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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1997)
a Qe i ; hl8 IS;' ""bea, ati onsf 0 ;' Jbngfej ll| onat§ : Opinion Page 11 Tuesday • March 18, 1997 ivogurt vs. horsemeat There P-fri.iq ■'on.coeii '553. department of Agriculture confuses yogurt with grade-A beef 804. icticewill; the Zad )me and Fordeta: >4-8561, 394-691: hllbeage new me: A.P Be^ 7-7979. ite of Ron a designs nquetsa: call Jam Studeifl e, worsh "larly tills month, in an attempt to pro- H mote healthy eating habits among pub- Ulic school students, the Department of ting to (Mriculture declared yogurt an acceptable will beag bstitute for meat in school lunches. Al- 504 Ryj ough this action might seem harmless and ivith a ira ieven tf u l, it represents another dangerous ion, cont )wer 'g ra ^ by a federal government, that ants to implement political ideology rough bureaucratic policy. What it may seem like ranting by loony, }it-wing, Limbaugh-loving, X-Files watch- ig,conspiracy freaks, the USDAs move sets dangerous precedent. How can yogurt, a mple semi-gelatinous dairy product, be a ireat to the American idea of freedom? The answer to is question involves money and power. Every year, the beef industry sells 146 million pounds Jbeefto school lunch programs. Annually, 25 million will bepii jrtjcjpating students each eat six pounds of Salisbury ichryFielt ea y mea tioaf and mystery 7 meat. These elementary car- ivores become accustomed to meat at school, growing lifelong meat-eaters. They evolve into profit sources irthe beef industry. Recently, this beef juggernaut has caught the eye ftheWashington decision makers at the USDA. The merging leadership in the department hardly repre- Columnist Glenn janik Sophomore political science major iformatiff mts th e typical Texas A&M cow engineering stu- ent, or perspective cattle rancher. These new agri- altural leaders have risen from the 60s, and have een influenced strongly by the anti-meat mentality fvegetarian ideology. Among those in the USDA’s veggie clique is Ann m. in K eefer, undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Con- i Sciencejumer Services. Keefer spearheaded the yogurt substitute program, nd explained the motivation of the plan to CNN. “[Theyogurt substitute) gives children an opportunity )avoid meat,” Keefer said. While 250 pages of the school lunch program guide lines list the objectives of the program to “promote nutri tion and healthy eating habits,” why must the USDA attempt meat avoidance? This opening shot launched against meat is small, but the acceptance of yogurt as a sub stitute for meat could be the beginning of a government campaign for vegetarianism. The USDA could next look to a ban on all meat advertisements, meat warning labels and/or an anti-meat media campaign. These possibilities all sound hu morous, but 40 years ago it was humorous to expect any of these actions against tobacco. Like tobacco smoke, the fat and cholesterol of meat have been linked to cancer and heart disease. Tobacco has gone from a socially accept able item to the target of the federal government. If the vegocrats of the USDA have their way, meat will be next. United States’ citizens have grown cynical toward government. Most people would rather surf the net than worry about yogurt. However, when the vigilance against intrusive govern ment is lax, the federal power grab is astonishing. Texas A&M has seen this firsthand. Though President Bowen vetoed a mandatory multiculturalism bill two years ago, the department of Liberal Arts was still able to implement the controversial cultural requirement without protest or backlash. When Aggies stopped paying attention, people in power implemented their own wills and desires. The solution to the government hunger for control and power is not some sort of massive yogurt revolt or march on Washington D.C. But, if Americans wish to continue eating what they want, they will have to keep an eye on Washington. Currently, lobbying efforts are under way to curb meat, salt, coconut oil (used in mak ing movie theater popcorn) consumption and certain types of shell fish. While the nutri tional values of these foods may be questionable, the federal government has no business in forcing Ameri cans to eat healthy. Yogurt may seem like re freshingly friendly fruity goop, but it has become a tool to pry children away from meat, and free dom away from Americans. If the government suc ceeds in its war against meat, the country may soon have to substitute a tasty Yoplait sand wich for the tradi tional Big Mac. }4mileiu et at 5:1] >. Forme 2441. I &M elections serve no purpose uch like New York City’s Chinatown '. and Times Square dis- arrar^ f^cts, the Texas A&M cial tttt| cam pus]ias