The All-American Hamburger Test
EIhe Sltan 1E1t33
Egt y-three years of editorial freedom
Edited and mnanaged by students at the University of Michigan
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
News Phone: 764-0552
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1974
Anunielyesgnaio
LEE GILL'S UNEXPECTED resignation
as president of the Student Govern-
ment Council comes at a very unfortu-
nate time for students on this campus.
The reasons offered, both official and
unofficial, for his resignation are beyond
dispute. Yet the timing is highly unf or-
tunate.
The attacks that Gill has come under
ill recent months have been marked by
their breadth if not their depth. As he
himself said, he has been accused of
"'everything under the sun," and subject
tc' the mostly grossly improper and un-
proven sorts of allegations.
Members of the Council have been be-
hind most of Gill's problems. Through-
out the term of the Council, members of
the Campus Coalition and Screw SGC
parties have consistently vilified Gill's
character and used every available means
to subvert the Council from adopting pro-
gressive stances. The tactics used by
Gill's enemies have been reprehensible.
Yet, throughout all of the chaos, Gill
stood alone time and time again as the
only voice of reason on Council. Gill ap-
pealed for order .in the Council cham-
bers endlessly throughout the meetings.
And only Gill has shown the strength
necessary so far to be able to control the
meetings.
Sports Staff
DAN DORUS
Sports Editor
FRANK LONGO
Managing Sports Editor
BOB McOIN ..............Executive Sports Editor
CHUCK BLOOM .............Associate Sports Editor
JOEL GREER...............Associate Sports Editor
RICH STUCK............Contributing Sports Editor
BOB HEUER ............Contributing Sports Editor
Dmimn Stnf
Business Manager
RYCATALN . ........ Oeationse Maagr
SANDY FIENBURG .............. Finance Manager
DEPT. MO S.:teve LeMire. JaeDunnng ala
Scbwach
Ross, Mark Sacrainte, B u a n n e aTiberlo Kvi
Trimmer
ASST. MGRS. Marlene Katr, Bil licalon
STAFF: Sue DeSinet, Laurie Gross, Debbie Novess,
SALEPEOPL: W endci Pobs, Torn Kettinger, 3rie
Phillips, Pe t e r Anders, R 0 be r t Fischer, Paulo
Schwach, Jack Mazzara, John Anderson
Dennis Dismae (forecaters)ma aioad
Photography Staff
DAVID MARGOLICK
Chief Photographer
TOAS GOTTLIEB..........Staff hotorpher
STEVE KAGAN.........Staff Photographer
KAREN KASMAUSI. .... ...Staff Photographer
TERRY MCCARTHY ............Staff Photographer
JOHN UPTON ..........Staff Photographer
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Della Di Pietro, Michael Duweck,
Charles Stein, Ted Stein, Sue Stephen-
son
Editorial Page: Ted Hartzell, M a r n i e
Heyn, Eric Schoch -
Arts Page': Diane Levick, Mara Shapiro
Photo Technician: Karen Kasmauski
ND DESPITE the unparalleled broad-
Asides on his character, Gill has been
triumphant lately. He was able to get the
Council to reverse the reactionary stand
it took on Affirmative Action and the
BAM demands. He beat a trumped-up as-
sault charge in court with a glossy tri-
umph. Clearly, Gill was asserting the up-
per hand.
Through his victories Gill had cleared
the path for action, and there was every
reason to suspect the new year would
bring some tanglible action from a Coun-
cil which has done nothing in the way of
programs or achievements. The only pro-
duct of the fall had been words.
But Gill should not be criticized for
his actions. His reasons for ending his
association with SGC are legitimate
enough, and more than one council per-
son has seen academics slide due to the
heavy time commitment involved.
THE REAL LOSS of course, will be to the
students, as replacement leadership
of the caliber offered by Lee Gill is not
easily found. Jeff Schiller means well,
and his intentions are beyond dispute, but
he presently seems to lack the respect
accorded the former president. Whether
Schiller proves himself capable of rising
to the occasion and providing dynamic
leadership Is open for speculation.
