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The Battalion • Page 3
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Stew Milne/TnE Battalion
By Margaret Claughton
The Battalion
Chicken isn’t the only drumstick on
the market anymore. Not only are os
triches and emus big birds, but they’re
big birds in the meat industry. And
people with a taste for the new and nu
tritious are flocking to eat them.
Craig Morris, a graduate student in
Texas A&M’s Department of Animal
Science, said in a recent article that
American consumers’ food preferences
have changed in recent years, causing a
major revolution in the meat industry.
This revolution, he said, opens the
window for new products, primarily os
trich and emu, to establish themselves
as meats of choice.
“Many people are looking for some
thing new,” he said. “And I think this
may be what they are looking for.”
The birds are expected to appeal to
people because they are low in fat,
high in iron, high in protein and taste
more like a beef product than a poul
try product.
Many area ranchers have begun rais
ing these birds in the hope that their
meat will eventually become big sellers.
In fact, Larry Ruffino, owner of Read-
field Meats in Bryan, said approximate
ly 60 to 70 percent of all emu breeders
reside within a 100 mile radius of Con
roe,Texas.
Readfield Meats has processed 70
emus in the last year. Ruffino said he
expects the number of processed birds
to increase three or four times in the
next year in response to the increased
demand for the birds.
Although both ostrich and emu are
eaten throughout Texas, ostrich has
gained more recognition and is found in
more restaurants statewide.
Ostrich meat is a rich red meat that
appeals to beef lovers, Ruffino said.
But unlike beef, ostrich meat is very
low in fat.
A recent article in American Ostrich
magazine said a cut of ostrich similar to
the eye-of-round cut of beef contains
2.74 grams of fat, while the beef con
tains 6.51 grams of fat. The same
quantity of chicken breast delivers 3.57
grams of fat.
Penny Lynch, vice president of Tops
Inc. which markets ostrich meat, said
ostrich appeals to many health con
scious people.
“Especially the people who are trying
to eat heart-healthy,” she said. “Some
one who can’t eat
beef will be able to
eat ostrich because
it is so low-fat.”
In his article
“Ostrich Meat Mar
ket Challenges,”
Morris said 60 per
cent of consumers
consider fat content
the most signifi
cant factor in influ
encing health.
Ostrich and emu
are not only mar
ketable for their
nutritional attrib
utes but for their
taste as well.
The Texas
A&M University’s
Ostrich Meat In
dustry Develop
ment Project con
ducted a study in
which four cuts of
ostrich meat were
compared to
Choice beef top
loin steak.
Dr. Rhonda
Miller, one of the
researchers who
conducted the
study, said ostrich
compared very well
as far as flavor and tenderness.
The National Culinary Review said
ostrich has the potential to be “the pre
miere red meat of the next century.”
Chef Randall Warder of the Mansion
on Turtle Creek restaurant in Dallas,
said the taste of ostrich has been very
well received by their customers.
“People enjoy its taste and that it is
low fat,” he said. “It tastes like a cross
between beef tenderloin and venison,
but it doesn’t have a gamy texture.”
Warder said customers pay approxi
mately $40 a piece for ostrich plates.
Morris said the target markets for
ostrich meat are the finer three, four
and five star restaurants primarily be
cause of its price. The price is high due,
in part, to the cost of breeding the ani
mals and slaughtering them.
“We know it is an expensive product
right now,” he said. “It is mostly for
white-tablecloth restaurants. This type
of low-fat clean cut meat, appeals, to The
high income consumer.”
Though both meats are somewhat in
demand, Morris said they are not about
Stew Milne/ l m Battalion
to replace or even compete with beef or
chicken in the meat industry.
Although the American Meat Insti
tute estimates Americans will con
sume 6.93 million pounds of meat in
1994, the high retail price of ostrich
will keep it out of the mainstream.
According to Morris, beef, pork and
chicken retail for $1 to $6 per pound
while ostrich is somewhere between
$20 to $30 per pound.
Despite the success of ostrich, Ruffi
no said he thinks emu meat will even
tually be more widely accepted.
“I think ostrich is a little more pop
ular because it was the first market
ed,” Ruffino said. “I think emu will get
bigger however, because the animals
are less wild and easier to raise.”
He said he hopes emu and ostrich
meat will become more popular so the
local breeders’ hard work will pay off.
“I’ve had ostrich ^in^Jt^was
terrific,” he said. “And emu sausage
made with 1/3 -pork is very tasty. I
think it has good potential.”
Koriyama students jump cultural hurdles
3e reading days, at .
n Wednesday i
;dnesday.
les will begin
to Jan. 15, unless'
Jr. Day falls
ly. In that case/
i Monday and
. Day will be obsef
7.
eek of classes, Thur®
on Tuesday, wedn®
ill be reading days!
on Friday and c:n: ■
Wednesday.
By Jeremy Keddie
The Battalion
There are many adjustments students
spending their first semester away from
home must make, but for international
students from Japan, adjusting may take
a little more time, John Norris, director of
the Koriyama Support Office said.
"We do a lot of hand-holding and
mother hen," Norris said.
Norris, who received his doctoral
degree in 1984 from Texas A&M, said
there are about 230 students from Japan
studying at A&M.
