Let's hear it for vegetables - the White House victory garden

How government makes us fat and other Web gems

"How government makes us fat" was the headline for an opinion piece in philly.com. Now somehow it will be less so with the Obama vegetable garden and more money for nutrition programs. That's an optimistic view, but perhaps we as a country are becoming more serious about eating right, and the White House vegetable garden may be the inspiration we need.

Other headlines...

The White House Garden and the power of symbolism Examiner.com
Foodies see the vegetable garden (some 59 different items planned) as heroically symbolic and also capable of producing a lot of produce. By the way, author says White House garden not the first, but part of a "venerable tradition."


Ag inspectors may be cut from state budget Vermont Public Radio
Budget crunch may force layoffs or higher fees for state ag inspectors

Church asks portion of local gardens for food banks Evangelical Covenant
give 10% to food banks, church says.

Senators send "dear colleague" letter on ag budget cuts Cattlenetwork
Don't touch farm bill funding, Sens. Roberts and Lincoln say.

High tunnel workshop set for rural Kansas Emporia Gazette
Advocates say growing method can produce crops like lettuce 10 months per year - Ted Carey of KSU one of the presenters..

Pollan hopes for star farmers, local food Scientific American
This article tell how j-school professor Pollan continues to lead the food revolution. Remarkable when you think about it...

Third of Americans have high triglycerides CNN
Another reason to put off your doctor appt.

EPA: Global warming endangers health... for real

News that the EPA has sent a proposal to the White House stating that global warming is endangering the public health and welfare. Pundits say this could "light a fire" under Congress to get moving on global warming legislation, which in the end could endanger the pocketbooks of many Americans.

More headlines today

U.S. eyes to fix truck problem before Obama trip to Mexico in mid-April Reuters

Florida growers wary of getting squeezed WSJ
Industry considers whether Brazil is dumping FCOJ

Sustainability back in fastion IHT
Sustainability is back in fashion; a focus on environmentally friendly clothing in lieu of the $1,000 handbag

Trucker shuts Philadelphia site Philly Inquirer
USF Holland Inc. closing its Philly truck terminal April 3, to lay off 72


Recession reshapes trucking JOC
Almost one quarter of truckload carriers surveyed say they will seriously consider leaving the business if tonnage does not increase in the next six months -- as if they had a choice.
LA mayor responds to court port decision Thetrucker.com

Tentatve trade deal between South Korea, Europe NYT
Congress has still not ratified U.S.-Korea trade pact; this could increase the pressure

Dominion Citrus announces asset purchase agreement Marketwire

Students craft their own cafeteria offerings Baltimore Sun

Five appointed to board of citrus nonprofit The Ledger
to manage citrus disease research projects in Florida

Prospects for new citrus imports tax unlikely The Ledger

United: Specter opposition to card check key

From United Fresh today:



WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Fresh Produce Association (United Fresh) strongly supports senator Arlen Specter’s (R-PA) statement today that he would oppose the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and any attempt to pass a cloture motion on it.

“We greatly respect the serious consideration that Sen. Specter gave this issue,” said United Fresh President and CEO Tom Stenzel. “He clearly recognized the flaws in the bill and the fact this legislation just goes too far for average Americans in taking away workers’ right to a secret ballot.”

Specter was the lone Republican senator to support moving forward with the EFCA in the last session of Congress. His position on the current bill (S. 560) is seen as pivotal as proponents attempt to gain the necessary 60 votes for cloture and move the bill toward final passage.

“We also want to thank the members of our Pennsylvania grassroots network who have shared their opinions with Sen. Specter. Clearly the senator is listening to all of his constituents’ voices in the state and it is critical that he has heard from the produce supply chain about this bill. I’d ask every one of our members in Pennsylvania to send a note today to Sen. Specter thanking him for his serious consideration,” Stenzel said.

A full transcript of Sen. Specter’s testimony can be found here.

AFBF: Sanctions hurt U.S. ag

From the Farm Bureau this afternoon:


WASHINGTON, D.C., March 24, 2009—In an effort to end trade sanctions against U.S. farm products by Mexico, the American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter today to President Barack Obama seeking quick development and implementation of a cross-border trucking program that would comply with U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Expressing disappointment in Congress’ decision this week to end the Transportation Department’s Cross Border Trucking Pilot Program, AFBF President Bob Stallman said Mexico has already responded by imposing $2.4 billion in trade retaliation.

“This action by Congress has come at a cost to U.S. agriculture and our exports to one of our top markets,” Stallman said. “We urge you to find a resolution that will honor our obligations under NAFTA, eliminating any cause for Mexico to halt U.S. trade.”