First steps
BETTER LATE than never, as they say.
Federal energy chief William Simon an-
nounced Thursday that Energ Office In-
vestigators along with the Internal Reve-
nue Service would begin auditing the
price, supply and profit records of the na-
tion's petroleum refineries.
In doing so, Simon and the Federal
Energy office apparently submitted to
growing criticism of the government's
blind faith in the uncorraborated infor-
mation provided by the industry and its
organizational mouthpieces. Until now,
the only information available had come
from such sources.
It has been apparent for several
months that the main beneficiaries of the
energy crisis could be the petroleum in-
dustry, especially in light of its total mo-
nopoly of the relevant data.
Hopefully, not only will the audit pro-
gram provide accurate information on
the exact extent of the energy shortage
in the midst of conflicting media re-
ports, it will provide stronger tools to
regulate, industry prices and profits.
However, this is no call for unrestrain-
ed euphoria. The methods and effective-
ness of the auditing process will deserve
close scrutiny. A long-necessary action
has been taken, nevertheless.
Now, with added information seeming-
ly available soon to deal with the short-
age, it is imperative that the country be-
gin exploration of new lifestyles and en-
ergy sources that will not destroy the en-
vironment, while dealing with the prob-
lems at hand.
By KEN McELDOWNEY
G EORGE AND MARY Conklin of
San Francisco used to eat
their hamburger rare until o n e
night George had to make a mid-
night dash to the emergency room
of the local hospital. Chances are
what caused the trip was the bac-
teria that had crawled into the
package of meat they had fixed
that night.
Now when the Conklins have to
eat hamburger they make sure it
is well-done. However, even that is
no tenough to kill all the bce ria
packages of hamburger sold to
American consumers each year.
Hamburger, the central fixture
in the American dietary pantheon,
is under scrutiny for the f i r s t
tme. Tests, conducted by consum-
er organiza'tin isenmao
U.S. citis have turnedup enough
bacteria in many samples of meat
(taken right from supermarket
counters) to cause anything from
an upset stomach to food poison-
ing.
CONDITIONS IN slaughterhous-
es and meat packing plants have
improved greatly since Upton Sin-
clair's classic book The J u n g I e
was published in 1906. Until now,
though, little attention has been
paid to conditions in supermarkets
where most of the hamburger that
winds up on the dinner table to
ground and packaged.
But starting with Consumers Un-
ion's extensive meat testing in
1971, there has been heightened in-
terest in what invisible beings con-
sumers are carrying home with
them in those clear plastic pack-
ages. The Consumers Union test,
conducted in Philadelphia, found
20 per cent of the meat purchased
contained a bacteria count indicat-
ing the meat had started to spoil.
Hamburger was chosen for the
test because it is handled m o r e
than any other cut of meat. If there
is contamination in supermarket
meat, it will show up first in ham-
burger.
After several newspapers across
the country conducted tests of their
own, discovering contamination of
hamburger was wide-spread, news-
papers and TV stations in seven
a ordinaed nationwide te With
the help of national consumer or-
ganizations, the All-American
Hamburger Test was born.
ON THE SAME DAY in e ach
city, reporters purchased hambur-
ger from the meat counters of
America's largest supermarket
chains for a series of sophisticat-
ed laboratory analyses. The results,
while far less dramatic than the
old stories of rats ground up into
sausage rolls, were potentially as
dangerous from a health stand-
point.
Fecal contamination was found in
two-thirds of al Ithe samples test-
ed. Fecal bacteria originate in the
intestines of animals and people.
They can enter hamburger in sev-
eral ways: butchers failing to wash
their hands after using the toilet,
a sewage line backing up and seep-
ing into waterlines used to clean
grinders and processing areas, or a
butcher accidentally slittmng open
the intestines of an animal dur-
ing processing.
