Bereuter supports
liberal trade talk
By Brad Davis
Assignment Reporter
The increasing global economy
has left the United States in a posi
tion that allows businesses to reach
the 95 to 96 percent of consumers
living outside U.S. borders, Rep.
Doug Bereuter said Monday.
Bereuter, who spoke at UNL’s
College of Business Administration
Monday night, said since the end of
„ the Cold War, U.S. trade with other
countries was no longer “subordi
nate to security concerns.”
That lessened risk, combined
with the United States’ and other
countries’ liberalization of trade
restrictions and tariffs, has
increased opportunities for small
and middle-sized U.S. businesses,
Bereuter said.
“Small and mid-size businesses
do not have the resources to over
come ^foreign trade barriers,”
Bereuter said.
With the liberalization of trade
policies, he said, smaller firms
would have a chance to compete
with larger firms that have more
resources available to them.
Larger firms, he said, could sim
ply invest in the country where they
desire to do business. For example, a
large U.S. company could buy a fac
tory in the “target country,” thereby
bypassing any tariffs or restrictions
it would normally face.
Bereuter said high tariffs and
trade restrictions had to be eliminat
ed because of trade deficits the
United States had with the Asian
Pacific region.
Bereuter, a Republican con
gressman since 1978, is the chair
man of the Asia arid the Pacific sub
committee and the vice chairman of
the House International Relations
Committee.
He said U.S. trade deficits wLh
China would exceed $40 billion this
year. The deficit exists because of
“non-tariff barriers,” such as
Chinese government-run compa
nies, he said.
In response to this deficit,
Bereuter and Rep. Tom Ewing, R
111., have proposed the China Market
Access and Export Opportunities
Act that “requires that China either
make an acceptable offer to join the
World Trade Organization or face
‘snap-back’ tariffs.”
This bill addresses China’s sta
tus as a most favored nation, which
allows it to trade with the United
States at “normal” tariffs, Bereuter
said.
If China does not make an
acceptable effort to join the World
Trade Organization by lessening the
non-tariff restrictions placed upon
U.S. businesses exporting to China,
addressing certain human rights
concerns, it will face increased tar
iffs (4 to 7 percent) on its imports to
the United States.
Protectionists, he said, have spo
ken out against making trade agree
ments more liberal with other coun
tries - often because of a misunder
standing of what the agreements
would do.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
economics Professor Craig
MacPhee said greater opportunities
to purchase imports were the most
important part of liberalizing trade
barriers.
“The benefits we get from
importing ... when we are able to
purchase a variety of goods, some
times more cheaply than importing,
our consumers become better off,”
MacPhee said.
MacPhee said global trade also
encouraged U.S. businesses to be
more competitive.
“It’s an incentive to invest in new
equipment to produce better, more- *
quality products,” he said.
Bereuter pledged to fight “pro
tectionist forces,” and support the
liberalization of trade.
MacPhee said isolationist views
on trade were contrary to a free soci
ety.
Center ensures quality
■ I he liiNL food science
department fights for food
safety through education.
By Josh Funk
Assignment Reporter
Long before an outbreak of E.
coli ever makes the news, the faculty
of the UNL food science and tech
nology department work to prevent
it with education and training.
Along with the Food Processing
Center on the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus, the
food science department works to
ensure the safety of food when it
reaches the consumer.
“We are involved with every
aspect of food processing from farm
to shelf,” food safety extension spe
cialist Mindy Brashears said.
The department does research
and practical testing and works with
producers to develop safe manufac
turing practices.
One such program is the Hazard
Analysis in Critical Control Points,
which is used in meat processing
plants nationwide.
“The HACCP program sets up
checkpoints and procedures in the
processing plants to check for conta
mination in the meat,” Brashears
said. “Everything is documented so
problems can be traced.”
HACCP is used in the larger
meat processing plants right now,
but it is a big expense for the plants,
Brashears said.
“The plan is tailored to meet
each plant’s needs,” Brashears said.
Even with HACCP, meat proces
sors test only for the presence of
generic E. coli, microbiologist
Dianne Peters said.
“They are not required to test for
the specific strain, 0157:H7, that
causes illness,” Peters said..
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with hamburger and foods like pro
duce and apple cider, she said.
“A low concentration of E. coli
can still cause sickness,” Peters said.
The difficulty with an E. coli
0157:H7 outbreak in hamburger is
tracing it to its source, she said.
“Hamburger meat is ground up
from so many different sources that
it is impossible to trace,” Peters said.
And, Brashears said, the proces
sors only can do so much.
“Even with HACCP, consumers
have to live up to their responsibility
and cook their meat thoroughly,”
Brashears said.
In addition to educating produc
ers, the department also works with
restaurants and schools.
“We do food-handling classes
and teach kids how to properly wash
their hands,” Peters said.
Americans have to learn to
cook and wash their food, she said.
“People just take food quality
for granted in this country.”
Because produce is not cooked,
consumers must be sure to wash
everything thoroughly, she said.
“In testing produce we have
found concentrations of bacteria
several times greater than anything
we see in meat,” Peters said.
