Date: 1984-07-24
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. that flamboyant entrepreneur of cuisine. Mrs. Julia Child. once exclaimed "Im a red meat eater! I feel I need red meat to keep my blood circulating. my color good. and my energy up." Because red meat is rich in iron and protein. I agree with Mrs. Child and want to bring to the attention of my House colleagues the following article which appeared in the January 1984 edition of Readers Digest. The article helps lay to rest the dubious assertion that meat is not really necessary in a good dietthe myth put forward by some folks who prefer bean sprouts to Tbone steaks. Mr. Speaker. people can cut whatever they want and whatever they feel is right for thembut as the article states. Americans are getting a bum steer about beef from a nutritional and health aspect. I. for one. will not give - up my mesquite charcoal grilled beef! Following is the complete text of this fine article: In "A Tramp Abroad" Mark Twain wrote of a homesick American traveler in Europe: "Imagine an angel suddenly swooping down and setting before him a mighty porterhouse steak an inchandahalf thick. hot and sputtering from the griddle. dusted with fragrant pepper. enriched with melting bits of butter. the precious juices of the meat trickling out and Joining the gravy." Few of us require such a description to whet our appetites for "the most royal of meats." Beef has long been king on millions of our outdoor grills. its tantalizing sizzle over rosy charcoal sending an unforgettable scent into the summer air. And can anyone come up with a more "noble" sight than a standing rib carved at the table. its pink slices falling succulently upon the platter? Not surprisingly. Americans consume 77.2 pounds of beef per capita each yearsome 18 billion pounds in all. Every day a single famous fastfood chain grills ten million hamburgers. Americas fevorite sandwich. Despite this popularity. a number of respected nutritionists have placed beef on their hit list. claiming that Americans consume too much animal fat. which may be a cause of cancer and heart disease. Perhaps the bestknown of these critics is Tufts University president Jean Mayer. member of numerous national and world committees on nutrition. He points out that many cuts of For contrast Japans per capita consumption of beef is only 8 pounds a year. while In Argentina. the percapita figure is 146 poundsalmost double the U.S. consmption. beef are high in fatpredominantly saturated fat Mayer also notes that fat is high in calories and that both saturated fat and dietary cholesterol tend to raise the level of blood cholesterol. A number of prominent scientists agree. But Rodney L. Preston. a nutrition professor at Texas Tech University. raises an important point. Because a high bloodcholesterol level is a risk factor in the development of coronary vascular disease. he says. some have concluded that foods containing cholesterol should be avoided. This conclusion ignores the fact that the normal human body needs cholesterolabout 1000 milligrams each Jayand that the difference between the amount required and the amount consumed will be produced by the body itself. In any event. a threeounce servIng of beef contains just 75 mgs. of cholesterol. In fact. the average daily U.S. diet. including eggs. milk and meat. contains only 300 to 550 mgs. of cholesterol. George M. Briggs. professor of nutrition at the University of California at Berkeley. former president of the American Institute of Nutrition and a member of the research Leam that discovered vitamin B12. points out that three ounces of lean beef have no more cholesterol than three ounces of chicken. In a normal 2400calorie diet for an adult male. he says. those three ounces of lean beef supply only 8 percent of calorie needs. but 45 percent of the recommended daily allowance of protein. 79 percent of vitamin B12. 38 percent of zinc. 26 perent of iron. 19 percent of niacin. What fueled the animalfat controversy anyway? In 1977. concerned over the high level of heart and other killer diseases. the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs recommended that our daily caloric intake should comprise 12 percent protein. 30 percent fat (it was then about 40 percent) and 58 percent carbohydrates. The committees report also warned that eating too many fats. especially saturated fatsfrom meats. egg yolks. butter and lardcould cause cancer. heart disease. high blood pressure and other serious illnesses. A 1980 government publication. in more general terms. encouraged moderate consumption of foods high in fat and cholesterol. In 1982. a 13member scientific committee. sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council. released its own report. "Diet. Nutrition and Cancer." It suggested that Americans might reduce the risk of breast and colon cancers by lowering their daily intake of fat from 40 to 30 percent of the total calories in the diet. But another group of scientists. reviewing the 1982 report for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. felt that there was not enough evidence to infer that the American diet was unsafe with respect to cancer risks. They noted that "a nutritionally adequate diet must include as much fresh meat relative to other foods as Americans are consuming now." One of those critical scientists. Dr. Joseph J. Vitale. professor of pathology and director of Nutrition Education Programs at Boston University School of Medicine. stated simply: "There is no evidence to suggest that lowering ones fat intake from 40 to 30 percent of the total calories will have any effect on cancer rates." As for heart disease. Alfred Harper. former chairman of the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board. writing in the April 1983 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. maintained that those people who are susceptible to coronary heart disease should be identified for comprehensive treatment instead of changing the diet of the general population. And after questioning more than a million Americans. the American Cancer Society stated. "A preliminary study of dietary factors showed no higher rates of coronary ht art disense and stroke in people who ate a high fat diet than in those who did not." Actually. only 36 percent of the fat in the U.S. food supply comes from beef. pork. poullry and fish. while 42 percent comes from vegetable sources. such as oils. shortening and margarine. There is reason to believe that by substituting vegetable fats and oils for beef fat in our diels. we could be doing ourselves more harm than good. Recent research on animals suggests that high amounts of polyunsaturates may suppress the bodys natural immune responses. possibly increasing the risk of cancer. Dr. Richard J. Jones. secretary of the American Medical Associations Council on Scientific Affairs. commenting on vegetable oils in our diets. says. "They have been shown in some studies on experimental anlmals to be more potent promoters of known carcinogens than are animal fats." Where modern lean beef itself is concerned. these nutritional facts alone should be heeded: Fact: Beef is highly nutritious and digestiblemore so even than vegetables. Beefs healthful ingredients are 96 percent digested. and its many nutrients almost completely used by the body. Fact: Three ounces of jean beef contain less fat than is assumedabout nine grams. And only about 48 percent of the fat is saturated. Fact: Red meat is a leading source of Iron. one threeounce serving of beef supplies 26 percent of the recommended daily allowance for an adult male. And this is "heme iron." a type that is three to five times more easily absorbed by the body. Heme iron also has a booster effect on iron in other foods eaten with the meat. (Much of the iron in spinach. for instance. is not available unless eaten in combination with another food.) Fact: Three ounces of lean roast beef contain 169 calories: the same amount of lean chicken without skin has 174 (dark) and 147 (light). broiled salmon steak has 167. How much beef should we eat? Nutritionists generally advise that a daily diet should include two threeounce servings from the meatpoultryfishbeans group. which includes beef. veal. lamb. pork. poultry. fish. shellfish. dry beans. eggs. seeds. nuts and peanut butter. Although you dont need to eat beef to get a full complement of protein. vitamins and minerals. red meat unquestionably offers important. highquality nutrients in a relatively lowcalorie package that is tasty and satisfying. Variety. of course. is also important in diet. since each food in the four food groupsincluding also the fruitvegetable. breadcereal and milkcheese groupsoffers its own unique pattern of essential nutrients. By showing us how to use this variety in a commonsense manner. Julia Child has become Americas leading lady of food. Between takes of her new TV show "Dinner at Julias" the star was -.ked what her favorite entrte was. "Beef!" she exclaimed. "Im a redmeat eater. I feel I need red meat to keep my blood circulating. my color good and my energy up." Most Americans would agree.e