COOL heats up and other headlines

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was supposed to have a teleconference today concerning possible new unofficial guidance on country of origin labeling. The event didn't happen, and one Washington lobbyist suggested that the USDA was trying to bring industry stakeholders out of the loop (USDA apparently held meetings with meat groups and big farm lobby groups Tuesday morning and briefed consumer groups that afternoon but excluded some stakeholders, including fresh produce ) up to date on its new views on COOL before facing the press. The guidance hasn't been released yet, but it is expected to raise the bar on meat labeling, roasted peanuts and, possibly, fresh cut produce. Here is some coverage found on the Web tonight:

USDA proposed changes to COOL could cloud Obama's trade talks Sally Schuff

Uncertainty about what changes will be proposed was heightened this morning when USDA abruptly cancelled a press teleconference on the issue, which had been scheduled for 10 a.m. EST.David Ray, American Meat Institute spokesperson, told Feedstuffs that AMI "met with the Secretary yesterday morning (Tuesday) and were told we could expect a letter detailing his views." AMI was not on the USDA call on Tuesday when consumer groups were reportedly being briefed by USDA officials.The COOL rule has been under review by the Obama Administration as part of a White House instruction from Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel. All departments were ordered to review Bush Administration rules made during the final weeks of that Administration that had not yet gone into effect.Ray pointed out that the interim final COOL rule became effective on September 30th, 2008. Changes to that rule were incorporated into the Final Rule, which was published in January, 2009. The Secretary said USDA will implement the Final Rule published in January on its planned effective date of March 16, 2009, Ray noted.

U.S. meat label idea may revive Canadian trade spat Chuck Abbott and Reuters

Vilsack asked meatpackers during a meeting on Tuesday to voluntarily put more details on meat labels. The Agriculture Department delayed a public unveiling of the plan on Wednesday but a spokesman said Vilsack was going ahead with the idea.

"The damage is done," a U.S. farm lobbyist said, because USDA increased frictions just before the U.S.-Canada meeting. Said another farm lobbyist: "The whole thing blew up in their faces." The lobbyists spoke on condition of anonymity.

Other headlines snatched from the Web tonight....

Will fighting climate change cost us, or save money? Seattle PI.com
Two new competing studies present squarely opposite pictures on the costs of fighting climate change. And it may just be that they're both right.
The cost to Washington of doing nothing would rise to $3.8 billion annually by 2020, according to a study by the University of Oregon's Climate Leadership Initiative and ECONorthwest, a consulting firm.
The other recent report came from the Colorado-based Western Business Roundtable, and it took the approach of adding up the costs associated with the Western Climate Initiative, the Cap'n Trade program being advanced by Washington, other Western states and a number of Canadian provinces.The Business Roundtable figures that putting the Western Climate Initiative into effect would cost Washington $4.3 billion annually by 2020, translating into a $2,300-per-family penalty. The study says:

In addition to directly harming consumers, the higher energy prices likely to result from a WCI-like plan could seriously affect the production side of the West's economy. Contrary to claims that the WCI plan would spur an economic stimulus from "green investment" and "green-collar" job creation, the approach is much more likely to retard economic growth, GDP and job creation.

That's a key point. If green jobs could save our economy, that would be one thing. But if not, these costs would be real, and not offset.

Basin, Western Fuels wins BNSF rate case chron.com

Expand need grants to students in U.S. illegally Seattle Times

What is misunderstood or unrecognized is that these students and their parents contribute greatly to our state's economy. For one, they are taxpayers themselves. With every job held, or every purchase made, they pay taxes.The value of their work is most evident in agricultural, where Washington state ranks No. 1 in production of several hand-harvested crops, including red raspberries, hops, apples and sweet cherries. In 2007, Washington produced 91 percent, 77 percent, 57 percent and 51 percent, respectively, of those crops harvested in the entire United States. Their combined value: more than $2.2 billion in 2007, with apples valued at $1.75 billion.

Chilean grape volumes should rise in March Coverage from The Packer

Japan food trends: February USDA FAS

Some people are purchasing specialty boxed lunches, which one would normally eat outside, just to take home to eat. Supermarkets are shifting to lower priced items and changing group stores from the flagship brand to the lower brand stores.


Obama fights foreclosures NYT

Almost one in 10 home mortgages is either delinquent or in foreclosure, and analysts estimate that at as many as six million families could lose their homes over the next three years in the absence of government action.The plan has three components. The first would help homeowners who are still current on their payments, but who are paying high interest rates and cannot refinance because they do not have enough equity in their homes, a problem afflicting growing numbers of people as housing values tumble.A second component would assist about four million people who are at risk of losing their homes. It would provide incentives to lenders who alter the terms of loans to make them affordable for the troubled borrowers. A third component would try to increase the credit available for mortgages in general by giving $200 billion of additional financial backing to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.