First hearing

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will hold a hearing on the proposed leafy greens marketing agreement on Jan. 12 in Monterey, state officials said in this news release. Getting growers to buy into to the agreement will be critical but it appears Western Growers has done the legwork to create momentum for the plan. But growers may rightfully ask- what about the processors and the rest of the supply chain?

A holiday reminder

This story tells us five foods that control appetite, and two of the five are fresh produce. Number one is water, number two is leafy greens, number three is instant banana pudding, number four is pickles and number five is apples. One great quote: "I dare you to eat 1,000 calories of apples - it's impossible." Pecan pie, on the other hand....

Another reminder for the holidays - because of canker, no Florida citrus can be shipped to other citrus states this year, even as part of a gift package.

Produce on a budget

Low income consumers eat plenty of green beans, potatoes, lettuce, corn and orange juice but not nearly as much pears, squash and grapefruit. A story on a University of Alabama study about obstacles to produce consumption draws the fairly obvious conclusion that children in low income households eat differently than kids in more affluent homes. The takeaway appears to be that building consumption of fresh produce among low income children may mean providing those households with greater access to more expensive fruit varieties.