Potatoes - the pink slip commodity and other top headlines

I thought bananas might give potatoes a run for the money, or lack thereof, as the most recession resistant commodity. Our fresh talk readers have spoken:

What is the most recession resistant produce commodity?

apples	3 (10%)
bananas	5 (16%)
potatoes	17 (56%)
lettuce	2 (6%)
oranges	1 (3%)
onions	2 (6%)

Votes so far: 30
Poll closed

More headlines snatched from the Web, starting out with evidence of the greening of the political class

Obama's energy secretary: act on global warming or California could be a dust bowl From the Guardian in the UK

In blunt language, Chu said Americans had yet to fully understand the urgency of dealing with climate change. "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," he told the Los Angeles Times in his first interview since taking the post. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California. I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going."

California drought expected to worsen: officials draw up ration plan From Ventura County Star

Groups wage battle over adding E-verify to stimulus bill From Nextgov
The battle pits immigrant advocates against proponents of stiffer enforcement of the immigration laws, who want to require firms receiving contracts under the stimulus bill to use E-Verify, which checks databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and the Homeland Security Department to determine the legal status of employees.

Aldi selects McCann Erikson as advertising agency The Earth Times

The rise of farmers markets From The Resident in U.S. northeast


Guatemala to export 4.5 million boxes of mango in 2009 From The Guatemala Times
Guatemala has approximately six thousand hectares of mango cultivation; over 50% of the production obtained is exported. 95% percent of the exported mangos go to the US markets the remaining 5% reaches European markets.

Japan's prime minister: Stimulus "buy American" provision wrong From Bloomberg
Obama willing to see provisions go away, report says

More Japan food trends USDA FAS report

The morning banana diet comes to US From Calorie Lab: Japan was gaga over the banana diet

AgJobs in the spotlight again: New York senator weighs in From the Watertown Daily Times

Farm lobbyists expect Sen. Dianne M. Feinstein, D-Calif., to propose an immigration bill for farm workers, called AgJobs, by spring, following six fruitless years of trying to pass it. The bills would typically come before the Judiciary Committee, but probably not without input from members of the Agriculture Committee, which has been a roadblock in the past.


Peanut mess shows flaws with FDA From the SF Chronicle

Credit card late payments hit record high From Market Watch