In Louisville, Philade'phia, and
St. Petersburg, all the meat pur-
chased by reporters contained fe-
cal contamination. The offendng
sumamma.,,..........W.WmAa s.VX.V4.V......
"Many times . .. left-over hunks of ground beef
sit in a grinder for as long as eight to twelve hours
in a poorly refrigerated room-a process which,
somehow, does not transgress state standards.
suammmmsammmm.amaamsmsgsma
stores read like a Who's Who of
supermarket chains: A&P, Safe-
way, Kroger, Jewel Tea, Wirn
Dixie and Lucky.
GEORGE POLLAK, chief of Con-
sitmers Union's food division, who
served as technical consultant, says
that even the slight est trace of
fecale contamination should cause
the meat to be unmuited for human
consumption.
"It causes sourness and spoil-
age of meats and, in sufficient
:esting of all was done, 23 of 30
samples (chosen from the meat
counters of San U'ranciszas best
supermarkets) il'vfle-l Cbnsumers
Unions' upper limit of acceptabil-
ity.
STATE AND L0cAL laws are
noticeably lax on athe subject and
meat inspections in many cities are
irregular at best. Eight San Fran-
cisco supermarke's had not been
checked by meat inspecor; in
over a year.
rooms, and improper storage of in-
secticides. Five of the stores, in-
cluding two Safeway marets, were
branded the "worst"' is the San
Francisco area for repeated vio-
lations and carelessness.
CALIFORNIA'S standards of san-
itation are probably more rigid
than those in most states, ye+ they
are weak indeed. There are no
temperature requirements for wat-
er used in washing (Consumers
Union recommends 180 degrees).
srilizersn wthout which cmtin-1
mnated equipment will infect batch
after batch of meat. Wooden workC
surfaces and sawdust on the floor,
both of which harbor bacteria, are
allowed. (Wood is particularly hard
to clean, because of scratches and
nicks.)
With the exception of the state
of Oregon and a small rnumbe- of
cities, there are no standards for
maximum bacteria cont in meat,
nor are there adequate standards
for sanitary conditions in m e a t
departments.
George and Mary Conkli are
warier these days anout buying
meat. But without a microscope
and their own testing lab, they
iave no alternative but to take their
chances on badly inspected nmeat
marlCets or become vegetarians.
Ken McEldowney is a free larice
journalist living in the Bay area.
He was co-directo of h Al
American Hamburger Test for San
Francisco's co'nsuner - orsented
mnagazine The Bay Area Guardian.
Copyright - Pacific News Serv-
ice, 1973.
amounts, can cause food poison-
ing," Pollak says. "Its presence
in meat is unacceptabAe because
it indicates the potential presence
of still other disease-causing or-
ganisms.
Each sample of meat was also
tested for Coliform bacteria which
produces odors and sliminess in
hamburger and -which can cause
mild food poisoning. Virtually ail
129 samples of meat contained
more than the 100 Colifotrm bacteria
per gram that Consumers Union
considers a reasonable limit. Two-
thirds of the samides exceeded the
1,000 per gram limit which Con-
sumers Union considers the upper
limit of acceptability.
In Bostor, Chicago, Dayton and
Louisville, reporters found some
meat with Coliform counts ex'.eed-
ing 100,000 per gram. Ini San Fran-
cisco, where the most extensive
Even stores whicn scrupulously
abide by state regujations often
find high bacteria counts in their
hamburger. Many times, fur ex-
ample, left-over hunes of ground
beef sit in a grinder for as long
as eight to twelve hours in a
poorly refrigerated room - a pro-
cess which, somehow, does act
transgress state standards.
