1971_11 The Daily Collegian November 1971

              BEWARE OF DISTORTIONS
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN    Tufd.
Organic food - what it is and isn't
By Mark Brewer
Alternative Features Service
Berkeley, Ca. (AFS)-As more
aware of the health hazards of
synthetic agriculture, they turn
to organically grown foods, long
available only through the careful
efforts of small stores owned and
operated by conscientious food
freaks.
Later, 1 spoke to George Hug-
gins, bead of Safeway's Dry Food
Buying Dept., Oakland, whoadded
to my doubts by reporting, *If a
product is labeled 'organically
grown,' then we really have no
■      lining that It's
i  local  Safeway re-
shuck!
Visiting a
cently t
confronted by a rather large display of dried prunes In plastic
packages. To each package, circular day-glo Slckers bad been
applied which proudly announced:
•Organically Grown.* Nearby,
spraying lettuce, was the Produce Manager, so I decided to
question him:
"What does this mean?" pointing to the day-glo sticker.
•Don't ask me.' he shrugged.
•I don't know anything about that
stuff. Your guess is as good as
of health and natural food Items,
raw grains in barrels and an
array of 'organic* produce.This'
store currently enjoys a busy
clientele made up largely of long-
•Are you the manager?*
*Yes, I am,* he smiled.
"May I ask where you get your
organic  fruits and vegetables?*
•Well . . . uh.'the smile disappeared, *thafsXDnfldentlal;we
formation.
•Well, we get It all from Sun
Circle Ranches (large well known
While Organic Merchants
(OM), a nation-wide association
of natural food stores based In
Berkeley Is currently pressing
Ihe California State Legislature
to adopt a legal definition, confusion stlU exists.
Many small proprietors, however, try to keep phonies off their
shelves, largely because they
rong personal Interests In
New Age, of San Francisco, Is stlU full of thest
commissioned test results from ot nutrients.
photometric and mlcrocoulomet-
rlc detectors at Stoner Laboratories, San Jose, which revealed
Impurities In some Sun Circle
produce. New Age no longer distributes Sun Circle, and most
smail Bay Area stores, many of
whom rely on New Age's lests,
plan to follow suit.
Obviously, the major challenge
for responsible sellers of natural
foods Is to certify that an organic product Is what It claims
to be. Yet any retailer or whole-
tempt to find out will complain
of the difficulties.
None of them will claim he's
never been fooled. Moreover,
store owners will tell you there
are all too many growers with
trucks full of produce parked outside willing to sign affidavits or
swear on their mother's crave
as to the purity of goods which
later tests (If any are made)
prove bogus.
their
In his voice, 'nobody has
Sun Circle. They've been
longer than anyone, and
stuff is certified.*
Although some retailer
accept organic produce u;
cally, others are more wa
To
one agrees on the meaning of
•organic* A seller of lettuce
may   consider  II  organically
chemically sprayed, dusted or
fertilized. He may even present
an affidavit to that effect, without
mentioning (through Ignorance or
design) that previous crops grown
Jected to cl
chlorinated hydrocarbons and
thtophosphates which indicate use
cldes.
(there Is only one In Northern
California) since the required
equipment Is so costly. Testing
costs run about $30 per sample,
stores realizing little profit.
To help solve this problem
OM has been working with chemists and nutrltlonallsts trying to
establish a testing facility
through   which   memb
id robbed     prompting larger stores to do the
Meanwhile the supermarke-
teers are gearing up to capture
a larger share of the organic
Earlier this year, the Produce
Packaging and Marketing Association, whose membership Includes more than fifty large grocery chains, met In Chicago to
discuss natural foods. Sociologists and other consultants assured the eager association that
organic food would be In great
demand.
ferlngs of Crunchy Granola wlU
probably soon be trying to grab
off the customers of struggling
Independent natural food stores.
Many of them already have, using
the lure of discounts with which
;. Therefore,
tely, c
who can only Insure the purity
of products by demanding responsibility on the part of retailers.
Ask them what 'organically
grown* and 'natural* mean, and
as $5 per
lie.   If they c;
enter, It could do much to help
onsclentlous   retailers   certify
FREE YOURSELF!
TERMPAPER
LIBERATION
\n Affiliate of TPU Boston)
t. cheapest, most
in the an
e  Thousands of paper
Call: 1415) 564-8282
from 11:00 to 7:00
Write: Drawer F, S.F. 94131
, from the 1809 Refuse Act.
i act allows you to gather In-
■ atlon on possible pollutors.
the Info over to the Attorney
>ral, and split with the gov-
nent whatever fine is Imposed
rom the pollutor.
article I
.1   the  f
Try A Free Sample of Our
Cui/om Blended Tobacco
,,."»(
a^tErant**
G.B.D.
