial diet for less active work than (d); but in a number of the trades, e.g. blacksmith’s, bread making (mixing), the work is certainly severe. (d) Hard labour diet given only to convicts employed on third class labour and prisoners in central prisons employed on earth work—if sanctioned by the Inspector-General. ; There is a considerable resemblance between the three ‘‘ hard labour ” diets, viz. Graham’s, Wilson’s and the existing one. . All these dietary scales have been made out quite independently. Wilson’s industrial and his other diet for prisoners “up to a month” are more generous than our present diets in the supply of animal food. So also is Graham’s “ hard labour” in this particular, as the large proportion of fat is obtained from butter, 7.e. from an animal source. It will be seen that our “ hard labour” diet is more generous than that of the Army in peace time (theoretically only, as our bread is millet, and there is considerably less absorption than from wheat bread; see “Scientific Memoirs,” No. 8, of the Government of India), This is the case in practically all prison dietaries, and is so in order to provide the fuel necessary for labour. The peace diet of armies is calculated on the basis of a man with light or moderate labour; even in peace time I understand that Egyptian soldiers on special work get an extra fiftv dirhems of bread. On active service and in war time special dietaries are given, subject of course to the exigencies of war. The soldier can purchase extra food—the prisoners cannot (2.e. the Egyptian prisoners). In the Egyptian soldier’s diet, he gets butter (with a little palm oil); the convict and other prisoners get a vegetable oi] which is by no means appreciated. - In fact, the amount had to be decreased owing to complaints. In 1910 the oil cost thirty-nine milliemes per oke, whilst the soldier’s butter cost eighty- eight milliemes the oke. Practically all prisoners taking the hard labour diet now have millet bread, and this so reduces the price that the cost of this ration works out at a fraction of a millieme less than the soldier’s ration (see Table ITI). Table II shows approximately the theoretical values of the various diets in force. Values are also shown of English, Scotch, French, and Indian prison dietaries, with some examples of English Army diets in peace. It will be seen: (1) that the English and Scotch dietaries compare a good deal more favour- ably with the English Army ration than ours do with the Egyptian Army ration, and this table does not show the far larger proportion there is of animal] food in these diets compared with Egyptian prison diets ; (2) that the prison dietaries of other nations are superior to those of Egyptian- prisons. In considering Egyptian prison diets, it must be remembered that they consist wholly or very largely of food derived from vegetable sources, wiz. :— Diet No. I, animal food: nil. Diet No. I, animal food: six per cent proteids, three per cent fats, nil starches. Diet No. III, animal food: eighteen per cent proteids, ten per cent fats, nil starches. That is to say the amount lost by non-absorption is greater in the case of our Egyptian prison dietaries than is that of other nations. Table II, to which reference has already been made, shows the daily cost of the various diets; the cost of fuel, ete., is not included. In 1902 (see Prisons Report) I gave a résumé of the reasons why food and the various kinds of food were necessary. ood is necessary to repair wear and tear, to supply energy for the work, and to furnish heat for the body: ‘internal work’; to furnish energy for performance of labour: “external work.” Food consists of : (1) water; (2) salts; (3) proteids or nitrogen containing foods; (4) fats; (5) starches. It is not necessary to discuss water and salts, which are indispensable. Proteids are indispensable as they are the only foods containing nitrogen (needed to build up the tissues of the body). It would, however, be a very expensive and wasteful diet which only contained proteids, as not only would there be too much nitrogen, but the work entailed on the body in getting rid of the excess would be considerable and lead to exhaustion and disease of the special organs concerned.
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