The unlucky cus-omer who gets
the first package of meat out of
the next grind is likely to get a
walloping dose of bacteria invisible
to the naked eye but as liveby as a
medievay orgy under a microscope
In the San Francisco area, vir-
tnally all the 86 supermarkets
checked had at least one major
sanitary violation ii the last iS-
24 months. The most frequent were
flaking paint and plaster, impro-
per refrigeration, dirty equipment,
rodent infestation, dirty b a t h-
Lettrs: ustie
for
Palestinians
Tfo The Daily:
FOR THE SECOND time in two
months an anti-Arab racist state-
ment appears on the pages of The
Daily, this time in the form of a
letter to the editor, dated Jan. 8.
The previous one was a paid ad-
vertisement full of vile pronounce-
ments and hate messages. The out-
rageous claim made by the letter
writer was to the effect that the
Palestinians do not exist, adding
insult to injury. He asked, "what
are their credentials for statehood.?
...their unique language ...
unique culture . . . unique reli-
gion?" He brilliantly concluded
that they have none! Nothing
unique, anyway.
In the op-inion of the letter writer
'the fat that Palestiians share the
100 million people disqualifies them
from having a language of their
own; the fact thati they enjoy
more than 2000 years of a rich cul-
tural heritage does not suffice for
them to have a culture; and that
both Islam and Christianity do not
constitute religions good enough
for a group with which to identify.
According to this weird logic and
warped thinking, the Americans
are not entitled to statehood be-
cause their language is spoken
elsewhere, their religion shared
with, other nations, and their cul-
ture a mixture of many!
Other frivolous remarks and vile
distortions were made by the let-
ter writer, disregarding historical
facts and figures. Political expe-
diency may tempt a partisan advo-
cate to distort and exaggerate.
However, no one in his right mind
ever denied the existence of the
Palestinian people, their history,
their cultural heritage, and their
identity. I am a Palestinian, but
according to the writer I do not
exist!
The facts are as follows: First,
the land of Canaan, later called
Palestine, as settled by the Cana-
anites who were there before the
Hebrews and some modern day
Palestinians are descendants of the
original inhabitants (Canaanites,
Amorites, Arameans, Arabs and
.Jews!); this was 1300 years be-
fore Moses led the Hebrews to
Palestine.
Second, in 1948, over 700,000
Palestinians were terrified into
leaving their homes, farms, and
property; at the time of the Par-
tition Planof 1947,f th Jtews owned
Palestine and constituted aboit
one-third of the population; in 1918,
Jews constituted only 7 per cent
of the total population of Pales-
tine
Third, the Palestinians of today
are part of the Arab nation, shar-
ing a common long history, a
common language, and a common
destiny. Their status was and con-
tinues to be no different than the
Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqis, Egyp-
tians, or other fellow Arabs.
Before Israel, they lived in
thriving cities, had prosperous and
productive farms, and enjoyed the
highest standard of living in the
Arab World. They agree with the
nationally syndicated columnist,
Jenkin Lloyd Jones (Ann Arbor
News, May 12, '73) that "the in-
gathering of the exiles to the new
Zion may prove to have been the
worst idea of modern times." They
also agree with Israeli journalist,
Yeshayau Ben Porat, wvho has close
ties to Defense Minister Dayan,
about the characterization of Zion-
ism. He wrote, ". . . frankness
with the outside world and the
Israeli people will eliminate mis-
understandings and rip aside the
veil of hypocrisy covering many of
our actions . .."
And finally, the facts are that
the Zionist occupation of Palestine
which led to the forced dispersal
of the Palestinian Arabs cannot
annull the Palestinian personality,
and that there ill be no true po-
litical to the Arab-Israeli conflict
until the rights and demands of
more than one million Palentin-
ians, now livig in exile, are taken
-t osideaher Mohammed
Jan. 11
l,'riawli A robs
To The Daily:
WITH ALL the varied reactions
to the latest round of war in the
Mid-East, it seems to be a good
time to set the scene on the Israeli
internal situation. It seems that
the Arab supporters at this univer-
sity and the rest of the country
harp on the oppression of Arabs in
Israel. I feel the notion should be
changed.
