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Page Two
THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Friday, August 10, 1973
As every North Carolina
housewife knows, the price of
food has jumped skyhigh
recently. The 6>mmittM on
Government Operations, of
which I am Chairman, and the
Comptroller General of the
United States have in
dependently compiled very
detailed hearings and reports
on why this rise took place in
order to prevent such drastic
food price rises from occurring
in the future. Both the Com
mittee and the Comptroller
General have attributed much
of the recent jump in the cost of
food to gross mismanagement
of the Russian wheat deal by the
Department of A(p1culture.
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I am certainly not against
increased U. S. trade with
foreign nations. I believe, in the
case of U. S.-Russian trade, it
could contribute to better
relations between the world’s
two largest powers. Un-
fortunately, the
mismanagement of the Russian
wheat deal seriously depleted
the supply of grain here at home
and the price of wheat and feed
grains went up. Therefore, the
price of everything related to
grain went up and that includes
almost all the basic food
Americans eat.
After discussing in great
detail the mismanagement of
the Russian wheat deal, the
Comptroller General, a non
partisan, independent in
vestigative office, concluded;
“Consumer costs attributed
to the (Russian wheat) sales
included higher prices for bread
and flour-based products, in
creased prices for beef, pork,
poultry, eggs, and dairy
products resulting from higher
costs for feedgrains, and a
severe disruption of tran
sportation facilities with at
tendant higher costs and
shortages or delays in
delivering certain supplies.”
The facts surrounding the
grain deal are as follows: in
July and August 1972 wheat
sales to Russia by six large
American grain companies
totaled 440 million bushels
valued at about $700 million.
Hie Russian wheat deal was the
largest single wheat sale in
history, comprising over 25
percent of annual U. S. wheat
production. Much of the wheat
sold to the Russians was pur
chased by the grain companies
from U. S. farmers who did not
then know of the huge Russian
deal, and who sold at prices far
below those that ^ould have
ix'evailed had the Russian sale
been disclosed.
There is evidence, uncovered
by the Senate Government
Operations Committee, that the
Department of Agriculture
knew in early July of the
existence and size of the sale by
the grain companies to the
Russians. The Department
apparently felt no obligation to
communicate these facts to the
American farmer, even though
the Agricultural Act of 1954
specifically directs the
Department to assist
“American farmers....to adjust
their operations and practices
to meet world conditions.” The
Comptroller General was
equally upset about this failure
to tdl the American farmer the
truth about the grain deal and
llB stfltcd*
“Although Agriculture has
fairly reliable data on general
crop conditions and significant
changes in worldwide supply
and &mand, farmers generally
were not provided timely in-
Peanut butter is one of
America’s most popular foods,
and one of its most versatile as
well. In addition to the peren
nial favorite peanut butter and
jeliy sandwiches, peanut butter
goes into candy, cookies, cakes,
salads and even soups!
Peanut butter not only tastes
good, but it’s also good for you.
It si^plies proteins, vitamins,
miner^s and fats necessary to
a balanced diet. The U. S.
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) acknowledges the
nutritive value of peanut butter
by incorporating it into its food
distribution programs for needy
persons and school lunches.
AMS inspectors first open
sample jars of peanut butter to
check the spread’s aroma. Top
quality peanut butter''smells
like freshly roasted peanuts.
The inspectors then spread the
formati(Hi...to help them make
sound decisions.”
In other words, the American
farmer as well as the con
sumer suffered at the hanos ui
the Department of Agriculture
and the big grain companies.
Furthermore, knowing of the
desperate Russian n^ for
large quanitiUes of wheat to
cover their o.vn shortages in
1972, and knowing that the U. S.
was the only supplier in the
world market at that time, the
Department assured the grain
companies that the U. S.
government would continue to
pay them a subsidy on every
bushel sold to foreign buyers
and that such subsidy would
continue at current levels in
definitely. Considering the
information available to USDA
at the time regarding conditions
in the world wheat market, the
Department’s policy of con
tinuing subsidy payments was
at best a monumental blunder,
a conclusion which is supported
by the Comptroller General.
Moreover, if the Department
knew specifically of the size of
the Russian sale, failure to
disclose this information and
maintaining the subsidy
payments resulted in grave
injuries to the farmer and the
taxpayer. By the time the
Department was finally forced
by rising wheat prices to phase
out the subsidy in late Sep
tember the cost to the taxpayer
was well over $300 million. The
Comptroller General concluded
that ‘‘....Agriculture should
have responded more rapidly to
the available information and
reduced or eliminated the
subsidies sooner.”
It is obvious that the
American tajqiayer, housewife,
and farmer are now paying
painfully for the mistakes of the
Department of Agriculture.
WiU) possible sales of grain to
the Chinese now in the news, let
us hope that the Administration
has profited by the lessons of
last year.
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peanut butter on a clean, white
tray to determine its
spreadability, and test it under
controlled lifting to check its
color.
The inspectors compare the
peanut butter’s color to their
standard color guide to assure
that the peanut butter has been
roasted to the proper medium
brown. Too light or too dark a
color may mean that the peanut
butter will have a bitter, burned
or raw flavor. Finally, the in
spectors taste the peanut butter
to determine if the flavor is
clean, fresh, and has the right
sugar-salt balance.
U.- S. Grade A (or U. S.
Fancy) peanut butter is the best
quality. It is made from U. S.
No. 1 shelled peanuts and rates
high in color, consistency,
absence of defects, flavor and
aroma. Only a few commercial
brands of peanut butter
currently carry the USDA
grade shield. Most plants,
however, employ their own
quality control personnel to
evaluate the product and see to
it that it meets their
specifications, generally based
on the USDA quality grade
standards.
The great unitv which true
science seeks is found only by
beginning with our knowledge
God, and coming down from
him along the stream of
causation to every fact and
event that affects us.—Howard
Crosby.
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TILE CONTRACTOR
637-5418
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NEW Bern. N. C.
JOHN ZAYTOUN
OWNER
DILL COW7LL
MANAGER