Under the terms of NAFTA, the U.S. and Mexico each agreed to allow trucks from the other nation access into their countries. Unfortunately, the U.S. maintained its restriction on Mexican trucks crossing the border even after NAFTA implementation began. The Transportation Department’s pilot program with Mexico was developed as a step toward meeting that commitment. The pilot program came after a NAFTA dispute panel ruled the exclusion of all Mexican trucks violated U.S. obligations under NAFTA.

Now that the pilot program has been eliminated, the U.S. finds itself, once again, not in compliance with its obligations under NAFTA.

“The NAFTA panel’s ruling gives Mexico the right to retaliate against U.S. products entering Mexico, and it has done so,” Stallman said. “This retaliation will affect hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fruit, vegetable, nut, juice, wine, processed foods and oilcake exports to Mexico.”

Stallman urged Obama to implement a program compliant with U.S. obligations under NAFTA that assures safe vehicles on U.S. roads. “Delay in these actions will only prolong the negative impact on U.S. exports and our agricultural producers,” Stallman concluded.

L.A. Times weighs in on Mexican trucks

Packer Managing Editor Fred Wilkinson here.

The Los Angeles Times comes down on the side of free and open trade in an editorial on the case of Mexican trucks and tariffs:

"Thanks to the latest protectionist move by Congress to dodge our free-trade obligations with Mexico, in six to eight weeks, more than 20,000 pounds of California strawberries that ordinarily would be headed south of the border will have nowhere to go. The 80,000 people employed by the industry, however, know exactly where their jobs will be headed -- into thin air. At least that's the worst-case scenario if Congress doesn't find a way to honor the North American Free Trade Agreement and give Mexican trucks permission to travel more than a few miles north of the border, as required by the treaty."

The damage to business in the U.S. and Mexico -- not to mention consumers in Mexico -- outweighs the small political gain from barring Mexican trucks.

The U.S. needs to do a quick U-turn on this rash policy decision.

Keep on trucking (or not)

TK: Lobbyists within the industry and in other sectors are apparently working to see if the Obama Administration can provide a fix that will placate Mexico regarding the termination of funding for a pilot program that allowed Mexican trucks to operate beyond the border without going against the intent of Congress. In a time when specialty crop traders face enough obstacles already, this additional roadblock is an unwelcome aggravation, and - as some suggest - could be the start of a trade war with our southern neighbor. Yet there appears to be a stronger likelihood for a fix from the Administration, says this report from Bloomberg.


Here are some headlines from today about the issue:

Freight costs may rise after U.S. bans Mexican trucks Bloomberg

The toxic assets we elected Washington Post George Will

Congress, with the approval of a president who has waxed censorious about his predecessor's imperious unilateralism in dealing with other nations, has shredded the North American Free Trade Agreement. Congress used the omnibus spending bill to abolish a program that was created as part of a protracted U.S. stall regarding compliance with its obligation to allow Mexican long-haul trucks on U.S. roads. The program, testing the safety of Mexican trucking, became an embarrassment because it found Mexican trucking at least as safe as U.S. trucking. Mexico has resorted to protectionism -- tariffs on many U.S. goods -- in retaliation for Democrats' protection of the Teamsters union.
NAFTA, like all treaties, is the "supreme law of the land." So says the Constitution. It is, however, a cobweb constraint on a Congress that, ignoring the document's unambiguous stipulations that the House shall be composed of members chosen "by the people of the several states," is voting to pretend that the District of Columbia is a state. Hence it supposedly can have a Democratic member of the House and, down the descending road, two Democratic senators. Congress rationalizes this anti-constitutional willfulness by citing the Constitution's language that each house shall be the judge of the "qualifications" of its members and that Congress can "exercise exclusive legislation" over the District. What, then, prevents Congress from giving House and Senate seats to Yellowstone National Park, over which Congress exercises exclusive legislation? Only Congress's capacity for embarrassment. So, not much.


Lobbying effort to help Mexican vehicles keep on trucking CQ Politics

In the current economy, probably the last thing U.S. businesses want to deal with are slower sales but it looks like the roads not traveled by Mexican trucks have the potential to pull down those profits.
So a number of business groups are mobilizing a lobbying initiative to revive a program allowing Mexican truckers on U.S. highways, and in turn, reverse retaliatory tariffs that Mexico slapped on U.S. products this week.
Congress included language in the recent omnibus spending law (PL 111-8) to shut down a Bush administration pilot program that allowed approved Mexican trucking companies to send their vehicles beyond a narrow border zone.
Mexico complained that the action violated the requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, PL 103‑182) and imposed duties of 10 percent to 40 percent on U.S. goods.