^^rjaZ-r*^*-
• Pipe Racks
SAV1NEUJ      t
SJ&T5S?^0N
Tobacco Pooches
JOBEY
vsuf&^^zaa
1 Humidors
HILSON         1
•W*^ ^"K*
WATER PIPES
CALABASH
$tpe &J)op
Cigars
375 W. Shaw (At Maroa)
1 St. Step 1 i s «r W. ■ i ef s 1.1 lyt • »•
•K.n.2 3 7-«04J
i. They gathered infor-
The  pollutors   are now under
from $100,000 to $1,000,000 . .
I'm sure many of you whorea
the article on the teenager
thought (hat theirs was an od
case and that some people spend
to track down possible pollutors
and never get anything out of it.
That may be so, but more and
pany helng Indicted for polluting
the river last October 14. The
firm pleaded guilty and was fined
$25,000 by U.S. District Court
Judge Inzer Wyatt who directed
.;   (UP :.l
River.
•Reports from Cwen !
nent for taking
washings for
The 1893
Idea.   || seei
e Act is an ol<
at it would be
well   worth  your  while to do a
little   Investigation  on  possible
pollutors in our area.
Think about It.
LETTER TO THE ECOLOGY EDITOR
Oil industry should be investigated
Will they or will they not allow
Joe College
400-C Homan Hal
Fresno State Coll
Fresno, Calif.
/Q«f/^ JtS jg^fc
>JX&-
4th Federal National Bank
:,V ^r^^<
i:i2--«i»ir?ii:    5e5»oo'3 out*
.S0&'
BULLDOG  BARBER  SHOP
(Next to Apollo Market at Cedar A Shaw)
oil Into the Arctic of Alaska and
the construction of the trans-
Alaska pipeline? What they'will
decide will determine whether we
continue this downward spiral of
our society and Its environment
or whether we finally turn the
country  around toward a better
We should not be debating this
issue of oil in Alaska. Instead
we should be demanding a full
scale Investigation Into why the
oil Industry has become so
powerful. The petroleum Industry
Is undermining national security
and threatening our very survival
by squandering away resources In
In less than 10 years we put a
man on the moon. But In nearly
80 years since the automobile has
been on the streets of this country, we still get less than 15 miles
to a gallon of gasoline. This Is
progress? Where are our prior-
\
pies of pi
and  demand to see the results;
be openly suspicious of affidavits.
e clerks who only want our
More persons receive bounties for reporting polluters
under provisions of 1899 Federal Refuse Act
American affluent society
must change to allow survival
tiles?
the brink of collapse, yet the oil
industry vigorously promotes the
highway trust fund. Eighty per
cent of all our miles of highways
are paved with asphalt. What Und
of social responsibility does the
petroleum Industry practice when
It lets our cities strangle themselves just so oil can satisfy Its
own selfish alms?
But will the young generation
follow the same path of apathy
that the older generation did? If
It does It will be sowing the seed
for alienation and a generation
gap far greater than exists today,
it too can expect to feel the sUng
of 'hypocrisy* and 'hypocrite*
flung at It by the next generation
and   with   more   profound  ven-
Mbre efficient forms of energy
are being suppressed. Why? Will
those concerned about the future
of this country win out over
greed, or will greed write the
final chapters to this planet's
history. Kenneth Quade
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
KFSR Compus Radio
will present 'Newsnite'
(Editor's notetThe following Is
a synopsis of "The Ecology and
Politics Manual* by Alan S, Miller and Phil Farnham. The article
is written by Collegian Environmental Editor Steve Soriano.)
The United States has often
been described as the "affluent
society*. In relationship to the
rest of the world's population, and
excepting those Americans who
have been consigned by social
structure and political power to
the role of "permanent underclass,*  the. description is ac-
But the moral dimensions of
such a privileged status in a
world of misery and want are seldom considered. We are affluent,
not by the dictum of special virtue or God-given right, but because American special Interests
(industrial and military) have
consciously pillaged the bounties
of other men and nations.
The US percentage of the
world's population varies In estimates from 5.7 per cent to 7 per
sumes between 55 and 70 per cent
of the world's resources. And although the individual consumer
may be totally unaware of the Implications of such patterns of Industrial and personal consumption, It is not accidental that
every foor seconds a human being
dies of starvation some place In
the world. Government and university research Indicate some
of the reasons.
•Something Is fundamentally
wrong when a country like Mexico, so desperately short of critical proteins and even calories,
Is devoting a major portion of
Its agricultural efforts to feeding
the United States and a few other
countries. Meat and live cattle
move In a continuous stream Into
Texas from Northern Mexico,
while the food markets of Mexico
City and other cities are desperately short of meat.
The Imbalance becomes more
obtrusive In the utilization of the
ocean harvests. Nine-tenths of
(he shrimp catches are sold to the
United States. This alone would
suffice to give each Mexican an
additional amount of animal protein corresponding lo one-fourth
of his present Intake. For every
ton of shrimp captured, seven
tons of fish are taken on board
but discarded. The shrimpers
want to fill up with their precious
catches.* (G Borgstrom, *The
Hungry Planet," p. 284.)