been be- Opinion Editor n. in 108| act Jame ice: The'! t prepae 3 p.m.' Skills 0 r more fr t Counse 427. elation: ade an A ieged by street mer- hants whose antics angefrom annoying ogrotesque invasion {privacy. I Unfortunately for lijtliestudents of A&M, tliecampus version of tee street crawlers are not offering any wares that vill provide sustenance or ntertainment, however cheap md tawdry it may be. The merchants at A&M are beheld* inly selling themselves. jdentCe' j at 12:6 Chapel an exec. 16 Koldui ell at86: Alex Walters Senior journalism major Yes, it’s campaign time once gain. The time of year when stu- lents are forced to have their enses assaulted by a khaki oys’ Clt»‘ dipse whose only desire is popu- theofftf arityand power, not the opportu- lityto serve the “school we love odear” or the chance to better he education offered by this par- imentaK icular “world-class university’ Considering I have already will beslchieved my personal self-serv- al meeffi ng goals of power and populari- Anyone y as a section editor of The Bat- f is invite alion, I can sit here in my tate-sanctioned ivory tower actually I work in the basement if a musty building with no view >rvicetl4 if the outside world, so I under fid facut itand how the Student Senate iris shoiii roes things) and offer advice to dan tlte he blind and sheepish masses. ^siredll , The best thing the con es ai# science-driven student can do vill nod* for the “my worth is determined have icwsroc' by the number of peo ple who recognize me on the street” crowd is to force them to reckon with themselves before they attempt to “gov ern” a group of 20- somethings with their own desires tip-top on the priority list. In short, don’t vote. Don’t even give voting a cursory thought. Don’t pre tend to be interested when anyone wearing a polo cap, red wing boots, a braided belt or camouflage of any kind jumps in your face and tells you how “red-ass” they are or how they “love A&M” or how they will change the University for the better. Just walk away. Students should exercise their right to just walk on by, be cause if something is ignored long enough, it will eventually go away. And, that, ladies and gentle men, is the best thing that could happen to Texas A&M. Compiled for your conve nience is the following list of solid reasons for not voting: •Voting will lend a voice of af firmation to the life styles of election winners. They will begin to believe that a catchy slogan and plenty of “gig ’em” gestures are all that is necessary to contribute to so ciety. Also, they will become more and more comfortable with complacency. A vote for any candidate will only rein force his or her belief that it is perfectly acceptable to look, think and act like everyone else, just as long a no one rocks the boat. •If candidates are successful at the college level, they just might become professional politicians. This is unacceptable. A&M should take more of a responsi bility in molding students into productive members of the community rather than encour aging the mass-production of power-hungry parasites. •No one wants to be a two- percenter. In actuality, the percentage of students who actually vote is abysmal compared to other uni versities or even (gasp!) national elections. •Voting for the person whose name is listed first on the ballot is not equivalent to making a con scious decision, so it can’t really be called voting. •The power one vote carries is insignificant to the amount of dig nity that is sacrificed by casting that vote. Everyone knows that President Ray M. Bowen and his appointed cronies run this University and the pleas of Student Government amount to little more than the whimpering cries of a child begging for a between-meal snack. Considering all of this, the deci sion should be simple enough. Just don’t vote. Don’t give in to the pressure of allowing someone who cares very little about you and your concerns to whine on your behalf. Everyone should do their own whining. America loves a mauling W Columnist Travis Chow Computer science graduate student ‘hen it comes to action and violence, America wants the real stuff. Television shows, such as “Cops” and “When Animals At tack,” which reveal true-to-life casualties and mishaps, are over taking the fake gore and make-believe dra mas of the past. Some people act like this entertainment of watching others’ misfortunes is a regression of mankind back to the era of the Roman coliseum. Although audiences often are in sensitive to the emotions of the victims’ families, the gaining pop ularity of true-to-life action is a sign of a maturing society, rather than a reversion back to crude entertainment. America is finally beginning to accept the reality of man’s dangerous actions and na ture’s destructive