Caring about immigration

If readers get fatigue about reading about the same story week in and week out (read immigration), the journalist may also tire of the subject. We are asked to care again about immigration this week - and we do care - but we would like to care and by caring make a difference. So far, that simple math of human investment of emotional, financial and political capital does not seem to make a difference.

Congress sometimes appears incapable of making a great decision on matters of import in a critical time. Only in the middle of the night, in a backroom deal reported after the fact do our lawmakers seem to function best. Perhaps by not caring we shall find a deal is done.

Despite the past disappointment and Congressional inaction, industry lobbyists are thankfully not giving up.
Here is a release from United Fresh



Washington, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, spoke to the United Fresh Produce Association’s Board of Directors tonight during a special conference call to discuss immigration reform. According to Secretary Gutierrez, the imminent goal is to have enough votes in the Senate this week to ensure the Senate bill is passed.

Secretary Gutierrez commended the United Fresh members for working to communicate the importance of comprehensive immigration reform to Congress and across the nation. However, he noted that some in Congress still do not truly understand the need for immigration reform, and that more work must be done at this very critical time. Describing a situation in which the vocal minority is being heard above those who support AgJobs and reasonable immigration reform, Gutierrez urged the all supporters of immigration reform to educate those who do not understand the importance of comprehensive reform.

“We applaud Secretary Gutierrez and the Bush Administration for the leadership and active participation in this effort to resolve a critical, yet highly complex issue,” said United Fresh President Tom Stenzel. “Senate Majority Leader Reed and Minority Leader McConnell have shown leadership in allowing the debate on immigration reform to continue this week and we must continue to push for a comprehensive bill.”

The Senate leaders announced last Thursday that they would allow the Senate bill a second chance, after the bill was sidetracked two weeks ago. Gutierrez told the United Fresh Board that if the bill passes the Senate, a similar battle will likely take place in the House. He stressed the important role that the House will play in final passage of a bill, and emphasized the need for the industry to maintain the course and make their voices heard throughout the halls of Congress.

Responding to a question from the Board about why Congress does not understand the need for reform, Gutierrez said that some in Congress need to better understand the true economic impact of immigration reform on agricultural and on businesses.

United Fresh Chairman Emanuel Lazopoulos, senior vice president of N.A. sales & product management at Del Monte Fresh Inc., thanked Secretary Gutierrez for taking the time to speak with the Board and the Administration for taking an active role in the immigration issue.

The old geezer argument

Here is an argument that says we need immigrants for a very important reason. We will soon become a nation of old geezers, in need of someone to bring us our iced tea and mow our yards.
Mary Sanchez of The KC Star writes:

To understand the demographic challenge before us, consider the baby boomers, that massive generation born roughly between 1946 and 1964. They are celebrated for revolutionizing every aspect of American life - how we learn, how we work, how we raise and educate children, how we regard sex and drugs. So get ready, the eldest of the boomers are beginning to retire.

And guess what? We don't have enough people to replace them in the labor force among native-born succeeding generations. Nor do we have enough low-wage workers to serve all their needs in retirement - and boomers are anticipated to be a highly active set of retirees, living both longer and with more demands on the economy than their parents ever called for.

(Congress) needs to put immigration reform back on the table. Far from the glib rhetoric that doomed the recent immigration reform bill on Capitol Hill, saner economists have argued that importing more workers is vitally necessary. In fact, in congressional hearings they talked themselves red, white and blue in the face about it. Granted, these arguments can be dry and abstruse, not nearly as thrilling as, say, the gloom-and-doom oratory of a Lou Dobbs or your average Minuteman. But what's really more important to the nation, ''cultural'' purity or economic well-being?

Someone has to take out the trash, mow the lawns, wash the dishes, pick the crops, paint the houses, cut up the pork loins and gut the chickens. In the end, all the huffing and puffing about non-existent ''illegal alien invasions'' won't alter the facts of birth and death. Baby boomers, you are aging. And how you spend your golden years depends in no small part on how we deal with immigration today.

TK: I agree with Sanchez - I would have liked more facts - but find fault with her tone. It is regrettable she injects the straw horse of "cultural" purity. Americans understand the need for workers to pick the crops, but they can't abide that the government so ceaselessly fails to control illegal immigration.

