Discussion board roundup 9/11

On the message board of the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group, Big Apple posts this link to AP news of Rep. Collin Peterson in Kansas:

HUTCHINSON, Kan. Consumers could see the price of fruits and vegetables double if the nation does not address a looming farm labor shortage in the wake of tightening immigration enforcement, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said.
Peterson, D-Minn., told producers attending the Kansas State Fair this weekend that the agriculture committee will focus on the immigration issue as it strives to do its part to make sure there is adequate labor. He said some crops will not be harvested this year unless something is done.
Peterson said after the forum that he has talked with judiciary committee leaders in an effort to hold either separate or joint hearings on the issue within the next two weeks.
“We are going to let producers come in and tell their stories, what they are concerned about. We think there could be significant increases in food prices caused by this if we don’t fix it,” Peterson said.

Big Apple also post news of the first Mexican long haul trucks making deliveries to the U.S. From the story:
The U.S. plans to give as many as 25 Mexican firms permission to haul cargo north of the border by the end of the month, and will add another 25 per month until reaching 100 — for a total of 1,000 trucks — by year's end under a one-year pilot program. The Mexican government also has committed to allow trucks from as many as 100 U.S. firms to travel anywhere in Mexico.


On the subject of "what is local produce?," the discussion group has an interesting thread going here. Some excerpts from the thread:

From KAKTUS:
I always considered the commodity to be locally grown if you could place the order today and receive it before the end of the day tomorrow. I know other people that consider it if grown not more than two counties away.

From Luis:
That's as good as any. The Wikipedia has a small segment on all kind of different answers to that question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_food#What_defines_local_or_regiona...
As a curve ball and to confuse things, I would add the concept of "cultural distance" hinted on the article. Like when someone from India eats an India mango in NY. The product is local in the sense that is in close memory/emotion proximity. Sort of like when people move to a new city but keep rooting for their "home town" team. Labels like "Mexico Calidad Selecta" and accompanying eagle could trigger such a reaction from some shoppers of Mexican origin.
Probably someone has carried out an opinion survey on all of the above.