une 25
Fevet
Wof
Tuesday, June 25,1991
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5
nsioti * toybeans provide
ealthy alternative
L
who stea!
tayingecce
I saw in
n were an ^
soundtrad: ML..J ast week I came across a
y violent! news item that would convince even
at really | the most recalcitrant meat-eater to give
I o with the; up dead animal flesh,
al, there we The Multinational Monitor reports
rylines, Hit that a new streamlined beef inspection
aboutFlipp. system at slaughterhouses nationwide
'r, which die Is allowing diseased meat to enter the
main plot, market at an alarming pace. A
Lee nas r Department of Agriculture plan
disapprove designed to increase speed relies on
(which s!i(i beef-company employees to perform
irts ofthefii; the majority of inspections and restricts
>vides food government inspectors' ability to spot
o that exp check the processing line.
5 not preat The Monitor reported that in March,
-w. some 21 whistle-blowing federal
inspectors sent an open letter to
i thesamele Congress. They cited the acceptance of
rpiece "Dc meat infected with measles and
'e two films; tapeworms and an eightfold increase in
because o( contamination of meat that goes into
directings! products like ground beef. The
r" wasshol: inspectors also noted "carcasses which
style whe; fall on the floors ... which have blood,
bordered cattle feces, urine, ingesta, hair, puss
nd surreal! from abcesses, grease, dirt, spit and
pla around tobacco (on them)."
he was up Whoooh, excuse me while I retch! Of
s Film Fat course meat is already a nightmare
't take the long before it reaches the
1 director! slaughterhouse. Meat is rotting flesh
nely intuit loaded with fat, cholesterol, growth
in Ameiici hormones, antibiotics, pesticides,
animal suffering and global ecological
devastation.
Uality art,: The great news is that there is a
his views smorgasbord of healthy alternatives to
Asians fe: meat, chicken, dairy and other
ie world,: Unhealthy and ecologically destructive
theproblc animal products,
lembersc One outstanding choice is the
h, Black,!, soybean, the world's foremost provider
to blame °f protein and oil.
ices thate Tofu is the curd made from soybean
milk. It is receiving much attention
e Fever"(c now, although this protein-rich food
film) is a c has been a nutritional mainstay of the
Oyofthep: East-Asian diet for oyer 2000 years,
a modm: Tofu is a good placebo start for
should!! Americans looking for healthy
alternatives to meat, and adapts well to
summertime barbecues.
Foods made from soybeans include
■■ a ■ tofu, salad and cooking oils,
margarine, "Soysage," lecithin, soy
milk, "Pizsoy," tempeh, soy flour, soy
ice cream like "Tofutti" and "Ice Bean"
and other tempting delights.
Tofu is low in calories, saturated fat
and sodium. Like all plant foods, tofu
contains no cholesterol, which is
resent in all animal products. Tofu
so contains all of the eight amino
acids necessary for human nutrition
that are not produced in the body.
There is no drawback to tofu's not
having a real taste of its own. (Raw
meat hardly possesses an appealing
flavor either.) Tofu's appeal is its ability
r to work as a sponge, magnetically
absorbing and passing on the many
! delicious tastes, colors and aromas of
other ingredients.
Tofu can be crumbled on salads and
in lasagna and manicotti. Tofu can also
be stir fried, grilled, mashed, deep
S.
se
phone
Tripped fried, barbecued on kebobs, scrambled
r ^™%nd can even be mixed into bread and
izza doughs.
Today tofu comes in consistencies
anging from soft to extra firm, and is
widely available in stores.
_ oybeans are a legume, a type of
plant that has nodules containing
nitrogen-fixing bacteria on its roots.
Legumes, along with whole wheat
grains, vegetables and fruit, make up
the new four food groups developed by
the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine.
The new four food groups replace
the old four which were drafted by the
Department of Agriculture in 1956 with
far too much help from the meat and
dairy industries. Since then,
overwhelming medical evidence has
accumulated showing that an animal-
based diet is the chief cause of heart
disease, stroke, many cancers,
arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and
obesity. (Ever seen a fat vegetarian?)
Much of this evidence is laid out in
detail in "Diet For a New America," the
Pulitzer Prize nominated book by a
former heir to the Baskin-Robbins
fortune, John Robbins. Some
researchers at Texas A&M have the
dubious distinction of having accepted
$50,000 from the National Cattlemen's
Association to try and refute this
groundbreaking book, which a
Washington Post reviewer found
"profoundly fulfilling and deeply
moving." Obviously, there is much
more room for denial than for
"moving” feelings in the animal slavery
industry.
