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4A - Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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STEPHANIE STEINBERG
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MICHELLE DEWITT
and EMILY ORLEY
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
NICK SPAR
MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Cultivating new resources
'U' and businesses should utilize local farms
n general, farms are thought of as relics of the past. Many peo-
ple are unaware of how food gets to grocery stores or where
the food one eats comes from. However, federal grants allo-
cated to farm start-ups are an important step in encouraging peo-
4
A Commander and a President
ple to buy and eat local food.
According to an Oct. 20 Michigan Daily
article, the Food System Economic Partner-
ship, a Michigan-based nonprofit organiza-
tion, will receive nearly $92,000 in grant
money from the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture's Farmers Market Promotion Program.
The grant will beused by FSEP to supply Til-
lian Farm Development Center, a local farm
incubator program outside Ann Arbor Town-
ship, with new farming equipment to assist
Michigan-based farm start-ups.
With the assistance of the federal grant,
residents of Southeast Michigan can look
forward to more locally owned farm start-
ups. The grants will lead to the consumption
of more locally grown foods and create jobs
in the area. The University and Ann Arbor
businesses should support these start-ups
by expanding their partnerships with local
farming businesses.
Tilian will provide mentorship, finance
and business planning assistance and farm-
ing equipment for qualified individuals to
start their farms on land provided by the
incubator program. Participants of the pro-
gram who establish their farms in Michigan
will increase the amount of locally grown
foods in restaurants and markets.
People living in urban areas with little
access to fresh or healthy food options -
areas known as food deserts - will benefit as
more locally grown food becomes available.
Many residents who live in these areas don't
have easy access to transportation, but farm-
ers markets that sell fresh produce locally
provide easy access to healthy food options.
Produce stores or markets that plan to open
in these neighborhoods can also benefit from
partnerships with local farmers, who can
provide regular shipments of fresh fruit and
vegetables to fill the aisles at prices residents
can afford.
First Lady Michelle Obama - who was in
Detroit yesterday - has widely campaigned
her "Lets Move" initiative since entering the
White House. Obama is trying to decrease
obesity, particularly in children. In July, she
partnered with Wal-Mart to help open more
than 1,500 stores that would provide fresh
produce in urban areas. In Detroit and other
cities throughout Southeast Michigan, many
neighborhoods lack accessible, affordable
grocery stores. Without fresh and healthy
options, people are more susceptible to obe-
sity and other serious diseases. It is impor-
tant that residents buy healthier foods that
urban gardening and local farms provide.
A study conducted in 2006 by the Michi-
gan Land Use Institute and the C.S. Mott
Group for Sustainable Food showed that
when existing Michigan farms increase their
sales to produce stores, they generate $187
million in revenue, which can create 1,889
new jobs. With Michigan's unemployment
rate at 11.1 percent, these figures are hard to
ignore.
Locally grown food is beneficial for peo-
ple's health and the environment, as these
foods have fewer chemicals and preserva-
tives and require less fuel to transport. But
in order for start-up farms to increase and
exert their economic, environmental and
health benefits, farmers participating in
incubator programs like Tilian must stay in
Michigan. For this to occur, local businesses
and the University need to expand their rela-
tionships with sustainable, local agriculture
businesses.
ast week, Commander in
Chief Barack Obama helped
strategize the killing of yet
another big-time
major enemy
leader, Libyan x
dictator Moam-
mar Gadhafi.
This achieve- '
ment liber-
ates the Libyan
peoplefrom DAR-WEI
Gadhafi's iron-
fisted rule and CHEN
undoubtedly
makes the world
safer.
ForObama, Gadhafi'sdemiseisthe
fourth-major foreign policy triumph:
Besides Gadhafihe successfullyused
a drone attack to kill al Qaeda leader
Anwar al-Awlaki in late September
and he recently announced the Iraq
war would be over by the end of the
year (a campaign promise). And in
a memorable moment this summer,
Obama presided over a covert opera-
tion into Pakistan that led to the
death of Osama bin Laden.
Even with these accomplish-
ments, Obama is still in trouble
for 2012. Commander in Chief is
not his full-time job - he is Presi-
dent Obama too. So far, Obama has
achieved mixed economic results. A
USA Today article last year found
that his stimulus plan, according to
economists, created nearly 3 million
jobs and averted "what could have
been called Great Depression 2.0."
However, the country's unemploy-
ment rate has remained at an unac-
ceptable 9 percent minimum for
almost his entire presidency.