El Anba, the newspaper of the
Arab branch of the Israeli or-
ganization, The Histadrut, had an
interview with the Arab mayor of
Nazareth, Seif en Din el Zuabi
(who is also a member of the Is-
raeli parliament). He hailed the
enthusiasm with which thousands
of Arab citizens volunteered f o r
work in the kibbutzim, to donate
blood and to contribute to the vol-
untary war loan.
He said, Israeli Arabs had prov-
ed their loyalty to Israel and iden--
tified themselves with the securny
and well-being of the state. "The
bombs do not discriminate b e -
tween, Arabs and Jews," he said,
noting the Syrian. rocket .ittack on
a Druse village near the Golan
Heights. .
El Anba printed pictures of Arab
women from Nazareth and Haifa
distributirng sweets and soft drinks
to soldiers. Also in the paper were
pictures of Arab farmers sending
fruit to the front, offering tog do-
nate their vehicles and helping with
civil defense work. In an editorial
vie w E l e A b s a , th e s e ffo rt
Arabs can live together and co-
operate even in times of unen war-
fare between Israel and her neigh-
bors,.
The Arab manager of the Naz-
areth branch of the Israel Dis-
count Bank, Janal Saad sail, "for
us, Israel is our country, we don't
want any other." Another Nazar-
eth Arab told a Jerusalem Post
reporter, "we have no sons in the
Army (Arabs are not subject to
army service), food supplies are
normal, life has not been disrupt-
ed, and the least we can do is to
show our identification with the
war effort."
There are 400,000 Israeli Arabs,
but in this war there was not one
single~ act by any of them, direct
or indirect, against the security of
Irerted not a singl inciet be-
tween Arab and Jewish prisoners
in Israeli jails, while 700 prisoners',
bot rArabs and Jews, gae blood
to knit woolen caps for soidiers
in the Golan and Sinai. Others
made gift packages of cha1,tick,
paper tissues, soap, nail lippers,
shaving cream, chewing gun, dried
fruit, nuts, to send to soldiers. A
greeting in Hebrew and Arabic
went into each tiackage. By Oc-
tober 24, 350,000 such gift parcels
were sent. Other Arab women set
up roadside stands to offer free
food and drinks to passing sold-
iers. One Arab woman was touch-
ed when a Jewish soldier, speak-
ing for his group said in Arabic,
"All honor to the women of Na..
areth."
Though he is an Arab, Arabs
outside Israel think of him first as
an Israeli. Though he is an Is-
raeli, Jews had thought of him
first as an Arab. But Nv'at the
Yom Kippur War has demonstraz-
ed to the Israeli Jew is zhat the
outside Arabswertright - srael
Sa nford I .ein '77
To The Doily:
AS ALMIGHTY COD, I greet
you.
I want to thank all the Editors
and Publishers who sent a response
tO Our last Letter.
Faith can be locked up in Virtue,
if the recipient aolws glory to
enter into his heart. Lveh can
conquer fear - as in th eart
ofa enew brn bab e., orLbn
GOD, to help all the Editors and
Publishers in the w orld to gain
new hope; To establs a Fa it
tannt alvte perils, of the Universe
I can enhance your Hope, so a
troubled heart will not grieve, but
will grow strong in stature a'nd as
unmovable as the proverbiaul house
built upon a rock. Even bell's fire
could not prevail against it.
There may be mongrels w h 0
mock Mv Word, but their live now
'and in the Hereafter is short-lived.
With your hand in Mine, We can
elevate to a greater Glory than
ever be attained in your journey
through life alone.
As Almighty GOD, I have Dic-
tated this Letter to you through My
beloved Son who wrote down My
Very Sacred Words. With a reluc-
tant but fond farewell, I elose this
Holy Letter which only My Son
will sign. As you may already
know, My Holy Name is void of
form.