As versatile as it is, tofu is just one
product made from one type of
legume, which itself is just one of the
four (new) food groups. One should
explore the universe of tasty plant-
derived foods, as diversity is the key to
enjoying any cultural endeavor.
To start exploring for free, call
Nobull Foods at 1-800-828-7648 for a
free sample of BBQ FIB RIBS. I'm still
waiting for my sample of FIB RIBS,
which are made from whole wheat
flour and peanut butter, and can be
eaten hot or cold. I'm told. For a
discussion of vegetarianism, tune in to
KANM (cable-TV only) this
Wednesday at 6:00 PM.
An Austin tofu ice cream dealer
recently said his family eats 25 pounds
of tofu per week, which may be
overdoing it. Vegetarians can get by
quite well without any tofu. Unless it is
aseptically packaged, tofu has to be
kept refrigerated, and it is very time-
consuming to make at home directly
from soybeans. However, tofu's ability
to be incorporated into an incredibly
wide array of recipes has made it a
staple in my diet for the forseeable
future.
If you are still eating meat, give tofu
a try. You have nothing to lose but
your bad health, and a variety of new,
inexpensive, healthy and tasty eating
experiences to gain.
Michael Worsham is an environmental
engineering graduate student.
THE RKCPP
NEW JERSEY
Can't live with it...
The dream for a credit card turns into a nightmare
T
X h
he dream is always the
same ... I'm walking down University
Drive and I'm all alone. I'm also
wearing nothing but a sombrero with
"Six Flags" stitched across the front,
but that's not important right now.
What is important is that I'm starving. I
feel as though I haven't eaten in days.
Luckily, I have a wad of cash clutched
in my hand, and I just happen to be
standing under the Skaggs Alpha Beta
sign.
I rush inside, and the customers
there look at me in shock, but it doesn't
phase me: I just don't have time to take
the hat off. I fill my arms with canned
pasta and frozen pizza and rush to the
first check-out counter. The man there
doesn't ring me up, though. He says,
"I'm sorry sir," and points to a sign
above the cash register. The sign says,
"No Cash, Credit Cards Only."
Puzzled, I look around for another line,
but they all say the same thing. I panic
and try to force my money on the
pasty-faced cashier, but he just scowls
at me. "Your cash is no good here.
Don't you know you've got to have a
credit card to live in this country? ...
And get some clothes on!"
This is my nightmare. It has haunted
me since I became an independent
member of society and realized that it's
practically impossible to exist without a
credit card. I resisted for years,
bragging to my friends that I always
paia in "hard" cash and I didn't need
wimpy plastic.
Somewhere along the way, though,
cash became unpopular. Credit cards
were suddenly cool. What was once a
rich man's pleasure had suddenly
become a post-adolescent's ticket to
popularity. Before I knew it,
everyone's wallets were brimming with
Visa, Mastercard and American
Express. Most of my friends had at
least one. My boasts of cash purchases
Beagon Clamon
Columnist
were replaced with taunts from my
friends for being a credit "virgin."
"Reagon doesn't have one! He'll never
be entitled to discounts on ice cream
sundaes and Teenage Muntant Ninja
Turtle dolls. I gave up.
Then, when I least expected it, I
received a letter from Chase
Manhattan. I ripped it open like a kid
on Christmas morning, and out fell the
stuff of my dreams. I stared at it,
watching the little holographic bird on
the front of the card flap its wings up
and down. Then, I crammed it into my
wallet and headed for the mall. Life
was good.
T
X h
"(Getting a credit card) wasn't
as easy as it looked. My sister
had once used my name to sign
up for a record club and ran up
a $150 bill, leaving me holding
the bag. I was three at the
time."
get one!" The pains I had to endure to
remain financially pure were too much.
I finally decided I would go for it.
If credit was such a wonderful
experience, then I wanted it, too. It
wasn't as easy as it looked, however.
My sister had once used my name to
sign up for a record club and ran up a
$150 bill, leaving me holding the bag. I
was three at the time. The great gods of
credit have no mercy, however, and
I've carried that scandal with me to this
day in the form of an "undesirable"
credit rating. So, getting my hands on
some cool plastic proved extremely
difficult. I applied and reapplied,
receiving nothing but rejection,
sometimes outright insults, and one
opportunity to join the KTVT Kids
Club, where, as a cardholder, I would
hat was six months ago. I now
realize that Satan is the president of
Chase Manhattan. He raises my limit
from his office in hell and laughs as I
struggle to reach it. He gives me
unlimited credit when I walk into a
record store or stereo shop; then denies
my card when I'm stranded at a gas
station in West Texas.
I sometimes yearn for those musty,
old, green bills, and I shed a tear for my
lost innocence; but I can never go back.
