Feb. 16: Eat your greens and other headlines

If retailers really wanted to reduce their carbon footprint, they would sell no meat. Luis of the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group links to this article from Time magazine titled "Eat your greens." From the piece:

There's no shortage of evidence that reducing red meat-- Americans eat more than 60 lb. of dead cow annually--is also good for your health. CSPI estimates that replacing one 3.5-oz. serving of beef, one egg and a 1-oz. serving of cheese each day with an equivalent amount of fruits, vegetables and grains would cut your daily fat consumption and increase your fiber intake, all while conserving 1.8 acres of cropland and reducing animal waste by 11,400 lb. each year And while locally grown has become some eco-eaters' mantra, what you eat matters more than where it comes from. Our food travels from 1,500 to 2,500 miles on average from farm to supermarket, but that journey typically accounts for just 4% of a food's carbon footprint.

Roubini: nationalize banks The Telegraph
Nouriel Roubini – the man feted with having foreseen the financial crisis before almost any of his peers – has warned that the US Treasury Secretary must go significantly further than his detail-light bail-out plan delivered last week, and argues that the Obama administration should move swiftly to take public ownership of those major US banks which are failing.

Salmonella outbreak eases way for food safety reform Baltimore Sun
Critics say the outbreak has revealed several gaps in the nation's food safety system, including a personnel shortage that has led the FDA to contract out inspections to state officials, the lack of a program to trace food from the farm to the table, the ability of companies to keep tests results revealing contamination to themselves, and the inability of the federal government to order recalls without their cooperation.

Labor issues, water woes cut Greeley onion acreage Greeley Tribune

Martin Produce Co., started in 1939 by Henry G. Martin, is eliminating transplant onions from its operation this year. The farm has been operated by the same family since it began, making it what could be the oldest produce company in the state under operation by one family.

Former Mexico drug czar charged with aiding Sinaloa drug cartel The International Herald Tribune

Bus and truck drivers to go on 24 hour strike in Mexico The Latin America Herald

Apples may have anti-aging effect Asiaone health

The discovery of phloretin, an antioxidant derived from apples, means that the fruit may also help reduce the risk of skin cancer.

'Phloretin is a powerful antioxidant found to be effective in protecting human skin from the effects of the sun when applied topically,' said Dr Sheldon Pinnell, founder of SkinCeuticals. He was the leader of the scientific team that made the discovery after five years of research.

Nanotechnology and food University of Idaho

He said there are some researchers studying applications of persistent nanoparticles in food and packaging that he believes could present risks. Use of metal, usually silver, nanoparticles in packaging to slow spoilage could move from the packaging material into the food itself.

"The persistent metal or metal oxide nanoparticles could move into the bloodstream, and research has shown they can migrate into cells or in some cases even into the nucleus of cells," Kampers said.

Program markets local produce during winter Ashville Citizen Times
Blue Ridge Food Ventures is launching a wintertime community-supported agriculture program called Winter Sun Farms. The idea is to contract with local farmers to provide the food, which will be frozen, stored at Blue Ridge and then sold to local customers starting in December.

Shoppers looking for value in bleak climate From nwi.com
For example, customers are choosing to buy canned vegetables instead of buying fresh produce," she said. "We've also seen an increase in sales of our own brands across many categories."
The chain is seeing customers increasing their use of coupons and other savings options, such as the company's loyalty programs, May said.

Consumers in Japan value price over safety The Mainichi Times

In the survey on consumer trends conducted in December 2008, 34.6 percent of the respondents said they attached importance to the prices of products when choosing foods, making price the top priority. The figure was 7.4 points up from the previous survey in May.In the previous survey, the safety of products was the top answer, but safety dropped to third place this time, falling 9.6 points to 31.7 percent. The second most common answer was health value, chosen by 32.7 percent (35 percent in the previous survey).

U.S. financial giants to hold off on foreclosures until March 6 VOA





Climate change solutions The Washington Post
THE SIX "Principles for Global Warming Legislation" released recently by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) were notable for what they lacked. There were no specific greenhouse gas emissions targets. There was no determination on an auction of pollution permits vs. giving some or most of them away to polluters initially. But Ms. Boxer was clear on one thing: There will be no consideration of a carbon tax. Sure, the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee said, "We're willing to look at everything . . . ." But she ended that declaration with ". . . but we believe cap-and-trade is the way to go."

