WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 74
Emu: the other red meat
By Andy Marso and Stephanie Goettsch editor@kansan.com Special to the Kansan
Overweight and health conscious Americans may be overlooking a good alternative source of protein: emu meat.
An emu is a large, flightless bird that resembles an ostrich. Full-grown adults weigh 90 to 150 pounds and stand almost six feet tall.
Emu provides more protein than traditional meats such as beef and turkey.
In fact, emu tops the charts in 15 of 20 nutritional categories in a June 2000 University of Wisconsin study, sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Lawrence farmer Ann Merkel makes her living by providing this lean meat to the Lawrence area, but emu is her meal ticket in more ways than one.
Merkel, vice president of the Kansas Emu Association, said the meat tasted like beef and had a similar texture.
"There's no fat in it. It's all lean, red meat," Merkel said. "In the latest USDA meat study, we beat everybody nutritionally."
"I eat it at least once or twice a day." Merkel said.
Emu meat provides 28 grams of protein, five grams of fat and 164 calories per 3.5 ounce serving.
Ann Chapman, registered dietitian at Watkins Health Center, said despite the nutritional advantages, people hesitated to try the unconventional meat.
"It's not mainstream," she said. "It's not a traditional offering in our country."
Price may also play a part, said Merkel. A cubed package of emu
costs $8.40 a pound, compared with a cubed package of beef at $2.40 a pound, according to Hy-Vee on 6th Street.
Kristen Fellows-Walker, Healthmart manager at Hy-Vee on 6th Street, said the lack of advertising hindered emu meat sales.
She said larger corporations in the meat industry had the funds to market and advertise their products.
The small size of the emu industry forces alternative farmers to pay for advertising out of their own pockets.
"It's more like grassroots advertising," she said.
Merkel promotes emu meat at the Hy-Vee on 6th Street.
She cooks emu dishes, such as spaghetti and emu meatballs, and allows customers to try free samples.
Hy-Vee has sold Merkel's meat in Lawrence for a year and a half. She brings Hy-Vee 30-to-40 pounds of emu every three months.
Fellows-Walker said health conscious customers preferred emu because it was a free-range animal raised without antibiotics and steroids.
She said Hy-Vee added emu to its shelves in response to customer demand.
"It was another option we could provide as a healthy animal choice," she said.
Despite its nutritional benefits, Fellows-Walker refrains from eating emu.
"I don't know if I can bring myself to try it," she said. "It's weird to me."
Thane Dinsdale, Lincoln, Neb., junior, said he would have no qualms about trying emu. The only reason he hasn't tried it was he hadn't seen it on the menu
"I don't know if I can bring myself to try it. It's weird to me."
Kristen Fellows-Walker Hy-Vee Healthmart Manager
Pachamama's, 2161 Quail Creek Dr., is the only Lawrence restaurant that offers emu dishes.
anywhere.
"There's a lot of turnover on our menu," Sam Sieber, Pachamama's sous chef, said. "We go through phases. Sometimes we'll use it for three months in a row."
Sieber said the restaurant ran specials to convince people to try emu.
Pachamama's serves emu in combination with other meats, as an appetizer or as a filet. He said it kept the price low by serving emu with less expensive side dishes.
At Pachamama's, a typical emu entrée costs $21, compared with $27 for beef, $24 for seafood and $22 for salmon.
Sieber said the meat tasted somewhat similar to ostrich and had a deep red color.
"I like it a lot," Sieber said. "It has a very intense flavor that you can't compare to much else. It has a slightly wild, gamey flavor."
Pachamama's plans to continue including emu on its menu along with traditional entrées, though it hasn't sold well.
"People eat more beef and fish of course," Sieber said, "but when they get emu, they like it. It's just a matter of trying to convince people to eat it in the first place."
— Edited by Amanda Sears
Jurors convict Olathe man
The Associated Press
OLATHE - Jurors found John E. Robinson Sr. guilty yesterday in the deaths of three women, two of whom were found stuffed in barrels on his rural Linn County property.
He was convicted of two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Suzette Trouten, 27, of Newport, Mich., and Izabela Lewicka, 21, a Polish immigrant from West Lafayette, Ind.
Both bodies were found in barrels.
Both women met Robinson over the Internet and came to Kansas on the promise of jobs and to become sex slaves in sadomasochistic relationships with Robinson.
Robinson, 58, of Olathe, showed little emotion as the verdicts were read.
He also was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1985 death of Lisa Stasi, 19, whose
body was never found.
Jurors were allowed to return home until the beginning of the penalty phase tomorrow.
Judge John Anderson III said he expected jurors to begin deliberating Robinson's penalty this weekend.
jurors also found Robinson guilty of interfering with the parental custody of Stasi's 4-month-old daughter, Tiffany, and of arranging her illegal adoption to his brother.
Court protects free speech between doctors, patients
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the government cannot revoke doctors' prescription licenses for recommending marijuana to sick patients.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that the Justice Department's policy interferes with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients.
actually revoked.
"An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said.
The 9th Circuit upheld a 2-year-old court order prohibiting the government from stripping doctors of their licenses to dispense medication. The policy was blocked before any licenses were
The dispute is one of several cases resulting from medical marijuana laws on the books in eight states.
The government argued that doctors were aiding and abetting criminal activity for recommending marijuana because it is an illegal drug under federal narcotics laws.
But the appeals court said doctors have a constitutional right to speak candidly with their patients about marijuana without fear of government sanctions.
The court said doctors could get in trouble only if they actually helped patients obtain marijuana. Merely recommending the drug "does not translate into aiding and abetting, or conspiracy," Schroeder said.
The Justice Department had no immediate comment.
Graham Boyd, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney.
had urged the judges to preserve the sanctity of doctor-patient interactions. "That is speech that is protected by the First Amendment," he argued.
The case was brought by patients' rights groups and doctors including Neil Flynn of the University of California at Davis, who said that marijuana may help some patients but that doctors have been fearful of recommending it.
U. S. District Judge William Alsup responded by prohibiting the Justice Department from revoking Drug Enforcement Administration licenses to dispense medication "merely because the doctor recommends medical marijuana to a patient based on a sincere medical judgment."
Alsup's order also prevented federal agents "from initiating any investigation solely on that ground."