Bill Linneman

July 10, 2008

Ptomaine tomatoes

 

Cattle feeding was completely different 70 years ago when localized and small. The calves were usually home-raised on their mother’s milk and clover pasture and contributed their manure to the richness of the soil.

They would be corn fed a few weeks, and at age 18 months loaded on Lyle Fuller’s slat-sided cattle truck. There might be 20 calves, ten tons of beef, hides and hoofs, offal and brains. If they were destined for Peoria you could leave at six AM and get there for the market’s opening at seven.

But if headed for Chicago you might leave at four and not get to the Stockyards on South Halsted Street until eight. Route 66 in those days ran through the middle of towns, and there was one every ten miles. Towanda, Lexington, Chenoa, Pontiac, etc.

Chicago streets were jammed with double lanes of streetcar tracks, trolleys showering sparks from the overhead electric wire. Delivery trucks were double parked as though they had taken root. Horse carts, Chevrolet, Model-A, Studebaker and DeSoto vied for space.

But four hours was still good time. Your calves wouldn’t have lost much weight or become de-hydrated. They would be bought by Swift or Armour, and a gentleman of Slavic origin would welcome them to Chicago with a sledge hammer between the eyes.

Then they would be elevated by a back leg, drained of blood, their hides stripped, and the viscera (heart, liver, lungs) pulled out. The 300 pound sides would be lugged into refrigerated railroad cars for Detroit or Milwaukee.

If they had been stamped “prime” they might be destined for New Jersey to be butchered for New York restaurants and hotels like the Waldorf Astoria. My father, once when going through a packing plant, commented on the prime quality of a hanging beef.

“Huh, that ain’t for the likes of you,” retorted a burly beef cutter. “That goes back East for insurance executives in places like Patterson, New Jersey.” Those Eastern insurance executives would be more inclined to live in Westchester County or Connecticut.

Nine hundred miles, of course, was a considerable distance to ship, but the rail transportation of those days was far more economical than trucks today. In fact the whole operation was simpler then.

Steers now are trucked 400 miles from South Dakota to Kansas, where standing on shit piles they eat corn trucked 800 miles from Illinois. Then after slaughtering, the meat is trucked 1600 miles to New York in refrigerated trucks. That requires a lot of fuel.

Michael Pollan in The Omnivore’s Dilemma encourages the use of local food products. This recommendation is not necessarily a matter of freshness or an advocacy for farmers’ markets.

The necessity for local products stems from his concern about our heavy use of fossil fuels. “One fifth of America’s petroleum consumption goes to producing and transporting our food.” Transportation costs will probably force us to utilize local markets.

Local production has been defined as anything produced within 100 miles. Vandalia and Rochelle would become our southern and northern boundaries. That extension should increase our fresh tomato season another month.

We may no longer be able to afford Mexican produce. Whether of not the salmonella outbreak this spring had its origin with Mexican tomatoes has become a moot question. The high cost of transportation will prohibit Mexican produce. But we can get disease just as readily from American.

The spinach E. coli epidemic in 2006 was traced to California’s Earthbound Farm which Pollan considers an “industrial” organic farm. Earthbound raises and packages pre-washed salads from some 25,000 acres. One field was near a cattle feedlot.

Origins of food contamination are difficult to trace. There is a federal statute requiring country of origin labels for meat and vegetables. But Republican Congresses have delayed the implementation of this act. Labeling of food is presently done on a volunteer basis.

I don’t know what to recommend for meat production. I doubt that we are going to return to old style farming. But some cattle feeding could be located closer to East Coast population centers, like in central Pennsylvania.

Illinois corn would still have to be hauled in, but trucking calves 2000 miles from South Dakota would be very expensive. What about using reclaimed coal mine grasslands in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky? These ranches could produce feeder calves for Pennsylvania feed lots.

Food production needs to be changed for US, and saving energy is only one reason. There’s a crying need to improve food safety. In the winter of 2008 an undercover video showed crippled and sick cows being fork lifted to slaughter at a California packer that supplies beef for the National School Lunch Program.

During the investigation, it was charged that a shortage of meat inspectors exists because the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not been filling vacancies. Too much of today’s inspection seems after the fact. The government waits until there’s an epidemic before inspecting.