The Mexican American War of 2009 The Washington Times

The Mexican trade war may just be getting revved up, thanks to the Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress ending a Bush administration pilot program that allowed a limit of 97 Mexican long-haul truck drivers into the United States (whereas, under NAFTA, all Mexican trucks meeting reasonable road standards should have been allowed access). These 97 Mexican trucks passed U.S. safety inspections and in fact compiled a slightly safer record than U.S. trucks. With so few Mexican trucks and the short duration of the program the findings can't be said to be statistically significant. But shouldn't the encouraging results let the pilot program go on a little longer before making further decisions on Mexican truckers in contravention of NAFTA?
Unfortunately, that is not how the Teamster's Union reasons. The solution for the union and its supporters isn't to get more information, but simply to cover their eyes and ears and say that they want no more information. Instead, they use what seem like phantom safety concerns to argue we stop letting the 97 Mexican truckers into the U.S.
The Mexican government has shown remarkable restraint so far. Mexicans have had the legal right to impose sanctions for years due to our limiting of their trucks, and their recent 10- to 45-percent tariffs on 90-plus minor U.S. products in retaliation for the ending of the trucker pilot program have thus far avoided going after the major commodity of corn. In 2007, Mexico was a fairly close second behind Japan in buying our corn exports, buying 19 percent of the corn. One important reason: NAFTA got rid of protections on the corn market.
Why should farmers and producers of over 90 other products lose jobs to protect Teamster truck drivers and make consumers pay higher transportation prices?



From Grocery Manufacturers Association on March 24

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) today called on Congress to fully implement the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to fully implement its cross border pilot trucking program with Mexico.

“It is imperative that Congress fully implement NAFTA and allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to fully implement its cross border pilot trucking program with Mexico,” said GMA senior vice president and chief government affairs officer Mary Sophos. “Cancellation of the pilot trucking program as part of the 2009 Omnibus Bill has resulted in Mexico’s retaliation in the form of new tariffs including on food, beverage and consumer household goods. These retaliation tariffs will have a significant impact on our industry's ability to continue to gain fair access to the Mexican market. During these tough economic times, the American consumer can hardly afford additional costs from a retaliation effort on behalf of Mexico. We urge Congress and the Administration to fully implement the program and engage Mexico to develop a solution that swiftly resolves this issue.”

The North America Free Trade Agreement has been a success in terms of promoting bilateral trade between the United States and Mexico. From 1993 to 2007, total U.S.-Mexico trade has quadrupled, from $81 billion to $347 billion. Today, Mexico is our third largest trading partner after Canada and China.

Mexico is a top export market for many U.S. businesses and manufacturers, but especially so for the food and beverage industry. Mexico is the top export destination for U.S. beef, dairy, poultry, rice, soybean meal and oil, corn sweeteners, cotton, apples and dry edible beans. It is also a major market for corn, soybeans, eggs, vegetable oils, fresh U.S. potatoes, snack foods and other consumer-oriented agricultural goods.

Red Book Credit Services - Average days to pay

It is taking longer for fresh produce sellers to get paid now than it was the same time last year, according to data from Red Book Credit Services. Pam Ayers of Red Book passes along the data used in this chart, which confirms the hunch that the slumping economy is taking on a toll on the fresh produce sector.

Apple and pear exports - January

Statistics from the USDA trade database show the following year on year results for U.S. apple and pear exports, by destination country:

Overall U.S. fresh apple exports were $73.6 million in January, down about 7% from a year ago. Meanwhile, fresh pear exports were $15.9 million, down 16.5% compared with last January.


January value compared to year ago (percent)
Apples to Canada -15%
Pears to Canada -23%

Apples to Malaysia +22%
Pears to Malaysia +13%

Apples to Mexico -23%
Pears to Mexico -13%

Apples to Russia -39%
Pears to Russia -27%

Apples to Taiwan -22%

Apples to UK +22%

25 healthy snacks and other top headlines

Growing vegetables is probably easier than you think" was one line from one of the endless stories about vegetable gardening I read this week. Easy or hard, any vegetable garden of mine is doomed for failure. Perhaps I should give it a try and confirm my suspicions....

I was right that "Little Debbie" Zebra cakes didn't make the list, and this link takes us to a column published at Examiner.com that talks about National Nutrition Month and 25 healthy snacks.


