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The United States Department of Agriculture: Its Structure and Function
Title
The United States Department of Agriculture: Its Structure and Function
Creator
Date
1940
Relation
U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication Number 88
Subject
Excerpt
In a general policy of conservation and maximum development of the natural resources of the soil and the forests, an important phase is to determine how the resources, when converted into products for use, can best serve people and contribute to human welfare. That is an important function of the Bureau of Home Economics in relation to the whole broad program of the Department of Agriculture.
This Federal Bureau is a four-way laboratory. It serves the 30,000,000 homes by helping them to solve the broad economic problems of family living and the more specific questions involved in the purchase and use of food, clothing, equipment, and other goods and services. It serves the producers both of the raw materials and of the finished products used in the home plant, that is, farmers and manufacturers, and also the merchants who sell the products. It serves agriculture. Through its studies and its contacts with a wide public, it helps to find new and expanding uses for the products of the farm and to measure the results of the agricultural program in terms of how farm families live. Through research on income and the ways of spending of families in cities and villages as well as on farms, the Bureau provides information basic for formulation of a wide range of public policies, such as those relating to taxation, public roads, education, old age security, and housing.
In the laboratories of the Bureau is carried on continuous research in economic problems of families, foods and nutrition, textiles and clothing, and housing and household equipment.
Starting with the study of human nutrition, the Bureau's work has gradually widened in scope to include clothing, housing, equipment, and many other goods and services, and the use of agricultural and other resources in meeting these needs. Study of the economic problems of the Nation's families — the way their incomes are made, how they are spent, and an evaluation of the quality of living obtained — provides a background for interpreting the significance of other research in terms of levels of living.
Information on the nutrition needs of human beings and the adequacy of the diets families achieve in relation to their income is made available to individual homemakers and to many agencies that help to guide food habits. It forms part of the basis for standards used by public agencies in providing relief, in developing educational programs, and in aiding rural rehabilitation.
This Federal Bureau is a four-way laboratory. It serves the 30,000,000 homes by helping them to solve the broad economic problems of family living and the more specific questions involved in the purchase and use of food, clothing, equipment, and other goods and services. It serves the producers both of the raw materials and of the finished products used in the home plant, that is, farmers and manufacturers, and also the merchants who sell the products. It serves agriculture. Through its studies and its contacts with a wide public, it helps to find new and expanding uses for the products of the farm and to measure the results of the agricultural program in terms of how farm families live. Through research on income and the ways of spending of families in cities and villages as well as on farms, the Bureau provides information basic for formulation of a wide range of public policies, such as those relating to taxation, public roads, education, old age security, and housing.
In the laboratories of the Bureau is carried on continuous research in economic problems of families, foods and nutrition, textiles and clothing, and housing and household equipment.
Starting with the study of human nutrition, the Bureau's work has gradually widened in scope to include clothing, housing, equipment, and many other goods and services, and the use of agricultural and other resources in meeting these needs. Study of the economic problems of the Nation's families — the way their incomes are made, how they are spent, and an evaluation of the quality of living obtained — provides a background for interpreting the significance of other research in terms of levels of living.
Information on the nutrition needs of human beings and the adequacy of the diets families achieve in relation to their income is made available to individual homemakers and to many agencies that help to guide food habits. It forms part of the basis for standards used by public agencies in providing relief, in developing educational programs, and in aiding rural rehabilitation.
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