Gulf crisis, meat consumption addressed
Reader presents
top five reasons
for eating meat
I don’t mean to beat this vegetar
ian issue to death, but after reading
the plethora of pro-vegetarian re
sponses to my last letter I sec that
many facts of the issue have been
twisted completely out of order. To
straighten this out, I have put together
my top five list of reasons to eat meat.
And stay tuned, after the top five, I’ll
have lots of entertaining cut downs.
But now, from the home office in
Stegall, Neb., it’s Lar’s top five rea
sons for eating meat:
• It’s healthy for you. I can hear
you laughing already, but beef pro
vides several essential parts of a bal
anced diet. Sandy Burnham, (letter to
the editor, DN, Nov. 30) I wouldn’t
be too sure that any heart specialist
will argue that point, since the Ameri
can Heart Association endorsed this
year’s edition of the Nebraska Cow
Belles Beef Cookbook.
• It tastes better. I can sympathize
with the people who don’t like the
taste of meal, but many people do like
it. I just can’t imagine myself drool
ing with ecstasy over a bean burger or
aT-bean steak.
• Meat production utilizes land
that would have no other use. I’m not
referring to forest land, and I’m strongly
opposed to deforestation for livestock
production. But the harvested crop
land and wide open ranges of the west
are a vast resource for livestock pro
ducers and suffer no damage from
well-managed grazing.
• Meat production has many other
benefits. By-products include leather,
pet food, medical supplies, and dairy
products. These are things that plants
cannot provide for us. Every part of
the animal has a use, something the
majority of meat-beaters are too ig
norant to acknowledge in their zeal to
save the planet. And you can’t play
football with a “beanskin” either.
• Meat is good for our economy.
The meat industry is an important
part of many communities because of
the jobs it provides and the money it
puts in to local economies. Before the
vege-terrorists get so concerned about
the horrors of the “factory farming”
of beef, maybe they should look into
the conditions of migrant workers in
lettuce and soybean “factory farm
ing." I hope you can taste the pain of
exploitation in your next salad.
And now, the only reasons for
reading these letters — Lar’s top five
cutdowns:
• I have studied basic composi
tional techniques, Leah Miller (letter
to the editor, DN, Nov. 30), but the
person who typed my first letter obvi
ously hasn’t and that is why some
sentences didn’t make sense. Your
letter is correct grammatically, un
fortunately your ideals don’t make
sense to me.
• According to Sandy Burnham,
my meat-eating friends and I will be
dead in 40 years. This may be so, but
eating meat is not going to kill us. We
stand a greater chance of dying in a
blimp accident.
• Fran Thompson says (letter to
the editor, DN, Dec. 3) I’m . .
ignorant of what really goes on in
meat production. . I guess living
on a ranch for 20 years isn’t enough
qualification. I only wish I had grown
up in the city and visited the country
a couple of times to know the “real”
truth about meat production.
• That’s a nice life Fran. I’m
glad you’ve got the lime to spend
“seven or eight years right here learn
ing.” Most of us get out in four or five
and DO something with our lives
instead of writing letters to the Daily
Nebraskan.
• In my first letter, I made the
mistake of telling vegetarians to “get
a life.” I apologize to those vegetari
ans who can understand the value of
meat production. Instead, I wish to
address those radicals heading the
anti-meat movement. In your zeal to
discredit the meat industry you are
shooting yourselves in the foot. If I
remember correctly, the environmental
movement of the 1960s became “Who
Cares?” during the 70s because people
went too far. In the ’90s v/e will see a
backlash against the green movement
of the ’80s because you have gone too
far. Zip it. And here’s a message to all
you neo-hippie, eco-freak, beef-bash
tng, granola loser, left-wing lunatic,
“Diet for a New America” people —
get a life.
Matt Larsen
junior
broadcasting
Columnist praised
for objectiveness
about Sen. Kerrey
Mark Fahleson’s editorial column
about Sen. Bob Kerrey (DN, Nov. 30)
is the first objective, unemotional piece
ever written about the senator The
article exposes the Kerrey mystique
for what it really is — a mystique and
nothing more. Are Nebraskans so
starved for recognition that they are
willing to vote for a president based
simply on personality and not on
substance? I applaud Fahleson on his
clear-thinking journalism and ques
tion how someone with his objectiv
ity ever got a job with the Daily
Nebraskan.
Lewis Coulter
senior
finance
Loss to Oklahoma
not good reason
to replace Osborne
Chuck, Chuck, Chuck! Sure you
were disappointed with Oklahoma’s
45-10 trouncing of Nebraska, most
true fans were, but replace Tom
Osborne? Get a grip!
