Sustainability/stewardship index has arrived

At long last, the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops has arrived. I shouldn't put it in those terms, as Jonathan Kaplan of the NRDC gave me some grief for prodding the group on the tardiness of the news release.
The wait was worth it, from what I can surmise. We'll have some coverage in The Packer, of course, but here is a little from the news release:

The project is currently seeking public comment on an initial list of issues it believes should be measured to assess sustainable performance. The proposed issues and a list of current participants may be found at the project’s web site at www.stewardshipindex.org. The project is encouraging broad participation from interested stakeholders across the specialty crops industry, including technical experts and public interest organizations.

All a-Twitter

David Babcock of Produce Merchandising was talking to me today about Web stuff and he mentioned how the Web site Twitter is getting a lot of glowing press, even in the business world. In a matter of about two minutes, I've joined up and embedded it to Fresh Talk. I see Amy Philpott and Patrick Delaney of United are members, along with Seattle lawyer Bill Marler. I've already starting to Twitter, so here we go.....

USDA Truck rate report - Dec. 18

From the USDA's Truck Rate Report of Dec. 18:

A surplus of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: sweet potatoes from Atwater Livingston California, carrots and grapes from Kern District, grapes and kiwi from San Joaquin Valley California, mixed vegetables and citrus from Central & South Florida, tomatoes from Central Florida, citrus, avocados and mixed fruits and vegetables from Mexico Crossings Through Texas,and cabbage from San Antonio-Wintergarden District Texas. A slight shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: melons and mixed vegetables from Mexico Crossings through Nogales, Arizona. A shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: potatoes from San Luis Valley Colorado, potatoes from Upper Valley, Twin Falls-Burley District Idaho and Columbia Basin Washington, and onions from Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon. LAST REPORT was issued for potatoes from Northwestern Washington. All other districts reported an adequate supply of trucks.

Dec. 18 - Read 'em and weep and other headlines

"Read 'em and weep" was the message in an email that Steve Lutz of The Perishables Group sent me yesterday about the retail performance of some produce categories in October. More on that sobering report later...

As sleet and a winter storm prepare to descend on Kansas City, here are some top headlines snatched from the Web this morning (minus the news story about the latest fad among urban hipsters: pillow fighting):


Women double fruit, veggie intake with switch to Mediterranean diet

Costa Rica measures banana footprint Jorge Sauma says carbon footprint will be calculated within 18 to 24 months, with efforts to be carbon neutral by 2012.

Two Minnesota groups express concern over Vilsack Organic Consumers Association actually wants to block his nomination...right...

South Carolina immigrant law to take effect next month Phased in over 18 months, the law called the toughest in nation and requires employers to check legal status by requiring either a South Carolina driver's license or an identification card from another state. Companies also can use the U.S. Homeland Security's E-verify online database.

UK Retail maket brief Another well done USDA FAS report: From the summary:

In the UK the retail grocery market is concentrated with seventy-five percent market share in the hands of just four supermarket chains. The remainder is scattered over hundreds of outlets. This report overviews the characteristics of UK retail outlets and how best to place US products in the UK market.

Capital One charge offs increase to 7% in November Americans need plastic surgery, as in surgically removing credit cards from their wallets

Median home price in California drops below $300,000

Obama inherits legal battle over no match rule

Roubini: has global stagflation arrived? Roubini says governments will become spenders of first and only resort, leading to deficits in years ahead. Pick your poison?

California passes 38 million residents Babies and immigrants - and babies of immigrants - fuel the growth

Obesity increases gasoline consumption 1 billion gallons of fuel consumption can be attributed to obesity in the U.S.

Does obesity tax work?

Oklahoma state budget to take a hit from a recession

Even with Fed rate cuts, fears persist of extended recession