10
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. November 27. 1971
The American Heart Association has
released a so-called “prudent diet" report
recommending a low-fat, low-cholestrol
diet The potential effects of this diet on the
farm economy and American eating habits
has been studied by the USDA in a report
known as the “Le Bovit and Gale" report
Le Bovit and Gale found that the so
called "prudent diet." among other things,
would contain 13 per cent fewer calories,
require 15 per cent more pounds of food
and cost the consumer about 10 per cent
more for food
Overall, the impact on the farm economy
apparently would not be too great, since
farmers would continue to receive about
the same total income if Americans
changed their diets as recommended by
the American Heart Association
But individual farmers could be affected
considerably For instance, the study
showed the diet would require 10 per cent
more beef veal and lamb. 70 per cent less
pork. 50 per cent more poultry and fish.
30 per cent less butter. 60 per cent more
salad and cooking oil. 75 per cent more
fruits and vegetables. 50 per cent less
sugar, and 75 per cent less eggs,
margarines and shortening
Depending on the type of farming the
individual farmer does, changes of this
nature could be beneficial or harmful Of
course, at this time, the Heart Association’s
recommendation are simply that
recommendations Their implementation
requires voluntary cooperation of every
individual consumer Since many doctors
disagree with the Heart Association’s
recommendations, voluntary compliance
with these recommendations will probably
be very minor
But even the cooperation of a relatively
small percentage of the American people
can result in significant price changes in
particular farm products For instance, the
egg industry has been complaining
vigorously that recent reports on
cholesterol reports which the industry
feels are unproven and unfounded are
costing the industry up to 10 per cent loss
in consumer demand and millions of
dollars a week in lost revenues
Because supply and demand is usually
very evenly balanced with particular farm
products an increase or loss of demand of
one to five per cent often means the dif
rerence between profits and losses for the
Termer
Attacks on various food products would
appear to oe a growing trend Note the
nat'onally publicized report on low food
value of cereals many reports on high
levels of chemicals in various foods, the
persistent attacks on high cholesterol
levels of eggs and a speaker in Lancaster
County recently attacked what has always
been considered a near-perfect food
milk
It would appear that nutrition may
eventually replace ecology as a political
football m this country As with the ecology
issue, we can expect particularly in the
beginning, that the nutrition issue will be
laced with more fancy than fact, more
emotion than reason
Note that both ecology and nutrition
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekl»
P O Box 266 • Lititz, Pa 17543
Office 22 E Mam St, Lititz, Pa 17543
Phone Lancaster 394-3047 or Lititz 626-219)
Robert G. Campbell, Advertising Directoi
Zane Wilson, Managing Editor
Subscription price $2 per year in Lancastei
County; $3 elsewhere
Established November 4,1955
Published every Saturday by Lancastei
Farming, Lititz, Pa.
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa
17543
Member of Newspaper Farm Editors Assn.
Pa. Newspaper Publishers Association, and
National Newspaper Association
Diet Is a People Problem
have an extremely high emotional value
Ecology involves the world we live in and of
course nutrition includes the food which
sustains our bodies and our life.
In the same way that the ecology issue
has ignored the fact that m many respects
our environment is better now than it has
been for many decades, the nutrition
crusade will ignore the fact that many,
probably most, of our foods are better than
they have ever been.
And the most obvious factor of all in
human diets personal choice is being
played down
The simple truth is that doctors have
always told people to eat moderately, eat a
well balanced diet, exercise regularly. The
goal of this advice has always been to
maintain a relatively moderate and con
stant weight and healthy bodies. Those
who have followed this advice have done
about as well as they can to maintain their
health
But the problem has been that as
Americans have gotten more money and as
the efficiency of farming has enabled them
to spend much smaller proportions of their
income on food, they have gotten in
creasingly careless about maintaining both
the proper quantity and quality of their
diets They eat too much and they don't eat
a balanced diet and they compound the
situation by not getting proper exercise.
The result is that most Americans are
overweight and under-nourished. They are
not in good physical condition.
Add increasing stresses and strains from
an increasingly complex society and we
have what most anyone, including doctors,
could logically expect high incidence of
heart attacks, as well as other ailments and
disorders which follow too much prosperity
and neglect of the body
The Poultry and Egg National Board
(PENB) underscores the point in sum
marizing the results of changes in the
American diet in recent years'
“It would appear that among the highest
income families, the objective in dietary
change was weight control through fewer
calories This was not achieved. According
to the analysis presented by Le Bovit and
Gale this group in the 10-year period,
reduced fats and oils by 13 per cent; eggs
by 20 per cent, total milk solids by 13 per
cent, and milk fat by six per cent but
actually made no change in total fat
consumption and increased slightly both
protein and calories "
We think the past clearly points out what
would happen if the American Heart
Association could have its way and change
the diets of every American. Americans
would simply eat a little more, particularly
if incomes continued to rise in relation to
food costs, they would, as in the past,
“increase slightly both protein and
calories”
All we really need to do to meet the
objectives of the American Heart
Association is to convince Americans to eat
balanced diets and eat moderately, settle
for two pork chops instead of three, a
small steak instead of a large one, small
servings of high calorie foods instead of
large ones, and cut out the increasing
share of the food dollar which is going to
snacks and sweets
And get a realistic amount of exercise.