Eugene Changey
December 15, 1973-
past wisdom
To The Daily:
YOU MAY BE interested ir the
following quotation:
"I would like to run the meet-
ing somewhat on the basis of the
SGC meetings. They seenm to be
very efficiently run, but yet every-
thing is properly considered." -
Bill Diamond, Engineering Coun-
cil President, Sept. 13, 1955
-Paul Heiss '75
President, Engineering
Council
Jan. 11
The Editorial Page of The
Michigan Daily is open to any-
one who w is he s to subnmit
articles. Generally speaking, all
articles should be less than 1,000
words.
The long~~ bitrsac
for an acceptabl hertage
By JOHN BODINE
JT WAS QUITE some time ago
that I left my boyhood home
and wandered to Ann Arbor to
seek my future; and although I
still don't understand why I made
that cursed decision, I've come
to understand a little better the
malady that has afflicted me -
and I'd like to share that know-
ledge with you.
I was born in a small town.
I Missouri.
And (can I say it?) I have an
ack-say-ent.
In short, friends and readers, the
following is the sordid confession
of a downstater (in Missouri, those
squalid life I left for what it truly
is.
I remember when I was 10 ...
my daddy sent me to the grocery
and feed store one Sunday to buy
a New York Times. I remember
passing men in worn, faded cover-
alls - men who weren't students
wearing coveralls that weren't pre-.
faded: The shame, now I see it
for what it is, the shame! And I ,
remember asking Mr. Rurton for
"The New York' Times"' - and
my ears burn to remember his re-
ply. He smiled and winked and
said, "Well son, I don't reightly
know but if you add an hour to
Central Standard, I betchu'il come
" And my brother, he worked at that grocery and
feedstore, and 1w, he wore shirts to work, and
he came home smelling of sweat and oats. Dis-
gusting, I know, but I must continue, I must."
everybody knows about St. Louis,
but who knows about Potosi? And
who wanted to sound just like Johr-
ny Carson when, without even try-
ing, you could sound just I i k e
Dennis Weaver? Little did I know
until I arrived in liberal, academic
cosmopolita . . . little dlid I know.
I BEGAN LEARNING of my de-
bility soon after arriving here. At
the bus station a studenit noticed
my jean jacket and offered to give
me a ride to campus.
"Thay-anks," I said and sudden-
ly his warm manner iced up. ,
"What's happening, baby?" his
girlfriend said. He pointed to the
dekalb patch I had sown on my
jacket and her mouth dropped
open.
''Oh wow," she said, "like, bum-
"Iis," he said to me, '"we
aren't bigots like you, you redneck
honky, so you better tno'v your
place." His face was purple, his
featurkescontorted n rage.yur
down on abortion, right)? Up on
Vietnam? Well, I'm a liberal, hay-
seed, I worked for Gene McCar-
thy; I own every record Dyian
ever made; I read the New Yo-k
-Times; and I ain't from no goodam
outstate jackshit town! So you
watch your step, boy, you just
watch your step!"
lIE WHEELED and stomped
j~A1l ~
afflicted with this crippling illness
are referred to as being "from
down state"), and of my unsuccess-
ful attempt to cure myself in the
liberal bosom of Ann Arbor.
I WAS BORN in a small tnwn
named Potosi which lay 75 miles
SSW of St. Louis and squatted on
the rusted foothills of the Ozark3.
It wvas a tiny town of frame hotis-
close." He had smiled and patted
my head at the time - ani how
could he have? Could Faulkner
have imagined worse?
AND MY BROTHER, he worked
at that grocery and feed stwre. and
he, he wore worn shorts to work,
and he came home smelling Of
sweat and, oats. Disgusting, I
know, but I must continue, I must.
LArrEe- DA~~? I~Rb.ELlit4 VJM~OG2t~& 40 Y~A2~ w~ 1~G ~fLC~J~
IA~A~ '~
me