Traceability Announcement

From a joint PTI news release:

"Thirty-four companies from throughout the produce supply chain have endorsed a new plan developed by the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) to move the supply chain to a common standard for electronic produce traceability by the end of 2012. "

Developing for The Packer.....

GE papaya in Florida

Relating to whether the public is ready for genetically modified fruits and veggies, here is a dissenting comment about the University of Florida's petition for non-regulated status of GE papaya. From Matt Vargas on the federal docket:

USDA APHIS’ Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in its Environmental Assessment (EA) of GE papaya is dubious. The University of Florida’s petition for non-regulated status of GE papaya must not be approved without comprehensive evaluation of the environmental risks associated with commercial/public release of GE papaya line X17-2. The proper course of action is for USDA APHIS, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)) to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement.

Later, Vargas argues against the popular perception that GE papayas have saved the Hawaiian industry:

Yet the ‘success’ of the GE papaya is largely a fiction dreamed up and promoted by its inventors and by a few large Hawaiian Papaya businesses that have trapped themselves in a cycle of genetic engineering use. If they do not succeed in convincing Asian countries to plant and eat the GE papaya, then the Hawaiian industry will likely continue to spiral downward - a collapse being caused by its own self-inflicted GE experiment. This is due to almost universal consumer and market rejection, with a clear preference for non-GE and organic papaya. There is also, sensibly, no regulatory approval for GE papaya import to key markets, e.g. Japan & the 25 countries of the EU.

From bad to worse?

A few headlines about consumer confidence and the wild ride on Wall Street...

Investors succumb to fears of recession - From the WSJ
Some small investors who had been hoping to ride out the storm have begun selling. That could mark the beginning of a process known as "capitulation," market lingo for the moment when a critical mass of investors give up on hopes of recouping losses, and instead sell. It is during capitulation that a selloff starts to run its course, and prices begin to feel for the bottom.

A lengthy recession From the Globe and Mail

And in the United States, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board opened up its credit spigot, authorizing $900-billion in loans to troubled banks, many of which have virtually stopped lending to consumers, businesses and each other.

Consumer confidence: key recession signal From Time magazine

Thus, the spectacle of Monday's roller-coaster ride on Wall Street may be just one more push toward the point when Americans start to pocket their wallets and thus slow down the economy drastically. When the stock market crashed in 1987, for example, consumer confidence fell but then quickly recovered, helping the U.S. to dodge a possible recession. It was different in 1991, when rising oil prices added to emerging consumer worries and thus stalled the U.S. economy.

A 1987-type situation could happen now — though there are few signs of hope on the horizon for solutions to alleviate the effects of the market crash.

U.S. labor market worsens

From the Financial Post

Nonfarm payrolls fell for a ninth straight month in September, down a worse than expected 159,000 following a downwardly revised 73,000 drop in August, Bureau of Labour Statistics figures showed Friday. It was the sharpest drop in employment this year and took total job losses for 2008 to 760,000. Private sector workers were hit particularly hard, with 35,000 construction jobs and 51,000 manufacturing jobs lost in the month. The unemployment rate remained at 6.1% following the sharp rise in August, however, it has risen substantially since January when it stood at just 4.9%