Inspection used to be preventative. Fifty-seven years ago when I worked in meat packing, an inspector could shut us down immediately if he discovered a violation. He didn’t wait until someone got sick.

Nebraska Beef has just recalled five million pounds of ground beef. The USDA claims that “Nebraska Beef’s practices were insufficient to effectively control E. coli bacteria.” Where has USDA been? Why weren’t they on the job enforcing regulations?

One of the hallmarks of conservatism is deregulation. The Bush administration has adhered to this ideology despite uncertain product guarantees. Budgets for USDA food inspection have been cut. American claims of meat free from mad-cow disease are based mainly on rhetoric not inspection.

Pollan tells of a Virginia farmer who built a small meat processing plant for organic cattle feeders. However, the USDA withdrew its inspector, saying the plant didn’t slaughter enough cows to justify one. So the plant was shut down.

The healthiness of our food is not just a concern for US but for the world. In 1980 grain accounted for 46% of our agricultural exports. By 2000 only 27%. Conversely, the export volume of animals and animal products went from 4% to 23%. We are evidently sending a lot of frozen meat abroad.

South Korea had been our third largest overseas market for beef until mad-cow disease was discovered in American meat in 2003. This spring when President Lee resolved to start importing American beef again, mass demonstrations almost brought down his government.

The controversy was resolved when American trade envoys promised to only export beef to Korea from cattle younger than 30 months. They didn’t say who would be carding the calves.

In 2004 a Kansas producer, hoping to regain the Japanese market after the mad-cow disease scare, asked for permission to test its own cows. Permission was denied because other producers thought that he would then have an unfair marketing advantage.

Sounds like government interference with free market to me.

The Spectator by Jim Bennett

July 10, 2008

 jwbnnt@aol.com

Garters, banks, gum & cards

AND YOU THINK you’ve seen baseball cards.  Think again.

If you stumbled across a 1914 Boston Garter baseball card in your attic (or basement or garage) you could probably run out and buy that snazzy yacht you always wanted.  Or some other pricey toy.

The garter company issued three sets of baseball cards, one in 1912 and two in 1914.  The 1912 set consisted of 16 cards, the 1914 sets, 12 in color and 10 in sepia.  The cards were large (about 4” by 8”) and came one per box of a dozen garters.

From the 1914 color set, a Tris Speaker card is worth about $30,000 on today’s market, a Ty Cobb $60,000.  A Joe Jackson would fetch about $100,000 for an owner wanting to sell.

Depending on the card’s condition of course.  The 2008 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards (Krause Publications)  grades the condition of cards as Near Mint (NR MT), Excellent (EX), and Very Good (VG) for the purpose of market pricing.

The Boston Garter cards are so rare that, according to the Standard Catalog, “If it weren’t for the checklist printed on the back of the few known specimens, the extent of this extremely rare issue would be unknown.  Many of the cards mentioned on the back have yet to be seen.”

In the 1912 set, players are pictured in color lithography, usually seated in a locker room setting, wearing their team jersey and boxer shorts.  The garters holding up their socks are prominent.  You could buy a box of 12 garters for a quarter, or for 50 cents, you could get a dozen of the luxury line.

I HAD OCCASION to check this tome out of the Normal Public Library last week, after scrounging old photographs from the basement and finding a few aged baseball cards still along for the ride.

It’s as thick as a NYC phone book and its 2,000 pages weigh about as much as a cinder block.  It’s fascinating reading, if that’s the right word, for just about anyone, even those who have no interest in baseball or cards.  Historical glimpses of American corporate enterprise and marketing are vivid on hundreds of its pages.  Boston Garter promotions during WWI are but one example among too many to count.

There were only half a dozen baseball cards hiding in the large box of photos I finally dragged up from the basement.  Hundreds of pictures I’d been promising myself to sort and organize for years, but always found an excuse not to.  You’ve probably been there and not done that too.

I don’t know why these particular cards survived so many moves, across so many states.  As a youngster, I was an avid baseball card collector, like most of my friends.  I kept the cards, rubber banded by team, in cigar boxes. 

