The Peyton Manning of potatoes and BK's way

A couple of items that somehow escaped notice last week. One is the excitement in Oregon about a new potato variety, dubbed the "Peyton Manning of potatoes" but officially known as the Premier Russet. The supremacy of Idaho - and the russet burbank - are not challenged lightly. For now, we'll call the Premier the Eli Manning of potatoes and see how the chips fall.

In other news, Burger King declined a request by Coalition of Immokalee Workers that it pay a penny a more per pound for its tomatoes to help farm workers. Taco Bell agreed to the demand two years ago after a lengthy boycott.

From the South Florida Business Journal:


The company said its executives have met with CIW representatives more than a dozen times during the last year and a half and also met with religious groups who support the CIW and the Immokalee workers.
Burger King also said its executives even traveled to Immokalee to meet with the group's leadership and to view living and working conditions.
"We agree with the CIW that the workers' living conditions are, in fact, substandard, and we are sympathetic and concerned about the housing," the company said.
However, Burger King said it and its purchasing agent, RSI, do not have a direct relationship with any tomato grower or its employees. Instead, the company buys tomatoes based on best market price from tomato repacking companies.
"It is these repacking companies that have a relationship with the actual growers who employ the CIW," Burger King said. "As a result, we do not identify the specific growers, tomatoes or workers who pick the tomatoes that are used in our restaurants."
At the time Taco Bell acquiesced to CIW demands, that company used its own tomato-grower suppliers, which employed the farmworkers.

TK: Burger King would be better off in partnering with private foundations and other charitable groups to advance projects that benefit immigrant workers than agree to a CIW demand that has all the unsavory aroma of blackmail.