University Daily Kansan/Wednesday, January 13, 1988
9B
Program would boost beef consumption, industry says
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — For the third time in little more than a decade, the beef industry is gearing up to persuade cattle producers to pay for a permanent national promotion and research program.
Per capita beef consumption has dropped to a quarter-century low, millions of consumers are concerned about the role of red meat in their diets, and competing supplies of poultry and pork are giving cattle producers a run for the consumer dollar.
So advocates of the self-help program said a massive shot in the sirloin was needed to help stimulate beef consumption and calm consumer worries.
Other attempts failed in 1977 and 1980. This time Congress gave proponents a head start by authorizing the fees on a temporary basis until producers could vote on whether to keep the program.
Cattle producers began paying the $1 fee on each head marketed on Oct. 1, 1986, to finance a variety of promotion activities, including television commercials by celebrities like Cybill Shepherd and James Garner.
But the Food Security Act of 1985 also said a national referendum must be held within 22 months. A majority of those voting is required for approval before the checkoff program can be made permanent.
The Agriculture Department acts as overseer, although the operation of the program rests with a 113-member committee consisting of cattle producers and importers.
Jo Ann Smith of Micanopy, Fla., a former president of the National Cattlemen's Association, is chairman of the board and is heading up an information campaign.
"It's very important that all beef producers who are eligible to vote make an effort to become informed about the demand-building program the beef checkoff is funding," she said.
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Per capita beef consumption has dropped to a quarter-century low. Millions of consumers are concerned about the role of red meat in their diets.
In the program's first year, state and national collections totaled more than $73 million. Under terms of the program, 41 states with beef councils were allowed to keep half for their own operations, with the other half forwarded to the board.
Importers were assessed more than $5.2 million, all of which went to the board for national projects. Assessments for the nine states without their own councils totaled $390,498 and went directly to the national board.
All told, the national board said it got $42.3 million the first year to finance national promotion and marketing of its $6 million waiver was reserved for refunds.
Industry leaders said beef had been getting a bum rap from some "extreme" health advocates who recommended cutting out red meat altogether or at least curbing the American appetite for hamburgers and juicy steaks.
While acknowledging that too much fat can be a health problem, the beef people said they had taken steps to emphasize and produce leaner product to satisfy modern wants. Also, they had seen per capita consumption weaken in recent years, reflecting lower production and demand.
Records kept by the DSA show that Americans enjoyed a beef-eating binge for many years, as growing affluence put more steaks and roasts on family tables, and as fast-food dishes made triggered hamburger munching.
consumption grew in most years,
rising from an average of 64.2
pounds, retail weight, to 82 pounds by
the end of the decade.
In 1976, Americans consumed a per capita average of 94.4 pounds of beef, the high-tide mark. Last year, according to the USDA, per capita beef consumption was 76.4 pounds. The projected 1988 average for U.S. beef consumption is 73.1 pounds.
Through the 1960s, per capita beef
Pork consumption, meanwhile,
showed much less change, averaging
60.3 pounds per capita in 1960 and
projected at 63.7 pounds in 1988.
But poultry has been the most impressive gainer, rising from a per capita average consumption of about 34 pounds in 1960 to more than 70 pounds in 1985. Last year, total poultry consumption averaged about 78 pounds per person, and in 1988 it may be nearly 83 pounds.
The board has recommended to the USDA that the nationwide referendum be held on May 10, 1988. The department is studying the proposal but has not announced a decision.
Some guidelines have been established, which the board said will be reflected in the USDA's official rules:
- Voting and registration for the referendum will take place on the same day and will be held at county extension offices. Absentee ballots will be available from state extension offices and must be returned to county offices.
Anyone who has owned a bovine animal during a specified period of time will be eligible to vote. Family ownership, corporations and partnerships will be entitled to one vote. Also, 4-H and FFA members who have beef projects (beef, dairy or veal) will be entitled to one vote.
The national checkoff to finance beef promotion and research has failed in the past to gain the required approval of cattle producers.
MILLIS, Mass. — This town is for the birds, especially this time of year, but that's just fine with the folks hosting the nation's largest bird watch.
Town becomes roost for birders
The Associated Press
Some 260 people aimed binoculars and cameras at their feathered friends for the 1987 Millis Christmas Bird Count, spotting 72 species, according to Brian Cassie, leader of the count for seven years.
Among the more unusual species noted were a mute swan and a black skerder, which is a black seabird or a red-knobbed bill, Cassie said.
Though there are 1,800 Christmas bird counts across the United States and Canada every year, more people count birds in Millis, about 20 miles southwest of Boston, every Christmas than anywhere else in the United
Bird counts were started around 1900 to keep track of bird migrations, and bird watchers claim the Christmas counts constitute the largest amount of fieldwork in science.
States, Cassie said.
During this year's count at the Broadmoor wildlife sanctuary near Millis, bird watchers also spotted a sharp-shinned hawk and a fish crow, which is smaller than an American crow and has a distinctive caw.
The bird watchers' information is compiled in one annual issue of American Birds magazine, Cassie said. Biologists and other researchers examine the data gathered from bird counts to learn more about migration patterns and other bird behavior.
Some changes in bird behavior over the years are obvious even to
the amateur, Cassie said. One change has been the result of an increase in dumps, shopping malls and fast-food restaurants, he said.
"When these counts started, gulls had a hard time making it through the winter," he says. "But now, they roost for the night on the coast, get up in the morning and fly to the dump for breakfast."
Cassie's favorite type of birding is owl-watching. During the Christmas bird count, he and other bird watchers went on an owl-walk at Stoneybrook Wildlife Sanctuary in Norfolk at 3 a.m. Dec. 19. Among other sights, they saw a screechowl with a shrew in its talons.
Christmas bird counts are a great way to get others interested in birding, said Cassie, 34, of Foxboro.
Upwardly mobile housewares on display during Chicago international exposition
The Associated Press
Sponsors of the show said this year's products target consumers who value quality of life and style — and can afford to pay for it.
CHICAGO — A pocketbook-size device that can translate spoken English into four languages and a "yuppie yardstick" that measures distance by ultrasound were among thousands of gadgets talked about Sunday at an international housewares show.
"People with disposable income want good design and style," said William Ripley, chairman of the board of the National Housewares Manufacturers Association, which sponsored the 87th International Housewares Exposition at the McCormick Place exhibition center.
The exposition features the latest in household items, ranging from a $1,000 cappuccino machine to an oscillating fan that resembles a futuristic robot.
The smart manufacturers brought merchandise with better design and more emphasis on style and quality to the show this year. Ripley said.
German, Italian or Spanish when spoken to in English.
The cordless microcomputer, the size of a pocketbook, will retail for about $1,500 and has a 2,000-phrase memory, said Steve Rondel, president of Advanced Products & Technologies Inc. in New York.
One of the more unusual items being touted is Voice, a voice-activated language translator that speaks French.
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. of Japan displayed a machine that mixes, kneads, and bakes a leaf of homemade bread in three hours. It even has a self-timer so users can add ingredients at bedtime and have hot bread in the morning.
"It's the ultimate yuppie gift." Konderla said about the auto baker, which is being introduced to American distributors. It will sell for $350.
Another item aimed at the upwardly mobile is the Digitape, a handheld device that measures distance by ultrasound. It's dubbed the yuppie yardstick by its makers, International Consumer Brands Inc. of Trumbull, Conn.
The device, the size of a pack of cigarettes, lets the consumer determine distance at the speed of sound by pushing a button.
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