Over many years, they got traded or lost.  I was never a vigilant “collector.”  I’m sure I had lots of cards with 2008 market value, although I never made an attempt to protect their condition, so maybe not.  Most of them (Fleer, Topps, Bowman) came in bubble gum packets.

Often the packets had been resting so long on the retailer’s shelf that the pink slab of gum was brittle as ancient papyrus.  It practically shattered when you went to chomp down on it.  The shards left a sweet-smelling, chalky white residue on the bottom card.  Did that residue downgrade the card from Near-Mint to Very Good?  Who knows?

I can remember vividly the first pack of ‘53 Bowmans I bought, because it included a   Stan “The Man” Musial, my baseball hero.  I’ve long since lost the card, but according to the Catalog,  it would be worth a little more than $600 today, if in prime condition.

The Catalog also points out that the ‘53 Bowman collection was “The first set of contemporary major league players featuring actual color photographs.”

BUT BASEBALL CARDS have always been a lot more than just bubble gum.  The range of products that has issued them or included them in packaging is broad indeed.  It includes candy companies and milk cartons, cigar boxes and toothpaste.

Baseball cards have been found on matchbook covers, milk cartons, cereal boxes, bread packages, candy wrappers, margarine containers, and cigarette packs.

Banks have issued sets of cards, as have meat producers, petroleum and clothing companies, restaurants, art galleries, soft drink companies, beer companies, and newspapers.

From 1909-1911, backs of Old Mill Cigarettes included cards of minor league players as well as major leaguers.  In 1954, you could get a baseball card in a bag of Dan-Dee Potato Chips.  It was the only year the company dealt in cards.  According to the Catalog, the cards “were commonly found with grease stains.”  I guess that wouldn’t surprise us.

In 1916 and then again in 1919, baseball cards came in a package of Mothers’ Bread (“The Perfect Loaf”, 10¢).  Nowadays, someone with an Eddie Plank from that set could cash it in for $10,000.

Going back at least 100 years, people were able to get baseball cards with their candy bars.  Curtis Ireland Candy issued a set of 180 in 1923, while J-K Candy packages came with a big leaguer on the back in 1912.

Sometimes, baseball cards have come with a foreign connection.  In 1933, Astra Margarine brought a set of Babe Ruth cards.  According to the Catalog, Ruth was included in a 112-card set “Produced as premiums for Astra Margarine in Germany.”

Even Cuba has been in on the fun.  The 1930 Baguer Chocolate company issued a set of 90 cards “Apparently current between the start of the 1930 season and the redemption expiration date of Jan. 31, 1931.”

Redemption dates are important in the card industry’s history, because for some of the products, a mail-in gave the card holder a shot at a prize.

MANY COMPANIES issued baseball cards in the 19th century.  In 1895, the Baltimore-based Ashland Studio Cabinets issued one card—a John McGraw—worth about $10,000 on today’s market.  If you had a McGraw card from the 1894 Baltimore Orioles set issued by Alpha Photo-Engraving, it would be worth more than ten times that amount.

Between 1908-1910, the American Caramel Company produced sets of cards whose rarity is compromised by the “everyman” factor.  According to the Catalog, the sets “Have limited popularity with collectors because many of the color drawings show ‘generic’ players rather than the named major leaguers.”

Among the most interesting and most prized cards are the 1910 Darby Chocolate issues.  The candy box had a major leaguer on the front and another on the back.  Here’s where the Catalog provides a little intrigue:  “Most of the known examples of this set were not found until 1982 when a group in fire-damaged condition was inadvisedly subjected to restoration.” Good cards from this set run into the many thousands of dollars.

If you dive into the rummaging process, be very careful of what you throw away.

Master Gardener Tips by Helen J. Leake

July 10, 2008

Don't start neglecting your garden as summer heats up

Don’t start neglecting your garden as summer heats up

In the spring we work hard getting the vegetable garden going, then with hot weather, vacations and fairs, it gets neglected.

Vegetables, fruits and herbs do better if they are harvested frequently.  By doing so, you encourage them to produce more and it decreases the insects and disease.  Zucchini and cucumber have a much better flavor if they are picked when small, maybe 6 to 8 inches long.

The weeds keep growing even when nothing else seems to.  It is best to try to keep them under control by preventing them from going to seed. It will mean less weeding next year.