Of course, we don’t really expect
Americans to change much
But it should be a reasonable goal to
hope that the Heart Association will not get
sidetracked into unreal and emotional
issues such as cholesterol and other
technical names which only doctors un
derstand
The program is not a technical one. It is a
very human one—convincing people to live
the way they should instead of the way they
want.
NOW IS
THE TIME..
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
To Check Barn Ventilation
Cold weather has arrived and
most bams are full of livestock;
if these animals are confined to
stalls or pens, then some means
of improved ventilation may be
necessary. Livestock in open
barns or in free-stall dairy
operations may not need any
supplimental ventilation because
the building is partly open. If
there is condensation on the
windows or ceilings of the
building, then some means of
removing the warm, humid air is
needed. Exhaust fans are
commonly used and should be on
thermostatic controls. Animal
comfort is very important for top
production and unless some
ventilation is provided, the
moisture will rot the building.
Dairymen with stall barns may
be assisted by one of our Penn
State publications on dairy barn
ventilation.
To Be Careful With Abrasives
Slippery walk, steps, and
barnyards can cause serious
injury to both man and beast.
With the snow and ice season
approaching we’d like to remind
everyone that salt does a good job
of melting ice, but is not good for
either shrubbery or grass that is
nearby; we suggest the use of
sand or sawdust for this purpose
around the home with the salt
being used only out around the
barn or buildings where it will not
harm the turf or shrubs. Super
phosphate fertilizer has been
used to improve the footing and
will be of value to the nearby
lawn or shrubs Abrasives should
be used to prevent slipping, but
care should be excercised so that
‘COMING’ OB
‘GOING’?
Lesson for November 28, 1971
kckarauiul Scri»tui« Micah 41-7, Its
m 1 Th»ss«lonion* 5
1 11, Revelation 11 15
The little boy came home from
church deeply pondering the ser
mon. “It is from dust that we
have come,” intoned the preach
er, ‘and it is to dust that we will
return ” Spying a clump of dust
under his bed, the little boy sang
» “Mother, there’s a
i man under my
bed, but I can’t
II whether he’s
>mmg or going'”
nfilled hopes
There are many
-ople today who
__ eel like this little
Rev. Althonse b n °J„ ,s ”«■
mg or “going”,
they wonder’ Many have the sick
ening feeling that the world is
‘sliding downhill.” Despite our
expanding technology, our mas
tery over things, many people are
dispainng for the future of civi
lization “What is the world com
ing to’” they ask and their tone
of voice reveals that they have
already decided on the answer
One of the reasons for the dis
pair we sense today is the failure
of many of men’s brightest hopes.
Addressing the House of Com
mons on Armistice Day, Novem
ber li, ioiB, Prime Minister
Lloyd George said; “I hope we
may say that thus, this fateful
nearby turf or shrubs are not
injured.
To Exercise Horses
Lancaster County has the
highest horse population of any
county in the state; this includes
both work and pleasure horses;
in most cases the work horses
and mules get plenty of exercise
due to the farm work. However,
many pleasure'horses and ponies
get neglected during the winter
months; they should either be
ndden several times per week or
allowed to run outside in an
exercise lot. To keep them
confined to a small box-stall
during the entire winter is not
good equine management.
Limited grain may be fed
depending upon the flesh of the
animal and liberal amounts of
dust-free hay. Good quality hay is
essential in order to prevent
respiratory infections.
To Utilize Corn Stalks
Corn stalks may be a source of
corn blight infection next year;
we are not only referring to the
southern leaf blight, but to
several other possible infections.
Therefore, it is suggested that
corn growers either utilize their
corn stalks as bedding by
shredding them and putting them
through the bam as bedding, or
disc or plow them down this fall
or winter. We have already
noticed a number of growers
discing their com stalks into the
topsoil in order to get them to rot
down; this is a good practice and
should be done on every field.
When the stalks and missed com
are covered with soil, they should
rot during the winter and not be a
source of disease infection for the
1972 corn crop. Attention should
be given to this practice now.
morning, came an end to all
wars.” That hope was rudely
dashed in 1939 with the begin
ning of an even bigger “World
War.” Then the “Second World
War" was fought “to make the
world safe for democracy,” but
that hope too was forlorn.
We have painfully discovered
that progress is not automatic. It
is quite plain to us that in many
areas, we are getting “worse.”
No wonder so many people are
beginning to dispair and see “the
beginning of the end ”
The saving hope
Yet, we find a different point
of view when we come to PauL
Despite the sins of men and the
corruption of society, despite the
rejection of God’s own Son and
the insensitivity of so many to
the “Good news” of the gospel,
Paul was hopeful because he saw
God moving his creation toward
the fulfillment which had been
his plan from the very beginning
“For the creation waits with
eager longing for the reveal
ing of the sons of God”
(Romans 8:19)
For Paul, despite everything, God
was moving the world on to ful
fillment
This purposefulness of creation,
according to Teilhard de Chardin,
is evident in the process of evolu
tion. Teilhard, a Roman Catholic
priest with an international repu
tation as a paleantologist, found
in the march of evolution the
promise of fulfillment for God’s
universe Men of many faiths are
rejoicing in this hope today just
as in the first century A.D. men
found in Paul the grounds for a
hope that would be fulfilled by
the power of God in a day yet to
come.
outlines copyrMitod by the
Division of Christian Educotlon, National
Council of the Churches of Christ In tho U.S.A.
Ro 100 sod by Community Press Service.)