2
The Battaiion
Thurscfay, April 25,19911
End world hunger
American citizens need
to consume less meat
"There are people into whose heads
it never enters to conceive of any better
state of society than that which now
exists."
— Henry George
The Reality...
Being a citizen of the United States,
which of all the nations I believe singly
emanates the most ubiquitous
influence, makes me realize the above
quote ought to be reworded to include
the fortune of the entire world instead
of simply just our society.
There is no argument that our own
country has many internal crises to
tackle. What is oftentimes overlooked,
however, is that the solutions to our
own polity's fundamental problems are
very much the solutions that the rest of
the world is crying for.
The Global Village (a term which is
almost as trite but not as objectionable
as our lovely "New World Order") has
been a reality for quite some time.
Though it has gained recent popularity
in the vocabulary of our leaders (Dr.
Mobley not excepted), one must
believe that the conscious notion of all
people's interconnectedness has
existed for decades.
The Problem...
What, then, are reasonable and
caring humans to make of this reality?
Clearly, we feel a certain degree of
frustration (an impotence of distance)
when foreign countries are engaged in
How many people could
adequately be fed by the grain
saved if Americans reduced their
intake of meat by merely 10 percent?
The answer: 60 million — hence, the
end of starvation, m m
practices which have negative global
implications.
Does anyone benefit from the
destruction of gene pools which later
might be the key to human survival? In
the long run, do any truly relish the
idea that our brothers and sisters in the
Third World can be bribed out of their
country's future by false promises and
a few more dollars today?
And now, perhaps the most soul-
wrenching and fundamental question
of all: Can any of us feel really content
in a world where hundreds of millions
go hungry each night and 40,000
children die of starvation each day?
The Importance...
There is hope. Much of our
frustrations can be quickly ameliorated
when we recognize our position, as
Americans, affords us tremendous
opportunities to solve worldwide
problems.
The moral leadership of our country
might very well be a fantastically noble
force that will someday emerge, but
today it seems clear that our nation is
called to set aside our contemplation of
glory and employ its resources
immediately to effect a basic change in
the condition of our human race.
Whether there is substance enough
on this planet to allow all humans to be
happy is an empirical question (and
one I dare not leave up to the
economists); what ne i ed not be
disputed by any thinking observer is
that there is food enough to ensure the
world's population is fed.
Starvation goes well beyond undue
suffering and oppression. Starvation is
an immediate evil which horrifies our
sensibilities as charitable humans. We
are not talking of the ozone layer's
depletion whose devastating effects are
years off; rather, when we speak of
starvation, we know that action
tomorrow is too late ... Now is the only
acceptable time.
The most blatant manifestations of
greed, convenience and exploitation
our world has to offer is the 60 million
famished corpses sacrificed to the god
of apathy each year.
Can we make a difference? To this
there is no doubt.
The Solution ...
By and large, our saints and heroes
of the day are people who know and
practice moderation. An important and
worthwhile existence seems to
presuppose a degree of self-control.
Why do a disproportionate number of
these moral exemplars choose to be
vegetarians? Probably, because they
are committed to advancing humanity.
We, in the United States, are able to
participate in this campaign with just
the slightest of sacrifice.
The percentage of protein wasted by
cycling grain through livestock is 90
percent, lost carbohydrates number 99
percent. The number of pounds of beef
that can be raised on one acre of land is
165; the pounds of potatoes which can
be grown on one acre of land ... 20,000.
In fact, 56 percent of all U.S.
agricultural land is used to produce
beef. To allow our resources to be
monopolized by such a wasteful
endeavour, while literally millions are
starving to death each year, plainly is
unacceptable.
How many people could adequately
be fed by the grain saved if Americans
reduced their intake of meat by merely
10 percent? The answer: 60 million —
hence, the end of starvation.
In Other Words ...
No one denies that we are the most
wasteful nation on Earth. What can we
do? Well, we are currently working to
improve our habits and tendencies.
Meanwhile, it doesn't seem to me that
we can truly reconcile our sense of
compassion and human love with the
unfathomable degree of suffering, pain
and death associated with starvation.
We need to do more than just take
note of this interesting hypothetical
model of cause and effect. We need to
personally make a commitment to
eating less meat. It will undoubtedly
make a difference ... both to the world
and to our character.
If we choose not to consume meat
just one day a week when we
otherwise would have, we will be
making incredibly positive strides
toward ending this catastrophic
inhumanity. It doesn't seem all that
much to ask. To make such a
commitment truly would be
ennobling.
Andy Yung is a junior political science
major.
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Al
Univ
nity
tb $;
man,
PTTS frustrates student
EDITOR:
Got a little story for you Ags. It seems the weekend be
fore Parents' Weekend I went home. My car, being the
trustworthy '77 Buick Le Sabre that it is, had to stay home
and get repaired. I took my father's truck and used it for a
week until my parents brought me my car on Parents'
Weekend.
Since I'm not perfect, I managed to leave my parking
tag in my Dad's truck. Realizing the seriousness of the situ
ation, I called my folks Monday and asked them to mail me
my tag. My parents, not being perfect either, forgot to mail
it right away. After a few more phone calls and two tickets
later, I finally received my tag in the mail.