I left my boring, old financial life
behind for the agony and ecstasy of
credit; traded in safety for the lustful
pleasure of a quick and painless
purchase.
Oh, well. I guess I sold my soul to
Chase Manhattan. I suppose,
eventually, the 19.8 percent interest
rate will overtake me, smother me and
send me straight to hell. I'll plunge into
the lake of fire clutching a pair of $70
Bugle Boy pants from Miller's Outpost
in one hand, my Chase Visa in the
other. And of course, there will be
thousands of Seven-Elevens in Hell. I'll
walk into one of them, get a Big Gulp
and flash my card. The pasty faced
clerk will look up at me, smile and say,
"We don't take credit cards. Don't you
have any cash?"
Reagon Clamon is a junior agricultural
journalism major
S-8916
Mail Call
The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers and welcomes all letters to the editor.
Please indude name, classification, address and phone number on all letters. The editor reserves
the right to edit letters for style and length. Because of limited space, shorter letters have a better
chance of appearing. There is, however, no guarantee letters will appear. Letters may be brought
to 216 Reed McDonald or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111.
he one
Thoughts on new bike lanes
EDITOR:
I would like to address some thoughts to the
I matter of bike lanes on campus. I bike to campus
everyday (unless it's raining), so I think I am qual-
fied to speak out on this subject.
First of all, I would like to thank whoever is re
sponsible for all of the nice, new bike lanes on
campus. I have been biking for many years on this
campus, and until recently there were very few
?ike lanes.
However, there is a problem. The person re
sponsible for the new bike lanes has gone a little
overboard. There is no need for bike lanes on La
mar Street (the street that runs in front of the
main entrance to the MSC). That has never been a
crowded street, and I have never felt like I was
competing with automobiles for space on that
street. However, as someone who does drive to
meetings at night in the Rudder/MSC complex, I
can tell you that by removing all of the parking
along one side of Lamar Street, you will be caus
ing problems when the Fall semester starts.
One further point about Lamar Street: If you
truly want to put a bike lane there, why do shuttle
buses still park there and block the bike lane?
Additionally, I'm not sure what the name of the
street that runs by the YMCA and the Health Cen
ter is called (Jones or Lamar, my map does not
say), but by removing the temporary parking
there, you will cause severe problems for anyone
who wishes to use the Health Center. I have not
used the Health Center that much, but I know the
few times I did need to use it, I was not up to
walking from across the tracks. This is also an
other place that bike lanes really aren't nec
essary.
Jesse Spears
graduate student
Stop whining about towing
EDITOR:
Just a note to express my disgust at all the
whiners complaining about their cars being towed
from behind Northgate.
I realize that parking at Northgate is a problem.
There are many businesses and little parking. The
parking lot in question is being leased by two
Northgate business owners. When they first ac
quired the lease, they offered other Northgate
businesses a share of the lot if they would help
pay for the lease. The other businesses declined.
Because parking is at a premium at Northgate,
it is necessary to regulate the parking to insure
that those using the lot are patronizing the busi
nesses that are paying for the parking lot. It costs
money to pay a man to watch a parking lot, but it
is necessary to insure that as many customers as
possible have a place to park. When someone
parks and then goes to class (or another business)
instead of one of the businesses that pays for the
lot, they are stealing a parking place from a true
customer.
The person who irritates me most is the one
who referred to the lot attendant as "grease spot"
and suggested that violators walk through the
Chicken or Duddley's then go out the front door
to their real destination. Grow up! How can any
one have any respect for someone who resorts to
namecalling when a person is only doing his job?
You know absolutely nothing about this man ex
cept that he takes his job seriously. As for your
plan for beating the rap, it won't work. It's been
tried, and the person illegally parked was towed.
It is clearly stated on the signs which busi
nesses' customers have the right to park in the
controversial lot. If you can't read the sign, find
someone who can and let them explain it to you.
If you are going to patronize the businesses
which the lot is designated for but must first go
elsewhere, then by all means go to Mr. "Grease
Spot" and explain to him what you are doing. I
am sure that if all you are going to do is go get
some money, run a quick errand or meet someone
quickly somewhere else, he will allow a reasona
ble time for you to return before a tow truck is
called. Has this been tried by anyone other than
myself? This doesn't mean go somewhere else to
have a few drinks and maybe lunch and then go
to the Chicken or Duddley's; both of these estab
lishments serve cold drinks and good food, I
know they would appreciate your use of their es
tablishments for your drinking and dining plea
sure.
So why don't you whiners face the fact that you
messed up and got caught. Next time try to be a
little more adult about the whole thing.
Larry Odom '88