Recession sparks millions more gardeners and other headlines

I can't quite believe that the recession will spur "millions" more people to become vegetable gardeners. Yet this story's headline says precisely that. Here is an excerpt:

Officials with the National Gardening Association say consumers spent $2.5 billion in 2008 to purchase seeds, plants, fertilizer, tools and other gardening supplies to grow their own food. According to NGA estimates, even a modest, well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per garden when considering a typical gardener's investment and the retail price of produce.The economy is one of the leading factors driving Americans into their backyards to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. "As in previous recessions, we've seen increased participation in and spending on food gardening as people look for ways to economize," explains Bruce Butterfield, research director for the NGA. "That said, these results suggest the interest in food gardening may continue to increase, even after the economy improves."

Highlights from the survey include:

-- 43 million U.S. households plan to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries in 2009

-- 11 percent of households already active in food gardening plan to increase both the amount and variety of vegetables they will grow in 2009; 10 percent also said they will spend more time gardening this year.

Among the other reasons respondents gave as to why their households are growing their own food:

58 percent said for better-tasting food

54 percent said to save money on food bills

51 percent said for better quality food

48 percent said to grow food they know is safe

 

 

County of origin labels ABC

Consumer Watch (KFSN) -- Starting Monday, you'll have a better idea of where the food you're buying at the grocery store originally came from. Grocery stores will be forced to label certain foods with their "country of origin." So, stickers will let you know if you're buying mangoes from Mexico or Minneola Tangelos from Australia. The labels should be especially useful

 

America's food  banks need a bailout Salon

For America's food banks this has meant one thing: That they, too, are needier. They need ever more fresh food, non-perishable food, and non-food items like cleaning products and toiletries from wholesalers, retailers, food distributors, corporations, charities, government agencies, local farms and individual donors. They need ever more storage and freezer space. They need ever more volunteers. They need ever more food that can be made available on appointed distribution days at food pantries. And they need ever more emergency food supplies, available on demand for people who suddenly realize that they are hungry and out of options, possibly for the first time in their lives.

 

Safeway workers accept new contract Winnipeg Sun

Safeway workers across Manitoba voted 83% in favour of their new contract yesterday.An estimated 1,135 Canada Safeway employees took part in yesterday's vote, having earlier voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate if a new agreement couldn't be reached before the existing one expired.

Latest stock market rally is only dead cat bounce More sunny words from Roubini

It is déjà vu all over again. We have already seen this Groundhog Day movie at least six times over and over again in the last year or so: the market starts to rally -- this time around about 8 percent in a week -- and the chorus of optimists starts to say that this is the bottom of the economic and financial crisis and that we are at the beginning of a sustained stock market rally that signals the true end of this bear market.   Even before the latest bear market rally started last week I wrote the following on March 2^nd: 

  Of course you cannot rule out another bear market sucker's rally in 2009, most likely in Q2 or Q3: the drivers of this rally will be the improvement in second derivatives of economic growth and activity in U.S. and China that the policy stimulus will provide on a temporary basis: but after the effects of tax cut will fizzle out in late summer and after the shovel-ready infrastructure projects are done the policy stimulus will slack by Q4 as most infrastructure projects take year to be started let alone finished; similarly in China the fiscal stimulus will provide a fake boost to non-tradeable productive activities while the traded sector and manufacturing continues to contract.  But given the severity of macro, household, financial firms and corporate imbalances in the United States and around the world this Q2 or Q3 sucker's market rally will fizzle out later in the year like the previous five ones in the last 12 months.

Why middle class families need Employee Free Choice Act Daily News

 

Independent port truckers struggling Newsday

A recent study by Rutgers University suggests Hyppolite is not alone among roughly 5,100 port drivers who lease or own their own trucks. A team led by David Bensman, a professor of labor studies and employment relations, found their average income was just $28,000 after expenses. That's about half of what they made before the trucking industry was deregulated in 1980 in inflation-adjusted terms, he said.