Illegals among us

This op-ed piece in the New York Times gives us pause to reflect that even George Washington was an illegal at one point. Evidently Washington claimed lands beyond the scope of British jurisdiction before the Revolutionary War. Such illegal settling was not uncommon later, the author pointed out. " The upper Ohio was rife with illegal immigrants, ancestors of people who, in country clubs today, are implying a Mayflower ancestry," the author said. His point, I presume. We all owe a debt of gratitude to our ancestors and their "daring disregard for immigration laws."
All of which still doesn't change the fact we need to get control of our border and provide legal workers for American growers.

Fast and furious diet tips

This is the time of year that articles aplenty will appear about how to really get serious about dieting in the new year. I offer an example. This article tries to scare us straight, as the expert quoted uses the gimmick of equating food with physical activity. Nutrition expert Charles Stuart Platkin, author of "The Diet Detective's Count Down," list scores of foods and how much running, walking or yoga it would take to burn them off.
"That glazed Krispy Kreme is less tempting when you know you have to add almost an hour of walking to counteract it," the reporter suggests. Platkin advocates keeping a food journal, noting Americans "wildly underestimate" how much food we eat. Gee, maybe we are eating 5 a Day, after all. Except we don't cheat with celery sticks.

Going small

The Colorado Potato Administrative Committee recommended changes in the minimum grade standards and the USDA published an interim final rule on the changes today. For smaller sizes, the rule changes the minimum grade requirements from U.S. No. 1 grade to U.S. Commercial grade for all varieties under the marketing order, other than round red potatoes. The rule also changes the implementation date for the minimum maturity requirement from Aug. 25 to Aug. 1 of each year. A good discussion of the reasons for the rule change is found in the Federal Register notice. The short version is that consumer demand for smaller potatoes is growing and marketers believe they could better meet buyer needs if Commercial grade No. 2 potatoes were permitted. Small potato volume could increase by about 23% with the rule, the USDA said. I think this is a great example of being bold enough to respond to the market, even when hamstrung by a marketing order structure..