Continue to check the container gardens regularly to see if they need water.  The hot, dry winds pull the moisture out fast.  Be sure to give trees and shrubs planted in the last 4 to 5 years an inch of water a week, including the rain.  Newly planted and transplanted trees do not have many roots to soak up the water.  It is best to water deeply, rather than often to encourage the roots to grow deeper.

Stop fertilizing trees and shrubs by July 15.  After you fertilize trees and shrubs, they usually send up new growth. By stopping early, that gives the new growth time to harden off before winter.

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Capitol Facts by Rich Miller

July 03, 2008

Political hojinx holds state budget prisoner

There are several important things to keep in mind when discussing the governor’s proposed budget cuts. The governor threatened to slash $1.5 billion out of the state budget unless the House comes back to Springfield and passes some revenue generating bills and the capital construction budget, all of which were approved by the Senate in May and blocked by House Speaker Michael Madigan.

We don’t really know what the governor is actually planning to do. Last week was just a media event. The idea was to instill fear and loathing among the press and the various constituencies which would be impacted by his threatened cuts. But there were no real details, just a broad brush.

Why would I ever doubt Blagojevich’s intentions? Well, the governor threatened deep cuts during the spring session to balance the supposedly out of whack budget and never followed through. Remember those draconian cuts to 4-H and other agricultural programs he threatened in April?   The governor eventually released the money. There is no doubt that a budget hole exists and that cuts are inevitable. Let’s be very clear: There will be pain. We just don’t yet know what the governor will do when the budget bills are finally on his desk and he holds that reduction and line item veto pen in his hand.

The Senate Democrats insist that the governor vastly inflated the size of Fiscal Year 2008’s deficit. So while everyone has focused on the governor’s claim of a $2 billion deficit for Fiscal Year 2009, which begins July 1st, that figure could be inflated as well.

Quite a few of the governor’s announced cuts are not really “cuts,” but reductions in proposed increases. Many of the “cuts” may look horrible on paper, but these are just expansions that won’t happen.

Education spending will actually increase by about $400 million in Fiscal Year 2009. The governor had little choice but to leave that increase intact because of threats of a revolt by the Senate Democrats, his only remaining allies. If he loses them, he loses the war with Madigan. But giving education a relatively generous increase while threatening to cut back on some key social programs will likely create controversy before too long.

Quite a few of the cuts seemed designed specifically to generate media attention and threaten hardship. The entire $28 million state subsidy to Amtrak would apparently be eliminated, for instance, potentially killing off three of the five trains that run daily from Chicago to St. Louis. Two of the three trains between Chicago and Carbondale would also have to be eliminated.

The governor’s obvious intent was to shift the blame for these and other impending cuts to House Speaker Michael Madigan, which Madigan doesn’t appear too concerned about. It’s unlikely they’ll be coming back to Springfield to take any action, Madigan’s lieutenants told the media.

The House Republicans claimed they’d be willing to work out a deal, but offered no solutions of their own. Their members oppose the two revenue generating bills passed by the Senate Democrats and demanded by the governor (a huge pension obligation bond and some special fund sweeps), and now that May is over and legislative solutions require a three-fifths vote. the ball will likely be in their court to come up with an alternative if Madigan refuses to propose any of his own.

The Chicago Tribune demanded in an editorial last week that the governor veto the entire budget and bring back the General Assembly for a special session. That won’t happen because the all-important Senate Democrats oppose it. A Chicago Sun-Times editorial suggested a deal could be cut on the special funds sweeps, but there aren’t nearly enough House votes to pass it. You’ll undoubtedly hear more “simple solutions” in the coming days, but the harsh political realities of Springfield make even the easiest solution close to impossible.

If the governor goes through with these draconian cuts he can certainly make the case that Madigan is to blame. But, in the end, the governor - any governor - always wears the jacket. It will be his veto pen doing the slashing. It is his administration.

Still, there’s no doubt that the Speaker has hurt the Madigan “name brand” of late with this horrific war. That could make any gubernatorial bid by his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, all the more difficult. Speaker Madigan doesn’t really care about what Blagojevich and the media does to him, but this mud will splash on his daughter.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.