Food, Glorious Food Myths NYT
From Cathy Erway

People always say that foods with the most vibrant colors are the ones that are most healthy for you. While this is certainly true to an extent (dark green leafy vegetables contain high concentrations of Vitamin K and other nutrients), some of our dullest-colored fruits and vegetables are commonly misunderstood as nutritionally bereft. I'll blame it on iceberg lettuce, the cheap underdog of salad greens. In any case, white cabbage happens to be one of the most nutritious foods for you, packed with Vitamins K, C, A, B and even calcium, iron and fiber. White beans? They've got as much protein and fiber as red or pink pinto beans. The oft-overlooked celery, with its greenish pallor has some calcium and protein in addition to Vitamins A, C and K, and is pretty low in calories to boot. Perhaps the palest produce of them all, white cauliflower is a dense nugget of antioxidant power (and don't forget to eat the stems, too). The list goes on, but the point's clear (or off-white), don't judge a plant by its color alone.

Change diet for better by choosing more fruits, vegetables Memphis Commercial Appeal
1. Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal. Aim for two different vegetables at lunch and dinner. Fruits and vegetables are low-calorie "powerhouses" of vitamins and minerals.

West Side pupils learning healhty eating habits The Tribune Democrat

Ever since the beginning of the 2008-09 term, pupils have been participating in a Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program. In that program – funded through a government grant – each student receives a snack of a fruit or a vegetable each afternoon in their classrooms. Teachers schedule various activities in connection with the fruits and vegetables. The snacks do not interrupt classroom work, Arcurio said."The kids love it (the snack time)," he said.

Growing trend: homegrown fruits and veggies Fox KC

Pretty darn good for a few reasons, but the sale of fruits and vegetables definitely tops the list. Heartland Nursery has already told local growers about the increase in demand, in hopes they'll increase production so the nursery can keep up."Something they can plant themselves, have control of and enjoy, and at the same time save a little bit of money at the grocery store," said Keilig.

How to grow an edible garden MSNBC

Growing vegetables is probably easier than you think. If you plan it right, you can enjoy a beautiful garden full of the fruits of your labor — without having to spend hours and hours tending it.


Diplomacy, high level lobbying boost pistachio sales to Israel Miami Herald
An adroit lobbying campaign has cracked open the bountiful Israeli market for U.S.-grown pistachios.It took many years, false starts and dead ends, all in the shadow of the fraught relationship between the United States and Iran. Diplomats and politicians got involved, at the highest levels. The solution itself is a bit of bank shot. And yet, it's already paying off as pistachio shipments from California's San Joaquin Valley climb."This has been for us an issue that's been very frustrating, to say the least," Richard Matoian, executive director of the Fresno, Calif.-based Western Pistachio Association, said Friday. The historic problem, U.S. growers say, has been that low-cost Iranian pistachios were imported into Israel via Turkey. That stings, because Israel potentially is a lucrative market. The county leads the world in per-capita pistachio consumption.


Raw milk and Bill Marler Foodsafe list From Marler:
I would really like some comments and for you all to send this around to the public health community - it is time to step up and at least be honest that Raw Milk can cause illnesses.


Hydroponic lettuce in Georgia Macon.com

WIC program changing menu WBOC TV

Major changes are in store for one food assistance program in Delaware. It's getting healthier. The Delaware Women, Children and Infants Program is altering its menu for the first time since 1974.The program says the changes comply with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Now, with the vouchers they're given from WIC, women can buy a whole new range of products, including produce, whole-grain foods and low-fat milk which are items that weren't options before.

Charles Hall to Administration on pullback on H2A reforms: Reverse this action

From the federal docket, a March 23 comment by Charles Hall of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Association on the Administration's pullback on H-2A reforms.



Mr. Thomas Dowd,
Administrator
Office of Policy Development & Research
Employment and Training Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Room N-5641
Washington, D.C. 20210
RE: RIN 1205-AB55

Proposed Revision of H2A Regulations

For more than a decade Georgia H2A users have been actively involved in an effort to make H2A regulations less complex. These growers are the “good guys,” agricultural employers that are making every effort to do the right thing by operating within the law. As H2A employers these growers use legal labor, provide their workers safe housing, fair pay and good working conditions. However, these Georgia growers have suffered financially from unfair competition by those in their industry who employ undocumented agricultural workers present in our state and throughout other agricultural regions of the country. Now Georgia’s H2A employers must also deal with significant operational uncertainty caused by the US Department of Labor’s sudden suspension of the present H2A regulations.This rulemaking action by the USDOL allows only a ten-day window for affected growers to comment and that truncated comment period falls during most growers’ peak planning and planting season. To expect that the agricultural industry can suddenly cease operations to immediately prepare a detailed response to an action of such magnitude is unreasonable.