Blunting reform

As observed in the Blog for Rural America, I also confirmed with a source close to the House Agriculture Committee that several farm bill reform proposals will be heard at both the subcommittee and likely the committee level. One that will be offered (and voted down) will be the FARM 21 reform bill by U.S. Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Joe Crowley, D-N.Y. and and David Reichert, R-Wash..

The subcommittee and full committee could also consider the USDA farm bill proposal on farm programs and a farm subsidy buyout plan floated by Citicorp, the source said.

Some speculate Chairman Peterson may blunt debate on the House floor by hearing these reform bills at the committee and subcommittee level.

Even with those major reform bills going down to defeat, there is speculation that Peterson may put forward a mild amendment on limitations to farm program payments.

Here is an audio link to my interview last week with horticulture subcommittee chair Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif.

Carver plus Shock Software from the FDA

The FDA has released a software program to help food suppliers assess possible agroterrorism threats to their operations.

From the FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today released a new tool to help growers, packers, processors, manufacturers, warehousers, transporters, and retailers in the food industry determine the vulnerability of individual food facilities to biological, chemical, or radiological attack.
The software program, called the CARVER + Shock Software Tool, is a science-based prevention strategy to safeguard the food supply. This tool is an example of the type of approach currently being developed as part of a broader food protection strategy currently r development by FDA.

From the FDA:

The CARVER tool also evaluates a seventh attribute—the psychological impacts of an attack or "shock" attributes of a target. For example, the psychological impact tends to be greater when a large number of deaths is involved or if the target has historical or cultural significance.
CARVER + Shock is the latest in a series of food defense efforts by FDA following the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

TK: I downloaded the software and it seems to be fairly complex and involved. The CARVER software refers to six attributes used to evaluate targets for attack.
Criticality: What impact would an attack have on public health and the economy?
Accessibility: How easily can a terrorist access a target?
Recuperability: How well could a system recover from an attack?
Vulnerability: How easily could an attack be accomplished?
Effect: What would be the direct loss from an attack, as measured by loss in production?
Recognizability: How easily could a terrorist identify a target?

FDA Authority over growers

Here is a link to a resource that United Fresh president Tom Stenzel provided me on the question of FDA's authority over growers. With various food safety legislative solutions being bandied about in Congress and at the FDA, a foundational question is exactly how much authority does the FDA have over growers of fresh produce right now? What are the implications of legislation that would explicitly expand that authority? What are implications of the industry asking for federal oversight of produce, and does that request imply a request to expand FDA authority over growers?

The FDA and United's legal counsel believes the FDA already has authority over growers. United doesn't believe additional legislation is necessary to explicitly expand FDA authority, though legislation by Sen. Tom Harkin and others may seek to accomplish that. I'll have some additional posts this week about this topic....

Here is an audio link with Sebastian Cianci, FDA spokesman, on the issue of the FDA's authority at the farm level.

Monday headline roundup

Cubans are overweight, too : Cuba has a a problem with overweight and obesity. One complaint is high f/v prices. Average salary of $16 per month doesn't allow for much diversity in the diet, despite the fact that five pounds of tomatoes and a pineapple cost less than a dime.

Fatty foods can cancel f/v benefit in diet Story about link to fatty foods, f/v consumption and stomach cancer.


Border fence should be first step Opinion piece argues that enforcement, including border fence, should come before comprehensive immigration.


UK retailers relaunch price war Rising interest rates in the UK put pressure on consumers as variable rates mortgages rise and consumers look to cut back.

Some supermarkets offer personal scanners Use of personal scanners is more widespread in Europe but a few chains are introducing the tools in the U.S. Some let consumers print create bar coded tags for fruits and vegetables.

Wal-Mart theft and shrinkage increasing Analysts believe Wal-Mart's theft/loss rate is catching up to its peers. A study finds the overall shrinkage rate as percent of retail sales is about 1.61 in 2006.

Whole Foods in England Opening of Whole Foods in London has British Broadcasting Corp. saying it is "green gone gorgeous."