To help prepare the international
students to study abroad, A&M created
a school in Koriyama in May 1990. Stu
dents who wanted to study at A&M,
spent their first year at Koriyama before
coming overseas. Norris said the pro
gram at Koriyama prepared the students
for a higher education in the U.S., and
also taught some of the traditions of
First semester is hardest, director says
A&M. Last fall the school had a bonfire
for the students.
"Many more of them knew what it
meant to be a Texas Aggie than some of
the typical freshman," Norris said.
However, Norris said because of
funding difficulties which were centered
around Japanese politics, the school
closed in August.
Japanese students who want to
study at A&M will now have to apply
through the same process as other U.S.
citizens.
Norris said he admires the interna
tional students for their courage.
"When they chose to study abroad,
they went totally against the grain,"
Norris said.
He said students who studied
abroad in the past would have difficulty
in finding a job when they came back,
but employers are now beginning to ac
cept the trend.
"I think they see the huge influence
of Japan in the United States, if they
have an employee that's bilingual they
will hire them," Norris said.
One of the biggest cultural changes
these students face is their appetites,
Norris said.
"Making the adjustment to American
food is difficult for them," Norris said.
He said many of the students are
used to eating dishes with rice two to
three times a day. For such reasons,
many of the Japanese students who live
on campus choose to cook their food,
rather than eat at the dining halls.
Learning to be comfortable with the
mannerisms of American students also
is difficult, he said. Norris said most
Japanese students tend to be quiet and
to them, American students seem loud,
boisterous and informal.
However, Izumi Mitsumoto, a 21-
year-old A&M student, studied at Ko
riyama before coming here. "American
students are friendly, and I think that is
good," he said.
A majority of students have said
that dorm life is noisy, and most would
prefer to move out, Norris said. And
moving out may not be as much as a
problem for them as it is to Americans.
But Mitsumoto said he feels proud
to be studying here. He said his parents
are worried about his medical care and
safety, but believed that it would be
good for him to study here.
"Perhaps Japanese companies will
hire me because of English," he said.
The cost of an international educa
tion Norris said, is 10 times greater for
the Japanese students than it is for stu
dents from Texas. But it is still less ex
pensive than it is in Japan.
"Here, everything is so inexpensive
for them ," Norris said, "they can buy
anything at a fraction of what it costs in
Japan.
He said that most Japanese students
do not want to be singled out, and are
embarrassed when it happens. Norris
said they are not accustomed to receiv
ing awards as individuals, but rather in
groups.
"There's a saying in Japan," Norris
said. "The nail that sticks up gets ham
mered down."
Despite the adjustments to Ameri
can cuisine and attitudes, many of the
students said an American education
may help them in their Japanese careers.
ON
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Stereotypes plague ‘A Good Man in Africa’
Oscar-winning director disappoints with new movie
By Anas Ben-Musa
The Battalion
“A Good Man in Africa”
Starring Colin Friels,
Sean Connery, John Lithgow,
Diana Rigg and Louis Gossett
Jr.
Directed by Bruce Beresford
Rated R
Playing at Hollywood 16
* 1/2 (out of five)
When a director has two Oscar
winners (Sean Connery and Louis Gos
sett Jr.), a two-time Oscar nominee
(John Lithgow) and a Tony award win
ner (Diana Rigg), it’s a great opportu
nity to create a quality film.
So what can go wrong with a
such cast in the film “A Good Man in
Africa?” Well — everything!
Director Bruce Beresford man
ages to create a film full of stereotypes
and old cliches, which is unusual for
Beresford, who directed the Oscar win
ning film, “Driving Miss Daisy,” a
poignant film that broke down many
stereotypes with its rich characters.
But with “A Good Man in Africa,”
the characters are shallow, and little
or nothing is known of their past or
what they feel in the present
Based on the acclaimed novel by
William Boyd, “A Good Man in Africa”
is a story of political intrigue and how
one man can change a nation.
Mid-level British diplomat Mor
gan I^eafy (Colin Friels) is frustrated
about his career in the small west
African nation of Kinjanja. His only
passion is alcohol and women.
And that’s how his career takes a
turn for the worse. The British High
Commissioner Arthur Fanshawe (John
Lithgow) orders Leafy to befriend
soon-to-be Kinjanja president, Profes
sor Sam Adekunle ( Louis Gossett Jr).
The British want exclusive rights to
large oil fields that have been discov
ered on the coast of Kinjanja. Leafy
tries talking to Adekunle, but he only
succeeds with Adekunle’s wife, Celia.
That’s when things get a little messy.
Leafy gets caught in bed with
president-elect’s wife, Celia
Adekunle (Joanne Whalley-
Kilmer). Adekunle gives Leafy an
ultimatum. Leafy needs to “con
vince” Dr. Alex Murray (Sean Con
nery) to pass a plan to construct
new buildings at the local universi
ty or else.
Unfortunately, Leafy cannot
bribe Murray. He is the “Good
Man in Africa,” a man of virtue
and strong moral character. He
refuses to help Leafy because it
would make Adekunle a rich man.
With such an intriguing sto
ryline, there is potential for a qual
ity film.
But the movie is plagued
with stereotypes, stereotypes,
stereotypes — boring, pompous
British diplomats, superstitious,
ignorant-looking Africans and sex-
crazed women who all want Leafy.
Beresford succeeded with
“Driving Miss Daisy,” but he didn’t Alex Murray (Sean Connery) examines a young patient in the
do anyone a service with A Good „ -i n /r • k r • »
Man in Africa ” Gramercy Pictures release, A Good Man m Ainca.