On January 17, 2009 the US Department of Labor, in compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act, issued changes to the H2A program addressing many of the concerns which growers had expressed for years. It is our opinion the changes which were implemented on January 17, 2009 make the H2A program more workable and have encouraged more growers to participate. The H2A program under the present regulations has become a more viable option for all growers, regardless of size and financial status. As use of H2A increases due to the January 17th program improvements, any reasons to have underpaid, un-housed and unprotected agricultural workers in Georgia will correspondingly decrease.

The USDOL’s March 17, 2009 arbitrary, unilateral and precipitous action to suspend the January 17th regulations is inexplicable and will have a significant operational and financial impact on Georgia’s H2A employers. Long-time H2A growers have already planned for 2009 crop activities using current regulations to budget operating costs, secure loans, plan personnel needs, finalize contracts and schedule product deliveries. To impose different rules after operating loans and planting/harvesting schedules have been established will result in tremendous disruption to these growers.

Examples of such disruptions are: types/amount of crops that can be planted, cultivated and harvested, number of acres that can be planted, the size of the workforce hired to perform the necessary duties. All of these questions affect marketing and contractual decisions regarding sale of crops.Additionally, if the January 17th rules are suspended, potential first-time H2A growers may be discouraged from program participation because of confusion about the reinstatement of the regulations which were the basis for their reluctance in the past. Further, growers who may have been planning to use H2A but changed their minds due to uncertainty regarding costs and operating rules will find it difficult at the last minute to locate domestic workers in numbers sufficient to meet their needs.Nowhere in the Federal Register is the economic impact of this precipitous rulemaking addressed by the Department. It is inconceivable that after only six weeks under regulations reviewed and then promulgated in compliance with APA, the Labor Department could ascertain that a return to previous regulations is economically beneficial to the Department, H2A employers or workers.

= Comments from the Department suggest one of the reasons for suspending the regulations was their concern that the Department lacked sufficient resources– both people, equipment and ability to develop systems to operate the program under the January 17th regulations. The Department stated that administering the suspended rules would significantly overtax the agency’s infrastructure and negatively affect the processing time required for labor work orders certification. To date in 2009, we are not aware of any H2A employer in Georgia—one of the three largest H2A-using states—that has experienced delay in receiving their requested certification under the regulations that are in place. Most H2A employers have received their certifications in an average of 5 days, which is quite acceptable and actually an improvement over previous response periods. The Foreign Labor Certification section of USDOL has processed H2A applications manually in the past under more rigid review processes than are required by the present self-attestation procedures. We do not understand why the new, simpler self-attestation process would create more work than previously required. Nor are we aware of any new resource issues with the Georgia State Workforce Agency caused by the present regulations. Under the present regulations, SWA staff is responsible only for housing inspections and placing job orders, a reduction in program responsibility that should improve their utilization of H2A staff. Further, the deadlines for housing inspections have been relaxed, allowing SWA inspectors more time to fulfill their responsibilities than under the previous regulations.

If one of the USDOL’s purported reasons for the need for additional review of the January 17th regulations is a claim that the new regulations could adversely affect agricultural workers, the action is even more inexplicable. To the contrary, increased use of H2A, with its “domestic workers first” requirement, will offer better working conditions and higher average wages to ALL agricultural workers—particularly US citizens and permanent residents who are presently competing with a largely illegal workforce. The presence of an illegal workforce in any industry depresses wages for that industry’s legal domestic workforce, as many studies have demonstrated.The present regulations also significantly strengthen the enforcement role of the USDOL. Improvement of enforcement to insure compliance with both H2A and other labor laws administered by USDOL also guarantees better protections for all agricultural workers. The agricultural industry contributes significantly to the economy of the United States. This sudden action is a breach of faith by the United States Department of Labor and will have significant impact for years to come.

The proposed action is a serious and significant change in rule making. We therefore urge the secretary to take the following actions:1. The Department should reverse this action not only because of the hardship and uncertainly it will cause to H2A employers, but because this rulemaking is in direct violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. Agriculture production is a difficult enough profession addressing day-to-day issues of crop pest pressures, weather, market pricing and multiple-agency regulatory rules without having to deal with having a new administration change the ‘labor rules’ with only 10 days notice. 2. If action to immediately withdraw this action is not taken, at a minimum the Department should lengthen the comment period to 60 days in order to accommodate an affected industry that is presently in its peak production season. (It should be noted that during the current regulations’ comment period of 60 days, the same entities who have raised issues with their implementation demanded that the Department allow 30 additional days for review and comment. To require that the agricultural community complete their comments regarding reversal with any degree of specificity within 10 days is unreasonable.)3. Further, we urge the Department to create a review committee which includes H2A users to advise the Secretary on issues affecting the H2A and any other agricultural program. We believe that the Department has no greater stakeholders than those who create the agricultural jobs in this nation.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments.