11812 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 7, 1999 Rebecca Kozitza, Chrystal Hohnstein, Sam plementary health care and to the formation of to conduct a comprehensive safety audit, in- Sparks; Teacher Advisor: Michael Lampert; the natural and whole foods movement. cluding on-site inspections, of the foreign car- Community Advisor: Teresa Campbell. I ask my fellow colleagues to join me in ap- rier’s operations. Prior to receiving DOT ap- f plauding the dedication and hard work of the proval of a foreign code share, the U.S. air Kushis in helping to educate the world’s popu- carrier must certify to the Federal Aviation Ad- IN RECOGNITION OF MICHIO KUSHI lation on the benefits of the macrobiotic diet. ministration (FAA) that the foreign air carrier f meets the standards set forth in its FAA-ap- proved safety audit program. In turn, the FAA HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL OF OHIO would be required to conduct a comprehen- AVIATION SAFETY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES sive annual review of each domestic carrier’s approved audit program, thus assuring that Monday, June 7, 1999 HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR the FAA remains vigilant in its oversight of the Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to OF MINNESOTA carrier’s implementation of that program. The recognize Michio Kushi, the 20th century de- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES domestic carrier would also conduct a periodic veloper of macrobiotics. This diet is the cata- Monday, June 7, 1999 review of the foreign carrier’s operations to en- lyst for many of the mainstream dietary and Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, safety is our sure continued compliance with the safety standards. In addition, the FAA would be di- lifestyle changes currently taking place. highest responsibility in aviation. The Amer- rected to work with the International Civil Avia- The Standard Macrobiotic diet has been ican travelling public has the right to expect tion Organization to ensure that code-sharing practiced widely throughout history by all the highest standards of safety when flying on oversight becomes a part of any foreign major civilizations and cultures. The Diet cen- a U.S. carrier or on a U.S. carrier’s code ters on whole cereal grains and their products authority’s air safety regulatory framework. share partner. The importance of this requirement cannot and other plant quality. Twenty-five to thirty Last September, the aviation community re- be overstated. Currently, the FAA, which is re- percent of daily food consists of vegetables ceived a wake up call when SwissAir flight sponsible for safety oversight of our domestic and the remaining intake is comprised of 111 crashed off the shores of Nova Scotia. On soups, beans and sea vegetables. Consump- carriers, conducts only limited review of for- board this fatal flight were 53 U.S. passengers eign airlines participating in code-share agree- tion of products such as meat and dairy prod- who had purchased tickets from Delta Airlines ucts are typically avoided. Michio Kushi, the ments with our airlines. For foreign airlines, for Delta flight 1111, but who flew on SwissAir, the FAA looks only at whether the flag country founder of macrobiotics, was born in through an arrangement called code-sharing. and graduated from Tokyo University, the Fac- has a good institutional structure for regulating This accident brought home the realization aviation safety. The FAA does not evaluate ulty of Law, Department of Political Science. that, in a world of close alliances between do- Influenced by the devastation of World War II, the safety of the foreign airline itself. mestic and foreign airlines, the lines sepa- Delta’s recent suspension of its code-share he decided to dedicate his life to the achieve- rating domestic safety regulation and inter- with Korean Air underscores this point. The ment of world peace and the development of national safety regulation have been blurred. It FAA had no safety concerns with the arrange- humanity. is clearly time to reassess our safety activities ment because South Korea has a system for Kushi and his wife Aveline introduced to make certain the American travelling public regulating safety that, on paper, appeared macrobiotics to North America in the 1950s by flies safely, whether on a U.S. or a foreign adequate. However, in this case—and pos- establishing the first macrobiotic restaurant in carrier. sibly in far too many other cases—there ap- New York. In the 1960s, the Kushis moved to As relationships between domestic and for- pears to be little correlation between FAA’s Boston and founded Erewhon, the nation’s eign carriers continue to grow through code assessment of the foreign regulatory system pioneer natural foods distributor and manufac- sharing, we need to take a hard look at wheth- and the actual safety performance of a carrier. turer. Over the last thirty years Michio Kushi er safety has kept pace. Since 1994, the num- That observation is not meant to fault FAA has taught throughout the and ber of code-sharing alliances has more than for its efforts to assess the aviation regulatory abroad, giving lectures and seminars on diet, doubled—from 61 to 163. A passenger who systems of foreign governments. The FAA’s health, consciousness and the peaceful meet- buys a ticket from a U.S. airline for a code- assessment does provide valuable information ing of East and West. In 1978, the Kushis sharing flight (ticketed as a flight by a U.S. air- about the structure and capabilities of a par- founded the Kushi Institute, an educational or- line) has a right to expect that the entire flight ticular country’s civil aviation authority; it does ganization for the training of future leaders of will be operated under similar safety stand- not provide specifics about a particular foreign society, including macrobiotic teachers, coun- ards. Yet, put simply, there is not a process code-share partner, when the changing nature selors, cooks and lifestyle advisers. In 1986, within the Department of Transportation (DOT) of international aviation demands such an as- Michio Kushi founded One Peaceful World, an for assuring that a foreign code-share partner sessment. international information network and friend- operates under safety standards similar to This legislation will respond to the challenge ship society of macrobiotic friends, families, those governing U.S. airlines. of increasing the safety margin for the Amer- business, educational center, and other asso- A look at the world’s aviation safety record ican traveling public by establishing a process ciations to help guide society and contribute to establishes the need for prompt action. There for making meaningful safety judgments about world health and world peace. In the 1980s, is a wide disparity in the accident rates for dif- foreign airlines. Kushi began meeting with government and so- ferent regions, with Africa and South and Cen- I urge my colleagues to join me in co-spon- cial leaders at the United Nations, the World tral America, for example, having an overall soring this legislation. Health Organization, and the White House. accident rate considerably higher than the f The health benefits of a macrobiotic diet have world average. This suggests strongly that TRIBUTE TO THE MENNONITE attracted the attention of leading medical pro- some carriers are not offering a similar level of COLLEGE OF NURSING fessionals. The American Cancer Society re- safety as U.S. carriers. Unfortunately, DOT ports that a macrobiotic diet may lower the does not have a comprehensive mechanism in HON. THOMAS W. EWING risk of cancer. place to determine whether particular foreign The will announce OF ILLINOIS carriers have safety deficiencies before code- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the acquisition of the Michio Kushi Family Col- sharing arrangements are approved. lection on Macrobiotics and Alternative and Accordingly, I am introducing legislation Monday, June 7, 1999 Complementary Health Care during a special today with my colleagues, ranking Aviation Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to day-long event at the National Museum of Subcommittee member Mr. LIPINSKI and Ms. honor the Mennonite College of Nursing in American History in Washington, D.C. on JOHNSON of Texas, that will dramatically im- Bloomington, Illinois on the occasion of their Wednesday, June 9. The events include a prove DOT’s organizational capability to as- 80th year. Not only is this an historic marker symposium featuring Michio Kushi and his sess whether a proposed foreign code share on the College’s time line, but on July 1, 1999, wife Aveline Kushi, an exhibit of macrobiotic meets safety standards similar to those re- this fine institution will combine with Illinois food and books, and an awards presentation quired of our U.S. carries. State University, ensuring that its fine tradi- to Mr. and Mrs. Kushi for their significant role The legislation would require a U.S. carrier tions and quality educational programs con- in the development of alternative and com- seeking to code share with a foreign air carrier tinue far into the next century.

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