farming. Saturday, April 1,1978
13
Earl Butz says future food requirements can be
met if hand of bureaucracy gets off our backs
By DIETER KRBEG
and CAROL HENKEL
HERSEY - Former
Secretary of Agriculture
Earl Butz charges that the
Food and Drug Ad
ministration (FDA) and
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
(OSHA) harbor “a bunch of
people who can’t tell the
difference between a
soybean and a pig.” He
made the comment during a
recent after-dinner speech at
the Annaul Conference of
The Federal Banks of
Baltimore and its
cooperative associations.
Bulz, who is widely known
for his barbs, continued with
bis satire on OSHA by ex
claiming the organization
really wasn’t all that bad.
“For example, if two years
ago they bad not gotten out
that very attractive bulletin,
how else would you know
that cow manure is slip
pery?” Butz asked. The
audience of more than 500
responded with enthusiastic
laughter, as it did on
numerous occasions
throughout Bute’s speech.
According to* Butz,
American farmers need to
be able to work more freely
than the government allows.
It’s a belief be feels holds
true for marketing,
production, and
management.
The world’s population is
estimated to grow to 7
billion, former Secretary
Butz told the group. The
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Dr. Earl Butz
number one challenge facing
the next generation is to
have people around the
world well-fed and that
peace can be built on that
basis. “The food producers
are going to be in the
vanguard of those who strive
to meet that challenge,”
Bute assured.
Critical of the nation’s
“cheap food policy,” Bute
said the world would not be
able to meet future food
production requirements
Under such a policy. Fur
thermore, he said: “We’re
not going to do it handcuffing
our hands behind our backs
in the use of the insecticides
and herbicides and an
tibiotics that we’ve simply
got to have to make modem
agriculture work. “We’ve
got to have a changed at
titude in that respect.”
Stabilizing food prices
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through government policy
is something Butz
vehemently opposes. “For
every one in this country
who wants to stabilize food
prices up here,” Butz said,
while motioning his hand
above bis head, “there are
nine who want to level down
here, let’s never forget
that.” His hand dropped
back to the podium. “That’s
the reason I hope we never
set the price of food in
Washington for any period of
time, for if we do. it’s going
to be set down, you can be
sure of that. That’s simply
the politics of it. I*ll take my
chances in the market place
over the longer run any
day,” Butz assured.
The former ag boss con
siders the government’s
return to huge surplus stocks
as being unfortunate. He
charges they’ll be used to
hold prices down when they
might otherwise rise in
subsequent years.
Butz emphasizes that
society, including farmers, „
can meet the challenges of
the future. “We got the will_
to do it, we got the family
farm organization to do it,
we got the ambition, we got
the energy, we got the
dedication - if we just keep
the government off our back.
That’s easier said than
done,” he acknowledged.
The job fanners are faced
with, in addition to
producing food, is to tell
their story to the masses.
The fact that food is picked
WEEK OF APRIL 3 THROUGH APRIL 8
AGRIFUTURE
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on so much in government
and consumer circles is
because that’s what all
people will respond to. Butz
says fanners have to start
preaching their stoiy to
people other than them
selves.
“We’ve got a job to do;
we’ve got a message to get
across. That message is as
fundamental as the stuff that
made America. It’s a
message that there’s nothing
wrong with a few callouses
on the hands, there’s nothing
wrong with a little sweat on
the hat band, there’s nothing
wrong with pushing beyond
40 hours a week if the
situation calls for it. There’s
nothing wrong with making
a little profit - that’s the
American system. Just give
us a little leeway here and
keep the dead hand of
bureaucracy off our backs,
and we’ll get the job done. I
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think that’s as fundamental
as budding peace in the
world,” Butz exclaimed.
Butz’s conviction is that
society can’t seriously tackle
peace when men are hungry.
convinced that the
food for the future can be
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grown when bureaucratic
burdens Are minimized.
At a meeting last month of
the American Pork
Congress, Dr. Butz voiced
opinions on dietary
regulations being for
mulated in Congress, parity
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