Immigration hot ticket in Texas and other immigration headlines

The Texas legislature has seen over 35 bills relating to immigration this year. One member quoted here, in the Dallas Morning News, hits close to the mark, I think:

"We need to be focused on what is absolutely appropriate for our state and on real problems, rather than divisive issues," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. "I want to be worried about the guy that's trying to sell my daughter drugs, not the lady that wants to clean my daughter's house. There's a big difference."

Other headlines this morning:

Helping workers in hard times NYT
Undocumented immigrants make up only about one-twentieth of the work force but are overwhelmingly represented in the most dangerous, dirty and low-paying jobs. Driving out every undocumented worker, a temptation in hard times, clears the way for laid-off Americans to pick lettuce, wash dishes and cars, and wait all morning outside Home Depot for a contractor to drive up.

Obma's pork barrel The Scotsman
Even the temporary boost that such ploys as spending $5.5bn on the "greening" of federal buildings may give the construction industry have been blunted, at least in the Senate bill, by omitting the E-Verify mandate that was in the House bill. This would allow an estimated 300,000 illegal aliens to parasite on construction jobs; they are even awarded tax breaks in another part of the package.

To call this spendthrifts' wish list a "stimulus" is an insult to America's intelligence. Instead, it is a hotch-potch of politically correct liberal obsessions:


Stimulus to give jobs to illegal aliens Canada Free Press

Weekend update - Gloomy economic news and other headlines

The recession may not have downsized Valentine's Day (no one wants to give six roses rather than 12) Congress passed the massive stimulus package, but that one act won't spell the end of our economic malaise, at least based on some of the headlines snatched from the Web this morning. Here is a sampling:

Recession crashes into the continent From The Guardian
For the big surprise of recent months has not been that Britain and the US have plunged into deep recessions, but that most countries of the 16-member euro bloc have entered recession at the same time, and are looking every bit as sick, if not sicker, than the Anglo-Saxon economies

Protectionist measures could spark trade war Fox News

Major partners, including the European Union and Canada, say the legislation favoring U.S. steel, iron and manufactured goods for government projects could undermine pledges by the leaders of major economies not to resort to perfectionism during the world economic downturn.

Requirements known as "Buy American" were softened as the bill progressed through Congress and after strong criticism from abroad. Senate and House negotiators agreed to a version that would require the government not to violate trade agreements when implementing the law.

The bill also allows the Obama administration and state governments to waive requirements to favor U.S. companies if they deem it in the U.S. public interest and if they publish a justification.

Treasury boss taking fire in Europe over stimulus plan NYT

Last week Giulio Tremonti, Italy’s finance minister and Mr. Geithner’s host for the weekend, gave a tart review of the Obama administration’s stimulus in a local newspaper here.“If the problem is an excess of debt, the cure is not adding more debt, whether that debt is public or private,” he wrote in the Corriere della Sera. Italy is one of the most indebted countries in Europe. Its debt surpasses its annual gross domestic product.

Fitch Report: another challenging year for produce

Despite the decline in energy and agricultural ingredient costs, reduced global demand is causing 2009 to be another challenging ye ar for the commodity protein, dairy and produce industries. Weak cash flow generation, high financial leverage and difficult credit markets will make refinancing risk a major issue for firms with low levels of liquidity and significant debt maturities.

'This year we are expecting liquidity and debt reduction to be a priority for the commodity food sector as many companies in the sector have generated negative free cash flow over the last 12 months,' said Carla Norfleet Taylor, Director at Fitch Ratings. 'We believe reduced financial flexibility and heightened refinancing risk will be major issues for highly leverage companies within the U.S. commodity food sector', added Wesley E. Moultrie, II, Sr. Director at Fitch Ratings.

Liquidity is expected to be far more important in 2009 compared to 2008. Fitch forecasts less capital market activity for high-yield commodity food companies, given market weakness, investor risk aversion and higher risk premiums. Stricter lending requirements are also expected to slow the pace of amendments and raise the cost of this form of financing.

Whopping deficit growing challenge Washington Post

Even before lawmakers began dickering over the massive package of spending and tax cuts -- the biggest dose of economic medicine ever conceived by Washington -- the federal government was headed for a budget deficit of nearly $1.2 trillion, a post-war record. The stimulus package will drive that number to nearly $1.4 trillion this year and to more than $1.1 trillion next year, according to congressional budget analysts, with expensive decisions about housing, health care and the banking system yet to come.

