Find a highly readable 17 page USDA FAS report about South China's relationship with imported apples here. From the summary:
Why is South China so important for U.S. apples? First, it’s home to the biggest imported fruit wholesaler in China where trucks leave, laden with fruit to the rest of China. Second, its ports draw inmost of the imported apples that hail from overseas. Third, Cantonese are crazy about fruits. U.S. RedDelicious is available year ‘round in retail stores, in family-owned fruit stalls and from peddlers on tricycles.Imported American Galas and Granny Smiths are popular, but the U.S. is constrained to officially exportonly Red and Golden Delicious from Pacific Northwest states although other varieties enter via greychannels. Increased market access for American apples is linked to China’s market access for fresh pearsand maintenance of market promotion. The Chinese Fuji is a fierce competitor.
TK: Also find a report about China food safety laws and other trends.
Sliding across this afternoon. As if cattle men don't have enough to worry about....
Today, Ranking Member Frank Lucas introduced a bill (H.R. 1426) that will prevent the government from requiring livestock producers to obtain Title V operating permits under the Clean Air Act. This is in response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishing the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the subject of Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the Clean Air Act, which was released last summer. The publication outlines several regulatory options, including requiring livestock producers to obtain these operating permits. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that the fees associated with that option would cost livestock producers roughly $88 per head to comply. The introduction of H.R. 1426 comes on the same day that an article was printed in the Washington Post regarding EPA plans to establish a nationwide system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions. This reporting system would apply to measuring greenhouse gas statistics for confined animal-feeding operations. “I don’t think we can take any chances with this administration when it comes to putting greater burdens on our farmers and ranchers. With the release of the President’s budget, this administration has already demonstrated it is out of touch with production agriculture. I have heard from many farmers in my district who are concerned that this ‘cow tax’ will become a reality. This bill is a way to protect our livestock producers from costly and burdensome government intervention. And, it would end any and all discussion about regulating emissions from livestock under the Clean Air Act,” said Ranking Member Frank Lucas. H.R. 1426 is a companion bill to S.527, which was introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY).
Cornucopia Institute: Controversy "likely not" over
Rolling in this afternoon from the Cornucopia Institute:
The dismissal, on technical grounds, by a federal court judge on Monday of a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s raw almond pasteurization mandate will likely not end the controversy.
“The court’s decision sidestepped the merits and substance of the lawsuit,” said Will Fantle of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based family farm research group and organizer of the almond lawsuit.
The USDA’s lack of legal authority to enact the controversial raw almond regulation and its fumbling of the rule’s implementation were among major substantive claims detailed in the lawsuit—none of which the court has yet to rule on. Eighteen California almond farmers and wholesale nut handlers had filed the suit against the USDA last September.
“Instead,” said Fantle, “the judge decided on procedural grounds that almond farmers, just like consumers and retailers, have no right to have their concerns about the illegal nature of the almond treatment scheme heard in court.”
Implemented in September 2007, the almond pasteurization rule requires treatment with a toxic gas (propylene oxide) or steam heat for all raw almonds produced by American growers and sold commercially to domestic consumers. Oddly, imports into the U.S. of foreign nuts are exempt from the rule as are exports shipped from the U.S. to other countries. These imported nuts, generally of lesser quality, are now destroying the livelihood of organic, family-scale almond farmers in California.
Almond farmers and handlers engaged in the sale of raw and/or organic almonds have watched their operations disintegrate as a result of the treatment mandate. Consumers and retailers have turned to foreign suppliers, taking advantage of the regulatory loophole, for untreated raw and organic almonds.
“Cornucopia and our attorneys are carefully exploring legal options, including appeals and other strategies,” Fantle said. “We are not abandoning the fight to return to grocer’s shelves an American-grown, highly nutritional raw food that has been eaten with confidence and enjoyment for decades. We believe the fundamental points of our lawsuit are valid and need to be tested.”
"This issue clearly illustrates how the Bush administration, at the USDA, sold out the interests of organic consumers and farmers in deference to those of corporate agribusiness, said Mark A. Kastel, who is Cornucopia's Senior Farm Policy Analyst.
When the almond pasteurization mandate was first proposed, the USDA notified 200 industry representatives who submitted, nationally, a total of only 18 formal responses during the legally mandated public comment period.
When The Cornucopia Institute alerted almond growers, consumers, and retailers, well over 10,000 comments came into the USDA, asking the department to re-open comments and take their concerns into consideration. What many consumers and retailers found most repugnant was that despite the mandated fumigation or steam treatment, almonds would still be labeled in the marketplace as "raw."
Bush administration officials, who first entertained the idea of a "compromise" whereby organic and other high-quality smaller growers could continue to sell truly raw almonds, including a notice telling consumers that they had not been pasteurized, later informed Cornucopia that they had rejected the alternative proposal and decided to "side with the industry."
In addition to their court case, The Cornucopia Institute last month launched a campaign asking President Obama and the newly appointed USDA secretary, Tom Vilsack, to clean house at the USDA's National Organic Program and appoint officials who will promote a fair shake for family-scale farmers and consumers who are demanding authentic food in the marketplace.
TK: Check out these links to testimony from today's House Energy and Commerce hearing on food safety:
How Do You Fix Our Ailing Food Safety System?
The Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled, “How Do We Fix Our Ailing Food Safety System?” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing explored some of the key concepts that could be included in a model food safety bill.
Witness List
Caroline Smith DeWaal, Food Safety Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest
William Hubbard, Former Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning, Food and Drug Administration, Advisor, Alliance for a Stronger FDA
Martin Cole, Ph.D., Research Professor of Biology and Director, National Center for Food Safety and Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology
Thomas E. Stenzel, President and CEO, United Fresh Produce Association
Jim Lugg, Former Executive Vice President, Food Safety and Quality, Fresh Express, Consultant, Chiquita Brands
Yeah, ubiquity. It's everywhere. Thus, there is plenty of distress from this "have we hit rock bottom yet?" recession. Here is a column from the NYT on the shared pain among top shelf companies. From Floyd Norris:
Moody's is out with a report today that it calls "The Bottom Rung." It is a list of 283 American companies deemed most likely to default. The media industry has 46 companies on the list, more than any other. (No, my employer is not among them.)You can access the list here, but you will have to register with Moody's to see it.
TK: More coverage here. Just about every sector of the U.S. business district is represented on the list, including autos, clothing, restaurants and produce marketers The take home message. Misery loves company, perhaps - no, let's dress it up. "The Ubiquity of Distress".
Now that milk, almond, walnut, and grain prices have dropped, the demand for farmland has also spiraled down. In California, Central Valley Agricultural Land that was in the $15,000 price range is now closer to $10,000 per acre. Schuil & Associates is working with buyers that have taken advantage of the lower prices. Many of the local farming companies that have been in the valley for generations have made the decision to sell and large corporate buyers have come in to fill the void.
Roubini and the sucker's rally But don't get your hopes up. NYU Professor Nouriel Roubini published another big prediction on his blog yesterday claiming that there will be at least one more bear market suckers' rally in the stock markets. (A bear market rally is what happens when markets briefly make gains, causing people (i.e. suckers) to put money into the market only to watch it plummet again when everyone realizes the economy is still screwed). He also expects the markets to reach new lows over the next 12 to 18 months, and "he puts the chance of a severe U-shaped recession at 66.7 percent, and a more severe L-shaped recession at 33.3 percent."
Church based weight plan peels pounds for blacks US News The study included 35 men and women, average age 46, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 36. They took part in a pilot program conducted by lay leaders at Gospel Water Branch Baptist Church near Augusta, Ga. The lay leaders had received two days of training to present the 12 modules of Fit Body and Soul, a faith-based diabetes prevention program adapted from the U.S. National Institutes of Health-sponsored Diabetes Prevention Program.
Not exciting news for banana growers Business World The Australian government's announcement last week allowing the importation of Philippine bananas subject to certain conditions is interesting. The same announcement was also issued in 2004; it then raised hopes among local growers. It should be noted that the government's intent to ship bananas to Australia was only submitted in the late 1990s.
Senate nears passage of $410 billion spending package Reuters The U.S. Senate on Tuesday moved closer to approving a $410 billion spending bill to fund most of the government after the Obama administration offered assurances about proposed changes to U.S. policy on Cuba
Alistair Hunt of the University of Bath claims that too little attention has been paid to the likelihood of global warming creating a financial strain for millions of Britons
Dining Services should be applauded for its efforts to go local in its spending. While the issue of local food is a tough one to discuss - especially when the University has to start with the most basic of basics, defining what the word "local" means