You wrote (column, DN. Nov. 27)
about the schedule change as if it
were a unilateral decision, which it
couldn’t have been because it takes
two to lambada, Chuck. The patsies
of five years ago may not be the
patsies of today. (Look at Georgia
Tech.) Maybe Texas and Arkansas
didn’t want to play Nebraska. Who
took Nebraska’s place on their sched
ules? Maybe Utah State and Colo
rado State wanted to play Nebraska.
Who were they going to play instead?
You’re a news-editorial major, Chuck,
try doing some research.
You wore about replacing Osborne
with Barry Alvarez of Wisconsin,
which finishedin the cellar of the B ig
Ten. Is Dick Sheridan and North
Carolina State going to a bowl this
time? Who’s next on your list, Chuck
Fairbanks?
The players aren t to blame.” Give
me a break! Tom Osborne didn’t
fumble or throw an interception dur
ing the Noy. 23 game. His blocking
and tackling didn’t break down against
Colorado. As good of talent as Ne
braska has and continues to have,
there is no way that any coach can
stop players from making mental errors
that lose games.
No. you wouldn’t be a better coach
than Tom Osborne, Chuck, but at
least you realize that. But did you
realize that maybe he could easily
take your place at the Daily Nebras
kan? Your job is easy, Chuck. It’s just
a simple matter of second-guessing,
which coaches dare not do lest they
lose their jobs. Here’s a prediction for
you, Chuck: Tom Osborne will win at
least one national championship more
than the Pulitzer Prize you will never
win. Thai’s what you call a cinch bet!
William Messman
Lincoln
Americans need
education before
making comments
‘‘Go back to your f—ing country.”
‘‘Go back to Iraq.”
These are some of the pleasantries
being showered around by some
uneducated Americans. Since the gulf
crisis started the frequency of such
quotes has increased every days that
goes by.
I was bom in Saudi Arabia and
spent a major part of my youth in the
country, and though a Pakistani by
nationality, nowhere on the face of
this earth does it say that the combi
nation makes you an Iraqi. In the past
few weeks my friends, most of them
from Pakistan, have been the target of
such cheap and disgusting remarks,
reflecting how broad-minded these
guys are. Maybe they need to expand
their horizons beyond the “big red
Comhuskers.”
I hope no one takes this letter as a
cry of help, because believe me we
have some answers for these “kids.”
The whole point is the general knowl
edge of the people in America. It
really is ironic to hear such remarks.
Most of these guys don’t even know
where Iraq is. I wish before these
“patriotic” Americans open their big
mouth, they look into their own past
and find from what comer of the
world they come from.
Ail I have to say in the end is “go
back to your history and geography
books.”
Amer Sheikh
senior
computer science
Reader questions
the ‘if’ and ‘when’
of gulf activities
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait all
seem so far away, but every newscast
or newspaper article brings them one
step closer to me. I, being an 18-year
old female college student, will not
have to even think of going anywhere
near Saudi Arabia, but that is not the
case for everyone. It is very frighten
ing to think that one of my best friends
could soon be sent there. Some sol
diers may be ready, but many are
being sent not warning to go. Y/hai 1
take as being boring and routine at
times, my daily life of classes and
homework would become a luxury to
many of the men and women over
there.
Through both junior and senior
high I was taught about the wars fought
throughout our American history. Now,
it seems as if another war may have to
be added to the list, but should an
other war have to be added to this list?
With Thanksgiving leftovers still
around and Christmas coming very
soon, there are many families that are
feeling the absences of a son, daugh
ter, friend, or spouse. President Bush
did his good deed by having Thanks
giving dinner with some of die troops.
But the president gets to come back to
the United States, the troops don’t.
And what about O.J. Simpson broad
casting the Thanksgiving Day foot
ball games over in Saudi Arabia,
chatting with the soldiers? Is that really
what they need, a visit from the presi
dent and a few football games? 1 think
they need to come home.
l he U.S. standard of living is one
of the highest in the world. I’m cer
tainly not ready for any drastic change,
but much could be done to put more
efficiency into many of our products
and factories. Much of the oil we use
could be conserved. I believe in look
ing out for our best interests, but
should oil be such a high priority?
According to The Omaha World
Herald the United Stales imports 290
million barrels of oil from Iraq and
Kuwait each year. It continues to say
that this amount of oil could be saved
if auto efficiency standards were in
creased 2.75 miles per gallon. Yes, I
agree that would cost money to do,
but how much is it costing us in
defense over in Saudi Arabia, and
how do you put a price on the life of
a human being?
The deadline for the U.N. Security
Council resolution of Jan. 15 may be
more than a month away, but it will
come sooner than I want. This dead
line doesn’t seem togive enough time
to let economic sanctions really be
felt. It seems to be a question on when
military action will officially take
place, rather than if military action
should lake place. I still wonder about'
the if.
Sherry Zeilinger
freshman
math
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