Lawmakers want to look at sheriff in Arizona NYT

Wal-Mart lays off close to 800 at home office: Triangle Business Journal
Duke said the company expects the changes to affect about 700 to 800 home office posts in the merchandising, real estate, marketing and support divisions in Wal-Mart U.S., Sam’s Club merchandising and some corporate functions.

Wisc.grants help boost local food sales Chicago Tribune

The department gave $225,000 worth of grants last year in its new Buy Local Buy Wisconsin program. Grant recipients reported nearly $584,000 in new sales in the program's first six months.

New mandatory organic standards in Canada Calgary Herald
The federal government on Friday unveiled new mandatory standards for organic foods and enforcement tools so inspectors can keep products falsely claiming to be organic off store shelves.

The mandatory regulation and certification of organic products, to come into force on June 30, were immediately praised by the industry.

Report: Texas PCA plant source of new salmonella outbreaks 11.com

Pace of climate change exceeds estimates The Washington Post
While it takes a relatively long time for plants to take carbon out of the atmosphere, that carbon can be released rapidly by wildfires, which contribute about a third as much carbon to the atmosphere as burning fossil fuels, according to a paper Field co-authored.

Where have the honeybees gone? News Press
Deland, Fla. native Rowan Jacobsen examines the CCD phenomenon as a possible foreshadowing of a looming agricultural crisis in his new book, "Fruitless Fall" (Bloomsbury, $25). He admits he wasn't prepared for the enormity of the problem.


Michigan State extension could be cut Detroit News

MSU Extension serves each county in the state with programming focused on agriculture, children, youth, families and economic development. The Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station works with more than 300 scientists, conducting research ranging from food safety to livestock production in East Lansing labs and among the 14 field research stations around the state.Combined the two services have an economic impact of $1 billion, Simon said.Jobs lost could range from youth programmers to plant researchers; many would be in an area in which the state's economy is growing -- agriculture, Simon said.Under Granholm's plan, the budget for both would be reduced from about $64 million to $32 million.

USDA 10 year baseline projections - horticulture

Horticultural trade - USDA baseline projections

Above is the USDA's projection for U.S. horticultural trade in their long term outlook data released Feb. 13. The projections point to increasing importance of both imports and exports. From the link agricultural baseline projections:

Farm sales of horticultural crops are projected to grow by 2.1 percent annually over the next decade, reaching $71.6 billion in calendar year 2018, up from $58 billion in 2008. U.S. horticultural trade continues to become increasingly important, both in terms of the export share of production and the import share of consumption.

• Within horticultural products, vegetables and melons continue to rank first in farm sales value over both fruits and nuts and greenhouse and nursery crops. Annual growth over the next 10 years is expected to be fastest for fruits and tree nuts, at 2.6 percent, followed by vegetables at 2.0 percent, and nursery crops at 1.6 percent.

• The volume of farm production of horticultural crops is projected to rise annually at 0.4 percent. Total vegetable production volume is projected to expand at 0.6 percent annually and fruit production is forecast to decline on average by 0.1 percent in the next decade. The gradual increases in U.S. vegetable production volume hold gains in producer prices for vegetables at an annual 1.3 percent rate through the next decade. Combined with average price increases of 2.7 percent for fruits and nuts, farm produce prices are estimated to increase by 1.9 percent annually in the projection period.

• The average growth of U.S. horticultural import value is forecast at 3.7 percent from fiscal year (FY) 2009 to 2018. The value of exports is forecast to grow at 3 percent, with both fruits and vegetables averaging 2.8 percent in the next 10 years. Import growth and export growth of fresh-market vegetables and fruits exceed that of their processed products. The U.S. trade deficit in horticulture crops and products increases from $14 billion in FY 2008 to more than $21 billion in FY 2018. Of the total $28 billion U.S. exports of horticultural products in FY 2018, fruits and nuts contribute $12.8 billion and vegetables represent $6.5 billion. Total imports of $50.5 billion in FY 2018 include $16 billion worth of fruits and nuts, and $12 billion of vegetables and vegetable products.

• Imports will increasingly supplement the domestic supply of horticulture crops and products. The share of imports in U.S. consumption of horticulture crops and products (based on dollar value) is projected to climb from 48 percent in 2008 to 54 percent by FY 2018. Horticultural exports are projected to increase their share of U.S. production value from 36 percent in FY 2008 to 39 percent in FY 2018. The import and export shares of fruits and nuts are about twice as large as the corresponding import and export shares of vegetables.