No, there's no punchline to this story, but what hap
pened to me next is one of the biggest jokes about A&M. I
took my two tickets over to the Parking, Transit and Traffic
office, hoping they would understand my situation and
dismiss my tickets.
Instead, I was informed that I could pay the $50 to
cover the tickets and then appeal for either a full or partial
refund. They were also nice enough to say that they could
reduce my tickets to $10 a piece for failing to display a per
mit, but there would be no possibility for an appeal.
From experience, I know that the appeals board dis
misses tickets about as frequently as Texas gets swept in
baseball.
One time I parked in an "illegal" parking zone for five
minutes to carry my luggage and food supplies into my
dorm room late one Sunday night. It was that or take four
trips between my dorm and George Bush.
Needless to say, I got a ticket, and the PT&T people
couldn't have cared less about my circumstance.
So, now I'm in a dilemma.
I can either pay $50, which I don't have and pray I get it
back in four to six weeks (maybe my check still won't have
cleared by then), or I can pay $20, which I can't afford, nor
can I justify paying.
Then again, I could just blow it all off and just not grad
uate in May. I'm sure my family wouldn't mind.
My question is, who is in charge of this money-making
scheme? They obviously are blind to the fact that parking
here sucks and are unwilling to bend a little to help out stu
dents.
How much money are they going to rake in this year?
Two million? I guess they can't afford to hire someone to
listen to and approve appeals on the campus 24 hours a
day. They probably get paid on commission.
I guess I just had to get my frustration out somehow,
but I highly suggest everyone else out there who is both
ered by this situation write in and express their opinion
too.
Oh, I forgot to mention this. The sweet folks over at the
PT&T office would have given me a temporary permit if I
had only asked ... for $1 a day.
CSPD for running a stop sign on my bike in a remote,
sleepy, little residential neighborhood in Southwood Val
ley.
So Aggies, please, take some advice from one who
learned the hard way.
□ If the police desire your company to discuss your
stop sign policy, FLEE! Go up onto a curb or into the
woods — any place where they cannot drive a car after
you.
0 If you are caught, do not hand over your license, it
will make your life difficult for three years. Tell them "I
don't have one."
So ride safely, but remember, if you get caught, it was
because you let it happen. Fight the power!
Craig Coates '91
Silent majority speaks out
DEAR DR. MOBLEY:
This is a letter from the silent majority.
I realize that the very small, very loud minority of stu
dents and faculty at Texas A&M who support homosexuals
have tried to force their beliefs on others. They want to
make homosexuality perfectly acceptable in our society
Their ultimate goal is to get homosexuality taught in the
public school system as a perfectly natural "alternative"
lifestyle.
The majority of students at Texas A&M is opposed t)
homosexuality. As a matter of fact, we are sick of hearing
about the plight of homosexuals. Unfortunately, 2 percent
of the loud students (800 at most) and The Battalion "jour
nalists" support homosexuals.
It is legal to discriminate against someone in hiring be
cause of his or her sexual preference. Dr. Mobley, would
you hire someone if their sexual preference was farm ani
mals?
Or would you hire pedophiles or necrophiles? I hope
you would not hire them. Homosexuality, necrophilia, pf
dophilia and beastiality are all unnatural and an abomina
tion to God.
Please, Dr. Mobley, listen to the silent majority and
preserve your right to discriminate the hiring of faculty |
based on sexual preference. Please, don't let homosexual
ity be forced upon the silent majority.
Now, I know this letter will anger homosexuals; I am j
not judging them. I just don't want their lifestyle thruston j
me.
Homosexuals know what they do is wrong, and they]
will never find peace and happiness until they turn 1
their sin, repent and accept Jesus Christ for redemptionoj
their sins.
J. Arthurs'90
Mark W. Davidson '91
Nito offends Christians
Don't get caught
EDITOR:
Tuesday's feature article, "Hell on wheels" by Julie
Hedderman, was, on the whole, very informative, al
though it lacked what I think is a crucial point in this de
bate.
The missing point concerns what they do to you when
you are caught running a stop sign or committing some
other dangerous crime against humanity.
Hedderman forgot to mention that if you are given a
ticket by the police for running a stop sign (for instance),
the citation will make it to your driving record and will
screw up your car insurance premiums.
Yes, that's right, in addition to having to pay the fine
for "the crime," you will be dogged by the memory of your
"wreckless disregard" every time you pay your auto-insur
ance premiums or apply for new insurance.
This issue is a particularly timely one, seeing as last
week saw the three-year mark for a ticket I received from
EDITOR:
I have read "the itch" on and off all year and have nC’
ticed the controversy it stirs up. The cartoon from the Apr)
16 and April 19 editions of The Battalion caught my eye
I am grossly insulted by your use of Jesus as the butt j
your jokes.
I am sure that many other Christians were insult)
also. I must admit, you have a lot of guts poking fun at
Almighty God.
Jesus gave His life for you, indeed, for all people T
very least He deserves is a little respect. Even if sontf c:
does not believe in Jesus, it is irresponsible to insult
most sacred part of thousands of peoples' lives.
I am not writing this to defend Jesus because He
not need me to defend Him. I just hope that you thinkn 1 '
time before you draw a cartoon.
Maybe when you are thinking, you can take a clt 1
look at Jesus, and you will find He is a loving, just,
giving and awesome God.
Todd Primm
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