Professor Borgstrom also
points out that 300 million people,
mostly In the West, consume over
seven times as many primary
is the 1.3 billion people
if the s
and the 'have not* peoples of the
world which must preface the discussion of any absolute limits on
the earth's resources. The resources of the planet are, being
exhausted, but by a very privileged one tenth of the world's
population. It Is that same tenth
that Is primarily responsible for
polluting the biosphere. (The US
produces one half of aU Industrial
waste and a much higher percentage of automobile pollution.)
Estimates are that the middle
class American consumes from
SO to 200 times the total biosphere resources of one person
living In India. Thus, ecological
death may come first to theUnlted
States because of its consumption-pollution pattern.
But food, of course, Is only
one part of the producUoo-dls-
-eonsumptlon   problem.
etc.,   the  disparity   Is equally
US Involvement In a Und war
In Asia is directly related to the
need for resources and markets
In the Pacific Basin. The production - consumption - distribution
needs of American state capitalism have much to say about ba
sic American overseas military
presence and our constant attempts to squash all movements
of national liberation In third
world countries.
Theef
effects of waste disposal, health
hazards and environmental pollution are obvious.
That rivers catch on fire and
burn bridges (the Cuyahoga In
Ohio), that mothers are counselled not to breast-feed their
babies because of the DDT content of mothers milk, that children are ordered not to exercise
in Los Angeles, that magnificent
waters like Lake Erie and coast
al,*
news, interviews and panel dls- Neva Director Gary Bentley and
cussions about Fresno StateCol- KFSN   News   Director  Roger
lege and areas of Interest to U* Rocca.
students. *T8C Rap* from 8:30-9 p.m.
The -Newsnite" schedule Is as The program wlU feature an ln-
follows: depth  conversation with Fresno
News from 6-6:30 p.m. State  Senator George N. Zeoo-
• FSC Rap'from 6:30-7:30 P.m.     9-9:30   p-m.  with a
The program will  feature dls-     with KMJ Television News Editor
cussions    with   FSC   President     Bob Lot*
of living species are made extinct by the results of pesticide
application, that corporations can
by themselves (with government
> the quality of
President Phil Sherwood and A th- the electronic  n
letlcDi
the problems and future of Fresno State. -Newsnite" from 9:30-10 p.m.
•Drugs: What's the Answer?* with reports on the world, na-
from 7:30-6 p.m. John Hardgrave tional, state and sports scenes.
of (ho FSC Health Science Do- KFSR Campus Radio U cur-
partment and Gene Lamouro of rently broadcast :
the  Fresno Flrehouse win dls- Graves   and  E
a Daily Collegian, Zeoovlch will also be heard on
It Is probably too late to change
•America the Ugly* back to
•America the Beautiful,* but perhaps It Is not too late for those
who still believe men and nature
to be Important to so affect
American political systems that
survival may be at least a possibility.
States will host bearings
in attempt to clean up air
When Congress passed the recent amendments to the Clean
Air Act In an attempt lo actually ■
clean up the air, It gave the
states until January 30, 1972 to
submit to the Environmental Protection Agency plans to implement the Amendment's mandate.
That means this fall every
state will be holding public hearings required to formalize their
air-cleanup plans. The air pollutors have historicaUy thwarted
virtuaUy every effort to clean up
the air; they've done a good job
In taking some of the teeth out
of the enforcement of the Amendment's provisions. Your friendly
local air pollutors wlU turn out
In force for the state hearings.
We can have cleaner air In our
state If we care. For those who
do care, the Natural Resources
Defense  Council   has prepared
•ACTION FOR CLEAN AIR,* a
manual that provides citizen organizations with the knowledge
they need to make a constructive
contribution to their state's clean
air Implementation plans.
■ACTION FOR CLEAN AIR*Is
free to all non-profit organize -
To   r
e.g. the peoples of Latin America,
Asia, and Africa. (Primary calories equal the total calories of
the plants required for a basic
diet. Every animal calorie, for
example, requires from five to
eight primary calories.)
The average White person In
the United States consumes over
30 times as many primary calories as the average person at
the bottom of the food consumption scale. And these figures do
not reflect the caloric output expended In" the transportation of
But It is of course protein content that defines the true extent
of the Imbalances. Protein Is the
key to a basic diet and Is the
basis ot human cellular development. And the United States leads
the world In taking from the poorer nations the high protein products which are so desperately
needed at home. The US alone
disposes ot as much primary
animal protein as do the l.S billion people in India, China, Indo-
It Is this pattern of unbalanced -.
consumption between ihe -have*
GREEN'S
CYCIERY
HRSTCASHUH
417V N. HOT  FR 32T.4M1   i
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