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NEW YORK TIMES
December 28, 1999
By NEAL D. BARNARD
The World Bank has proved again that the pen is mightier than the sword.
The sword -- in this case a scythe harvesting the grains that have kept
the Chinese free of the diet-related health problems plaguing Westerners
-- was defeated last week when, with the stroke of a pen, the World Bank
signed off on a $93.5 million loan to build 130 feedlots and five
processing centers for China's nascent beef industry.
The World Health Organization would have had it differently. Its figures
show that the traditional Chinese diet, rich in rice and vegetables, with
little meat and virtually no dairy products, has kept heart disease and
myriad other Western health problems at arm's length. An improved food
distribution network has eliminated the shortages suffered by some other
Asian countries. Today, per capita food intake is actually higher in China
than in the United States. Unfortunately, steak, fast food and cheese have
started to replace traditional rice and noodle dishes in some regions even
without the World Bank's help. Those areas have shown the highest
incidence of Western-style medical problems.
While smart Americans recognize the need to "Easternize" their own diets
with rice, soy products and more vegetarian options, World Bank
bureaucrats decided to promote a Westernization of China's diet. Instead
of supporting the use of grain as a cholesterol-free dietary staple for
people, the grain will be fed to cattle to produce meat.
This practice promotes not just poor health, but also the inefficient use
of food. Kilo after kilo of grain proteins fed to cattle yield only
one-tenth this amount of protein in meat.
Of course, the World Bank's efforts to promote cattle farming in China are
concerned less with good health than with economic investment. No doubt
some cattle ranchers will profit, as they edge out vegetable and rice
acreage. But why is the World Bank, so roundly criticized over for years
for its self-defeating economic development schemes, falling into the same
old trap?
Neal D. Barnard is president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine.
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