potential. Last year, Texas A&M aug mented campus chaperone ser vices and campus lighting after the public learned about Don Davis. The University realized warning the public is the first step to precaution. But, spreading the word about a criminal on the run needs not trample over the con cerns of a victim’s family. Privacy rights and feelings need protec tion from scoundrels looking to sell a story for a few bucks. For the most part, victims’ loved ones, hoping to warn po tential sufferers, welcome public interest despite emotional pains. Edward Vaughn, a criminal sociologist who works for the United States Justice Department, said common reactions of victims’ friends and families are usually very helpful. “Most impacted per sons cooperate to help convict the criminal,” Vaughn said. “A signifi cant portion even trav el across the nation to educate the public. We encour age them to open up.” However, there are those who want to stop reliving the tragedy. Instead of releasing the trauma, they carry the burden for the rest of their lives. They are forgetting an im portant lesson from childhood. Adolescents learn in school that burying rage and grief is not the route to maturity. Clos ing one’s eyes and hiding feel ings only lead to deep emo tional scars. A Chinese proverb teaches this little life instruction rather tersely: “Accept the past to change the future.” Even the law recognizes this necessary step in maturation. Rick Larson, a local attorney, said if an incident is newswor thy or if it occurred in a public place, the courts generally al low dissemination without the victim’s consent. In other words, if Jill inadvertently filmed Jack’s breaking his crown, Jill can sell the footage against his will. Producers at Fox would soon buy Jill’s clip for their new show “When Peo ple Break Their Bones.” Some feel the public’s de mand for real violence has gone too far. Ketchup and stunt men of the ‘80s are no longer enough: the ‘90s have brought television audiences actual 30- ton fighter jets smashing into screaming crowds. Perhaps a few shows have become no more than televised “Faces of Death” documentaries. These shows emphasize mauling over the maturing, leaving audi ences with an upset stomach. Fortunately, such senseless gore has remained relatively infrequent. Instead, many of these real- life action shows carry strong messages. They portray the senselessness of crime, horrors of human evil and the life changing impact of a tragic acci dent. Critics should judge Amer ica’s demand for true-to-life experiences as maturation from the pointless, pretentious enter tainment of a decade ago. As it moves into the 21st cen tury, media technology will con tinually make graphic informa- • tion more widely available. Facing the consequences of mankind’s mistakes and nature’s- wrath prepares society for the more graphical images to come. As for the victims’ families, shar ing their stories will help release the hurt and educate the public. Opening people’s eyes to life’s harsh reality is a sign of a ma turing society. THE RMAseys will AGREE to be interviewed provided: -t&e TOGETHER,- WE only ASK TfeA ABOUT TUE \NEKTWER-, AND THEIR RESPONSES <3ET TO BE IH m TOWA OF A question... Mail (^all Kinesiology classes balance education I was quite disturbed by the lack of knowledge and apprecia tion April Towery had for Kinesi ology activity classes. She stated that some cannot handle the physical strain of having to exer cise and are made fun of, there fore, it should be unnecessary. Obviously, she does not under stand that one’s physical well-be ing is just as important as one’s mental well-being. The inten tions of activity classes are to teach the importance of physical fitness, relieve stress, and have fun. These are lifelong needs, and simply because someone is “not very athletic” does not mean he/she should not learn how to have a healthy body. In fact, it is these non-athletes that should be most concerned with finding an activity that they will want to do throughout their lives. History classes are mandatory, but be cause that is my weak subject, should I be exempt from it? Of course not, because it will help me be a more rounded individual in the end. Kinesiology classes can be taken pass/fail, so there is no reason to worry about grades. Life is too short not to enjoy your body, so find a physical ac tivity that you will enjoy and stick with it for your health. A healthy mind is nothing without a healthy body. Christine Reeves Class of’95 The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and include the author’s name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mall Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1113. Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
