Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1973)
editorial . Let them eat grain The difficulties a Nebraskan might have in comprehending the possibility of a world famine aren't too different from the problems a hermit might encounter when contemplating a population explosion. A 10-minute drive from downtown Lincoln can put a person into some of the most productive farm land in the nation. But beyond America's borders, the threat of starvation is a constant companion to some. Mexico is an example. It has only 7,600 square miles of arable land and its population is booming. In 1950 it was 25 million. Today it is 52 million. By 1990, according to Mexican government estimates, it will be almost 100 million, about half the population of the United States. Its limited agricultural resources already force it to import tons of raw foodstuffs from the U.S. The same is true with the Soviet Union, Japan and India. This demand on U.S. food supplies has helped send prices soaring. The beef price freeze and subsequent shortages this summer' were a reflection of what other nations have faced for generations. The events of this summer already have begun to affect our patterns of consumption. U.S. government experts have said there appears to be an increase in the amount of meat substitutes consumed by the average American. But this sort of change is not enough. If we are to ward off fears of chronic food shortages and not jeopardize our international balance of trade by Mil Oi curtailing agricultural exports, a more change in habits is needed. We are a nation of meateaters. recommend a change from that diet m Nebraska, border on heresy. But a i;h needed. For instance, Nebraska cattle ead about 21 pounds of plant protein to procA pound of meat protein. Half of the h.? agricultural land in the nation is planted w; crops, and 78 per cent of our grain is animals. This is higher than any other cou the world. Russia feeds about 25 per a grain to animals, and developing court trie animals between 2 and 10 per cent of their'. Some will say meat is necessary to a h ! diet, but there is too much evidence 1 contrary. Recent research has shown likM proteins complement one another and pin protein as complete as that of nit, ' supplying about twice the amount of vit. :. minerals found in fish and meat. Not only does the American diet derp-v use of more protein to produce less of r I table, but the demands for this less vaki. :-.;- are increasing. In 1940, per capita consnm beef in the United States was 55 pounds n now is 1 1 7 pounds. We cannot expect to feed ourselves world if we allow this sort of waste to con! change of eating habits is in order, evi.-n T-bone looks and tastes better than soybuu; Michael (O.J.) 1 1 '. : i i JL jdf4'i '' "' Whatever the question, Nebraska votes Nebraska has two votes in the U.S. Senate. They are tjoth "no," and have been for a long time. Reading the results of roll call votes in Congress is enlightening. Obviously, it's much more confusing to be in the House of Representatives. Congressmen Charles Thone, Dave Martin and John McCollister vote all sorts of ways: "yes," or "no," or whatever the issue seems to call for. No such mayhem in the Senate, though. Nebraska votes "no," whatever the question. A legend, but a believable one, says that Sen. Carl Curtis once cast his "no" at what he thought was the appropriate time. "But, Senator," the President of the Senate said, "the roll call is merely to determine whether you are in the chamber. The junior senator from Nebraska is in the chamber, is he not?" "Hmph, er, urn, of course." Alas, poor man, he just couldn't say it Sortie have argued that the two senators vote as President Richard Nixon tells them to. Nixon is aj.iinst a lot of things so Curtis and Roman Hruska are, too, or so the story goes. Well, that rumor needs some amendment. If Nixon is opposed, Nebraska's senators are, indeed, yop posed. And if a "yes" vote means "no," as it often does in delilx'tutivc Ixidies, they both vote "yes" ("no"). But if the I'lcsident is "for" something or doesn't take a position, they vote "no," to avoid confusion. That dors ,jv i I runfusion, doesn't it? Well, doesn't it? Some of the things tl.r ivo have been against lately include: 1. The Witt powt-is bill, n In mj oih.c and for all, (as if the Constitution didn't), th.it Congress shall have the power to tU; hue vv.it. eith lor idgren desperate remedies 2. The minimum wage bill, raising the amount paid the nation's pool to ,i slightly less insulting figure. The bill passed, but Nebi.isl , the last laugh: the Presided vetoed th l 3. The proposal to cut ofi k, continuation of the war in Laos and ,i, Then there are Curtis' and Minsk, other issues. Curtis was a leadet in the , the Watergate hearings this summi.i Hruska, in New Orleans last Augisi increased gun control. But he was "i else that same day: the grain sales to iin Actually, the main problem im't negativism. It's that they've been ,iioh: have piled up a lot of seniority. Both the 1950s and now Hruska is 1 1 it Republican in the Senate. Curtis is ngi ; ranked sixth. People tend to listen to : i -the force of senility, er, seniority bs-h.i. ' There's a remedy for all this and, y. desperate: J. James Exou for sen itm m Now, people will say: "Hey, wait Exon isn't exactly a piogicssivr. Il quite a bit, too. Gosh, he's an ,r. I ! I and Hruska." Well, all that is ulisolutHy inns i'h wouldn't have any seniority. ii '!; I page 4 thur SU.'y, t i n
