EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Jessica Kennedy
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Erin Gibson
Joshua Gillin
Jeff Randall
Julie Sobczyk
Ryan Soderlin
Guest
VIEW
The
jungle
Meat recalls should
be made public
(U-WIRE) GAINESVILLE, Fla. -
When was the last time you were sick? Did
you think it was something you ate, maybe
that greasy cheeseburger you had last
night at a downtown bar?
Well, that might have been what it
was. Records from the Agricultural
Department show the public was never
notified of federal recalls of more than
20.2 million pounds of meat and poultry
since 1990, the Associated Press reported
Wednesday.
Officials had their reasons for recall
ing the meat. Some was contaminated with
bacteria. Other meats were peppered with
bits of bone, metal or plastic. And yet oth
ers were improperly labeled, or had defec
tive containers, USDA reports show.
Wait a second, didn’t anyone read
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle in high
school?
Apparently, most of the 142 recalls
were on products either distributed to
restaurants and school cafeterias, or were
just sitting in warehouses or on trucks, and
had not yet been distributed to retailers.
Since the public would not be able to
distinguish which meats were tainted, the
department said it simply decided to keep
me imormauon 10 lisen. uoesn i me puo
lic deserve to know what kind of little bac
terial microbes (excuse us if that is not the
scientific term) are squirming about in its
cheeseburgers?
Well, this is how it works: The USDA
does not make a recall public unless it is
likely consumers have purchased the taint
ed meat, or might still have it on hand.
Apparently it does not matter if the public
might have already consumed it.
Then, officials within the industry
work together to determine where the
spoiled meat is, and they privately get it
out of the system.
So we are left to wonder, what kind of
meat have we been eating for the past
seven years?
Industry officials claim they have
nothing to gain by keeping their little
secret to themselves. But we are not so
sure.
Why would some industry officials be
dismayed over a new USDA Web site that
posts details on every recall since 1990,
whether they were public or not?
“It has a potentially damaging effect
on the companies involved,” said Bob
Hibbert, an attorney for the Eastern Beef
Processors Association.
Well, yeah. But a cheeseburger with
bits of metal and plastic in it can be dam
aging too.
Independent Florida Alligator (U.
Florida)
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of
the Fall 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the
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A column is solely the opinion of its author.
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--J
II
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DN
LETTERS
My view
I am writing in response to “In the
toilet.” Yes, I am a member of the
greek system. Yes, I have done my
share of “sneaking” and toilet-paper
ing. And yes, the greek system’s GPA
is as high as stated.
If what we choose to do to our
houses offends you, I have two words
of advice: DON’T LOOK. As soon as
the staff of the DN starts paying my
rent, they can tell me how to live in
my house.
Kelly Brey
sophomore
undeclared
Another view
While I realize that Lane
Hickenbottom (Thursday) did not
intend that his article be read as
antifeminist, I think he needs to do a
nine more mimang ^ana reacting; on
a couple of the points he brought up.
He makes the claim that femi
nism has caused a situation where
people do not “feel appreciated.”
Perhaps he is unaware that patriarchal
structures create situations where
women and men are unappreciated.
Women’s work goes unpaid,
unrecognized, or worse, degraded.
Men are forced into roles they might
not be comfortable in.
He writes that “in the past, a man
came home after a day’s work where
his wife and children were happy to
see him.” This is the image that con
servatives would like to put forth, but
underneath the veneer, there were dif
ferent stories: women and children
physically, mentally or sexually
abused, lesbians and gay men trapped
into soulless marriages, and men who
had extramarital affairs.
He claims that feminism created
the current economic situation,
where families require two incomes
to get by. This is a very difficult posi
tion to maintain, particularly if one
points out that capitalism, rather than
feminism, has made the cost of living
so high that in order to maintain a
household of any kind, two incomes
are required.
Perhaps the divorce rates are due
to factors other than men and women
feeling unappreciated in their mar
riages. Many women married young
because they got pregnant, for exam
ple, before abortion was legal. Many
women entered into marriages with
men who later became abusive. Many
lesbian women and gay men entered
into marriage before gay rights issues
were raised in this country.
The notion that the family can
only be happy with one father, one
mother, 2.4 children, a dog and a
rose-covered picket fence has always
been a patriarchal and heterosexist
fantasy. Maybe they existed on televi
sion, in the movies and in fiction.
Lastly, I believe Mr.
Hickenbottom should read current
feminist thought before he declares
“the feminist movement... an old car
with a nnnctant hQr*Lrfinnr* nr^Klam ”
He might find that feminist critiques
of society are far more cutting-edge
than he seems to believe.
Robert W. Anderson
graduate student
English
Clear view
I am a student who takes the
majority of my classes on City
Campus, and have had the habit of
spending my time in the Nebraska
Union between classes. However, this
a habit I am going to quickly break.
The union used to be a place where I
enjoyed a quick bite to eat and a
chance to sit and read the DN, and it
also used to be a chance for me to
conveniently take a bio-break if need
ed. Not anymore!!
The union, in the glory of its
construction, has left only seven toi
let stalls for males compared to the
roughly 17 we had in years past. Now,
it doesn’t bother me that there are
only seven
stalls (all on the second floor,
and one nearly overrun by construc
tion anyway), but what does bother
me is that only three toilet stalls have
doors to ensure privacy. What does
that mea&? It means that if three peo
ple have to do their duty before me,
I’m all of a sudden putting oil a pub
lic performance. I CAN’T POOP
LIKE THAT!!!
Pardon the pun, but this is a
bunch of crap. Are you seriously
telling me that the union can’t afford
four more doors for their bathroom ]
stalls? Or are the construction guys '
playing a funny, cute prank on males? 1
I hope someone who works in the
union does something about this, so I
can quit making a stink.
Jerry Ridell
sophomore
sociology 1
i:
I
Matt Haney/DN jj
J 1
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