Another dangerous area of pro
duce is ready-to-eat products, she
said.
“That packaging worries me,”
Peters said. “There is lots of bacte
ria there.”
Organically grown food can
also be a haven for bacteria, she
said.
“All that food is grown in
manure,” Peters said. “Then people
just eat it without washing.”
Another part of the food sci
ence and technology department is
the Food Processing Center, which
works with product development. _ *
The processing center works
with entrepreneurs and existing
businesses to develop new prod
ucts for the market.
“We help people create a prod
uct that will meet all of the FDA
requirements,” Peters said.
When businesses look to develop
a new secret sauce, they bring their
ideas to the Food Processing Center.
“We consult confidentially with
businesses to develop new foods,”
she said.
The food science and technology
department also investigates the
claims of new products.
“We test new products to make
sure they do what they say they do
before they reach stores,” Peters
said.
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We test new products to make sure they do
what they say they do before they reach
stores!*
Dianne Peters _
microbiologist *
Group works to reverse trend
By Amanda Schindler
Staff Reporter
One of UNL’s foreign student
groups, the Pakistan Students
Organization, is trying to fight its way
back to a prominent presence on cam
pus.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln organization has watched its
membership decline from nearly 100
members to about 30 during the past
few years, and with it, its influence at
UNL.
One veteran member, Saad Alavi,
hopes to rebuild the PSA’s influence
with the help of other Pakistani students
and a revamped constitution.
Alavi, a senior finance information
systems major and native of Karachi,
Pakistan, is also the organization’s new
president
Along with changes in the group’s
constitution, he hopes to boost the PSA
back to its former presence by reapply
ing for recognition as an official student
organization by the Office of Student
Involvement, and developing a Web
page.
Previous events in PSA, which
began in 1984, brought much attention
to the group, he said. The 1993 and 1994
culture shows boasted Gov. Ben Nelson
as the guest speaker, the first of any such
culture show at UNL attended by the
politician.
With its decline in membership
PSA has had to take a back seat to other
organizations with larger memberships.
Furthermore, 12 of the 30 members are
' graduate students - making it difficult
to keep them involved
With so few active members, large
events are impossible to conduct.
Another major setback for the
group is funding, Alavi said. Larger
organizations can raise the money they
need through dues, but with only 30
members, that’s not enough.
The PSA turned to other fund-raising
methods, such as the popular balloon sales
outside Memorial Stadium before home
football games. Students can buy the bal
loons, which are supplied by Student
Involvement, and release them during the
first touchdown of the game.
Various grants also have helped
PSA, but those aren’t sufficient either,
Alavi said, so the group’s activities have
been limited.
Nevertheless, the new president
said he saw this time as a period of
rebuilding.
“We’ve been lying low these past
few months,” Alavi said “so we can
come back with a bang.”
That comeback will involve a two
part plan. First, Alavi is considering a
change in the constitution allowing non
Pakistani students to become fully
active in the PSA, excluding voting.
Another idea is making a PSA Web
page, soon to be completed ?
Asim Raja Raza, a computer science
graduate student, is designing the page for
the PSA. The Web site is accessible at
http://cse.unl.edu/~asim/psa/mainpcgp.ht
ml, but won’t be fully complete until the
updated constitution and member list
are added
Once complete, the Web page will
provide a way for PSA members to find
information on meetings and activities,
and also a way for prospective Pakistani
students to find out about the group, and
possibly increase the Pakistani popula
tion at UNL.
Instead of having to call the office of
International Affairs and request infor
mation about the organization, students
would have it at their f ngertips because
the Web page address will be distributed
with UNL admission information.
“The main benefit is for new stu
dents coming to Pakistan,” said Raza,
who has been a member of the PSA
since spring. “Apart from that, any local
people wanting to find out about my
culture could get on the Web site also.”
PSA, and organizations like it, are
important to the university, Alavi said
Through events such as t$e
International Affairs-sponsored
International Bazaar, in which many
different cultural organizations set up
booths demonstrating their unique cus
toms and give free taste tests of native
cooking, the PSA and cultural diversity
groups can reach out to UNLs students.
PSA remains involved in such activ
ities to fulfill its mission: promoting
friendship and cultural understanding
between different ethnic groups.
“Our goal is to have at least four
events per semester, which would
involve all the members and help keep
them tightly knit,” Alavi said. “It’s
important to keep (the members) enthu
siastic about serving the purpose of the
mission statement, otherwise the pas
sion will die out”
What job should 1 accept?
Who should I marry?
How do I make decisions like these?
How to Know God’s Will
Join us as we consider a biblical model for decision making
Tonight at 8:00
425 University Terrace
(behind Pound Dorm) 0
www.ihcc.org/collegc.htm
Patrick Abendroth
436-7177
Attention All
CBA Students
GBA Open House for
Freshman and Sophomores
October 21
5:00-6:30
First floor atrium in CBA
Please stop by CBA 138 or call 472-2310
before 1:00 October 21 to RSVP
You even get free pizza, pop and ice cream