Fair or not, Republicans are going
to slam Obama's economic policies
in an effort to win the 2012 presi-
dential election. However, they will
have ahard time tarnishing his ster-
ling foreign policy record, which
brings up an interesting point: The
juxtaposition of Obama's achieve-
ments in foreign policy and the econ-
omy is somewhat puzzling. How can
someone be so efficient and ruthless
on one front and, at times, be frus-
tratinglyineffective on another?The
GOP will try to explain this through
its core message: Obama has failed
on the economy because he is "in
over his head," in the words of House
Majority Leader Eric Cantor. But
what if another reason existed that
explains Obama's economic woes?
Obama has to work with Congress
to pass legislation. As you might
know, Congress includes people
called Republicans, who are united
with one goal. Cutting down the
national debt? Not according to their
massive tax cuts for the wealthy
and corporations. Advancing the
nation's economy with conservative
solutions? Maybe, but not their top
goal. According to Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell, "the sin-
gle most important thing we want to
achieve is for President Obama to be
a one-term president."
Contrast Obama's predicament
on the economy with what he deals
with when he becomes Command-
er in Chief Obama. Obama can get
deeply involved in the armed forces
and - short of declaring war - can
do almost whatever he wants in
regards to military policy. Repub-
licans cannot do little to stop him
beyond press attacks - admittedly,
one of the few things they do well.
Obama's performances on the
economy and foreign affairs are
more explainable now. When the
GOP purposely tries to bring down
his presidency through intran-
sigence and obstruction, Obama
Gadhafi's death is
another triumph
for Obama.
lus was watered down with ineffec-
tive tax cuts and scaled back aid to
local and state governments. Want
to guess which party championed
the tax cuts and reduced govern-
ment aid? Conservatives might say
that perhaps Obama hasn't per-
formed well on the economy because
economics is not his strong suit
- nothing to do with obstruction.
However, duringhis daysworkingas
a community organizer, Obama spe-
cifically sought out struggling fami-
lies to understand their problems.
If anything, he should have better
ideas about helping those in need
than handling foreign affairs.
When Obama answers to him-
self, he is a dominant force. This
statement is not to say that he has
been ineffective when working
with Congress (a simple Google
search brings up a litany of accom-
plishments) - the point is that
when Obama is not hamstrung by a
radicalized GOP, he has been pret-
ty damn good. Maybe all America
needs is a shot of pure Obama.
-Dar-Wei Chen can be reached
at chendw@umich.edu.
hasn't performed as well as he
would like. For example, Obama's
stimulus plan (for all its merits)
was not large enough, according to
economists including Nobel Prize
winner Paul Krugman.
Krugman says the original stimu-
4
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Patrick Maillet,
Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Teddy Papes, Timothy Rabb,
Vanessa Rychlinski, Caroline Sims, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner
PETER WARD |
Sustaining Dinimg Services
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PATRICK MAILLET I
Beer before liquor...
4
University Dining Services has been
increasing its sustainable initiatives and mak-
ing those initiatives.more visible to students
by purchasing a greater percentage of locally
grown food, increasing composting efforts
and also going trayless (Dining halls going
trayless, 10/12/2011). I applaud the efforts and
agree that the programs will provide success-
ful results, but the solutions taken up by Din-
ing Services appear to only be topical in an
inherently unsustainable system.
The structure of the University's food sys-
tem is the most pertinent in regards to its sus-
tainability; itccan't rely on patch over programs
as a means to an end. Energy use and food
waste are the outliers in the University Dining
Services. Imagine nine industrial kitchens in
University dininghalls preparing thousands of
meals everyday, without the kitchens knowing
exactly how many students will show up for
those meals. I know calculations help deter-
mine numbers and portions, but overproduc-
tion is the only way to ensure availability and
satisfaction of consumers.
I've worked in several kitchens over many
summers and know firsthand just how unsus-
tainable the food industry is. Restaurants
end up spending about 4 percent of revenue
on utilities, equivalent to about two-thirds of
their roughly 6 percent profit. (The approxi-
mately 88 percent remaining is spent on the
cost of food, salaries, etc. according to a 2006-
2007 National Restaurant Association report)
Restaurants use an astounding amount of
resources and continuously run lights, ovens,
ranges, walk-in coolers, sinks and dishwashers
from early morning to late at night. Minimiz-
ing waste, conserving resources and manag-
ing controllable expenditures are all in the
best fiscal interests of restaurants, but these
concerns are dwarfed by the sheer size of our
University. (Actual energy use data is not pro-
vided by Dining Services nor are the standard
operating procedures documented within the
dining halls.) Dining Services has to take a
bottom-up approach to the problem and also
provide transparency in its operations.
