Headline roundup: organic ag to save Africa?, Fresh and Easy, Japan veggie meetings

A few headlines snatched from the Web this morning:

Fresh & Easy announces new stores in Arizona

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market today announced the locations of an additional eleven Fresh & Easy markets in Arizona. Fresh & Easy currently has 26 markets operating in the state, with another store opening on November 13th

McDonald's fattens profits - Say it ain't so - don't change that $1 double cheese

McDonald's cited the popularity of its sandwiches and drinks, but reiterated that it was discussing changes to its Dollar Menu because of the high cost of ingredients and expected to decide soon.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were strong in the third quarter, rising 7.1 percent globally and 4.7 percent in the United States.

Dow sinks 514

Even with the aggressive steps the government has already taken, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told interviewer Charlie Rose on Tuesday that Americans would "have a number of difficult months ahead of us in terms of the real economy."


NY Farm Bureau asks that U.S. clarify alien worker situation

Recently, a major meatpacking company, which was utilizing the E-verify system, found out that several hundred of their employees were here illegally. The system didn't catch it.

An employer will only find out if a worker is here illegally if the Social Security Administration sends a letter stating that a Social Security number does not match a name. Even then, the letter comes with instructions that the employer cannot fire the worker based on that letter. Talk about a catch-22.

There are federal regulations to address some of the catch-22 situations, but these are far from being implemented. In the meantime, farmers are not hiring employees that they know to be here illegally. If they are, they are subject to very strict penalties, including potential jail time.

Congress has to fix the situation, and quickly, or the ability of this nation to feed itself will be severely compromised.

Can ID theft laws be used against immigrants?


The Supreme Court will decide whether the government can use new laws against identity theft to send illegal immigrants to prison or force them to leave the country.

QWhat's the back story?

AThe Bush administration, as part of its crackdown on workers here illegally, has increasingly relied on prosecutors and criminal laws to punish offenders, rather than the civil system of Immigration courts. The government has used charges — with the possibility of prison time — to persuade people to plead guilty to lesser Immigration violations. In other cases, defendants have been convicted of "aggravated identity theft," even without proof that they knew their phony ID numbers belonged to real people.


Roubini: worst is ahead of us

He believes that there will be a sharp decline in earnings, and not just for financial firms. Emerging markets, he said, will fall into crisis. And hundreds of hedge funds will close down, putting additional pressure on the stock market as they liquidate their positions, and making cash the best possible investment.

Yes, recent government actions have probably averted the risk of a systemic financial meltdown. But the risk of an L-shaped recession, where two years of economic contractions are followed by a lengthy period of subpar growth, is realistic. And that doesn't just apply to the United States, but to all developed economies, including Canada.

As for commodities, including oil, expect another 20 per cent slide.

Mr. Roubini is not uplifting, but you can't look away.

Organic farming could break cycle of famine in Africa

Organic farming may offer Africa the best opportunity to break out of the devastating cycle of poverty and malnutrition parts of the continent have faced in recent decades, according to a new report from the United Nations.

As reported by The Independent, the report suggests that organic farming methods can boost yields and incomes for small African farmers.

USDA FAS Food Trends - Japan

Apparently, if you’ve worked in Europe you may have experienced a veggie meeting. Y’know those meetings where you eat fresh vegetables instead of snacks, and drink vegetable juice instead of coffee. According to the journalist, veggie meetings have taken place in the United States. Well, veggie meetings may become fashionable here in Japan. Of course, the alleged instigators are vegetable juice producers taking advantage of a great opportunity and market trend, which were introduced in past JFT newsletters. The first is the greater health consciousness throughout all age groups. The second is the fight against metabolic syndrome. The third trend is the big vegetable juice consumption boom. According to a research company that has introduced veggie meetings, the sugar related nutrients and the chewing motion – assuming the staff can hear while crunching on carrots and celery -- help meeting participants to concentrate and increase productivity. It is also a method to get younger employees who usually lack vegetable consumption to eat vegetables regularly.
Leading companies have incorporated veggie meetings into their repertoire and the article suggests that universities may also introduce this practice for staff and student meetings.