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Show What's more important? This guest editorial was written by Mr. Sherman D. Harmer, editor of the Utah cattleman. cat-tleman. Everywhere you go today the talk is about energy, food and unemployment. The labor unions have priced themselves out of the market and the public is beginning to refuse to pick up their unwise tab. The energy people, namely petroleum products are going on strike, undoubtedly to make things tougher on the consumer, and the unemployed un-employed are unemployed because they went far beyond the rule of reason In their demands de-mands on their employers. Lets get back to the "energy crisis". What is the main source of energy in the wrld, and who has control of it? It's food and the American farmer and rancher are the people who have control or it. According Accord-ing to our way of thinking this rather makes the people In American agriculture "klngof ie rock". Why don't we act like it? Why doesn't the United States government act like it? Why do we continue as people in agriculture agri-culture to take a back seat to labor, the Arabs or tor that matter to those people in gpvernment who continue to move agriculture agricul-ture around like a oawn In a chess game. No one, no matter how large or how small, can long be alive without something to eat. This includes our oily neighbors in Mexico as wall as those In the sandy countries, coun-tries, and still we take everything they threaten us with and don't have the guts to -put a price tag on our food supplies com-' com-' mensurate with the price of their black gold. Why? The American farmer can produce more food by accident than anyone else can on purpose, and probably gets more complaints and less credit for his efforts than anyone else. We've said it before and well restate it, Whenever the old man complains about the household expense mama says "we'll just have to cut down on the grocery bill." Suf- jBrin' catfish! Let's also cut down on the kids health, up their dental bills, and especially espe-cially lets go to see the doctor more often because we have a lousy diet. The industry, the one you are in, has for too long used the old cliches regarding, "food is only 17 of your take home pay'f, and beef is higher than what?" and "beef Is your be st buy", and o the r s too nume rous to mention. The American housewife couldn't care less. Most of them would complain if ground beef was only 35 a pound. She thinks cattle are raised on grass, and grass is free, except of course when they sell it to cattleman. Are we kidding? Absolutely not. This is city talk, not that which you he ar in the small agriculturally oriented community. We have finally come to the conclusion, through a great deal of research and just plain listening, that people have always been bitching about food prices, and they always will. History has proven this, if you don't beleive it go to the library and lookup copies cop-ies of papers from the early 1900's. So be it! Now let's get on a different track with this industry. The consumer in nowenthralled with clean air, clean water, gasoline prices, taxes, energy for home heating, and food prices, as long as we can't do anything about the prices, let's at least get in the energy class , and quit worrying about the cost. -Let's convince con-vince the consumer she cannot get along with out food at anyprice, sell her on the value of serving beef to her family for "healths sake," and saving all that money so even if gasollng goes up they will have the strength to go to the gas station to buy a gallon or two. What's more important? Gasoline Gas-oline or food? What's more important than eating? The loudest voice in Washington which should be heard during the " food crisis " Is that of the farmer and rancher. He holds the whole world in his hands. Think It over. |