Unlike a restaurant, Dining Services
works under a budget rather than working
for a profit - making it a static system. This
static approach undermines the necessity to
conserve or minimize waste if everything is
planned out and essentially purchased for
the following year. There were numerous
comments on the Daily's article regarding
food waste and its relationship with the
quality, or lack thereof, of the food. If Dining
Services is truly concerned about conserving
waste and increasing efficiency, what is
needed is a dynamic system that produces
and responds to the demands and behaviors of
consumers. Dining Services has done a great
job listening to students and implementing
sustainable initiatives, but switching to high
efficiency light bulbs doesn't hide the SUV in
the driveway.
Peter Ward is an LSA junior.
I've got bad news for parents, state Legislatures,
school officials and state authorities: Underage kids
drink alcohol. While I am not speaking on behalf of
everyone under the age of 21, nor am I endorsing under-
age alcohol consumption, t do have some thoughts on
the recent alcohol legislation in Michigan.
On Nov. 1, a new law concerning the sale of beer kegs
will go into effect throughout Michigan. Under the
current keg law, a customer wishing to purchase a keg
simply has to provide an ID, put money down for the
keg deposit and transport the keg to their car without
receiving a hernia. Under the new law, those wishing to
purchase a keg must provide his or her name, driver's
license number, date of birth, address and telephone
number to the store cashier who will then copy this
information onto atag on the keg. If this tag is removed,
the purchaser of the keg is liable to face misdemeanor
charges including up to 93 days in jail and/or up to $500
in fines. These tags will allow police officers to know
exactly who bought the keg, when they bought it and
who sold it to them.
The overall goal of the legislation is so police officers
can identify who is responsible for providing alcohol at
parties they break up. If police were to discover under-
age drinking at a party, they can check the keg tag, trace
the person who bought the keg and charge that person
for serving alcohol to minors - a penalty which includes
up to 60 days in prison and/or a $1,000 fine. With this
liability when buying a keg, one can safely assume that
keg sales in a college town like Ann Arbor will most
likely drop. Strickland Market, a local liquor store on
Geddes Avenue, has already announced that it will stop
selling kegs once the new law goes into effect. For all you
alarmed underage drinkers out there: Don't worry, there
is a solution, and that is where the true problem lies.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder recently passed a sepa-
rate liquor law that pertains strictlyto hard alcohol. Sny-
der's bill, which takes effect next October, will eliminate
the state tax on hard alcohol. This tax elimination will
make hard alcohol cheaper and will most likely cause
liquor sales to rise.
The keg law is meant to limit the amount of beer
served to underage kids, yet the liquor law is meant to
enhance the sale of hard alcohol. I'm not an expert, but
isn't it dangerous to replace beer with hard alcohol? If
people actually replaced each 12 oz beerthatthey drank
with a measured 1.5 oz shot of hard alcohol - which has
the same alcohol content - this wouldn't be a problem.
But I don't remember seeing too many students wielding
measuring cups at the last fraternity party I attended.
State officialsbelieve they can actually curb underage
drinking with this new keg law. Instead, kids will most
likely find substitutes for a keg, like canned beer or hard
alcohol. According to Georgia state officials - one of 30
other states that currently have a similar keg registra-
tion law - there is little evidence to prove that this type
of law leads to a conclusive decline in underage drink-
ing. State officials claimed that kids in Georgia were
now more likely to replace their kegs with hard alcohol.
Imagine the effect this keg law will have in a state that is
simultaneously lowering its liquor tax.
Kids are going to drink no matter what law is put in
place. Authorities can work toward limiting underage
alcohol consumption - oftentimes effectively - but
eventually, kids will find a way to bypass the law and
obtain alcohol illegally. When kids replace beer with
hard alcohol, that's when people can seriously get hurt.
When you see a kid being carted out of the Big House on
game day after drinkingtoo much, odds are it wasn't the
beer that almost killed him. Didn't we learn anything
from the "Four Loko" fad of 2010?
While state authorities obviously have to fight under-
age drinking, forcing kids into situations in which buy-
ing hard alcohol is easier than beer is not the answer. If
state officials seriously want to stop kids from drinking,
they're going to have to be much more delicate with the
situation than this. So to the party animals, fraternity
stars and the innocent freshman, enjoy your keg beer
this Halloween because the Ann Arbor party scene
could drastically change next Tuesday.
Patrick Maillet is an LSA sophomore.