Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Monday, March 29, 2010

USDA Fruit OUtlook on strawberries

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/FTS/2010/Mar03/FTS341.pdf
Back in January, NASS released this year’s strawberry area forecast for California,Florida, and Oregon—the top three strawberry-producing States in the country.Total strawberry area for 2010 was forecast to decline by 1,500 acres in Californiaand by 100 acres in Oregon. Production area in Florida, on the other hand, wasforecast to increase by 100 acres. Mostly influenced by fewer acres in California,combined harvested area for the three States is forecast to be down by 1,300 acresthis year, totaling 48,200 acres. Both California and Florida were forecast toharvest this season’s entire planted area while 300 acres in Oregon will not beharvested. With the forecast decline in harvested acreage and based on 3-yearaverage yields per acre, ERS projects a potential drop in U.S. strawberry productionof 6 to 7 percent from a year ago. Additional weather problems that may ariseduring the remaining growing and harvesting period could further reduce theprojected production for this year. On the flip side, the possibility of significantincreases in yields, should excellent weather conditions prevail this spring andsummer, could bring about moderation to the currently projected productiondecline for 2010.California remains the dominant strawberry-producing State in the country,representing over 80 percent of total harvested area and close to 90 percent of totalvolume produced. Strawberry area in California has expanded over the last 10years (declining only in 2001, 2007, and likely in 2010) in response to increasingconsumer demand and higher grower prices, especially in the fresh fruit side of themarket. U.S. strawberry production for fresh use increased an average 8 percentannually year-after-year since 2002, except in 2008, at the same time that freshstrawberry imports into the country also continued to climb (table 14). Thepresence of imports in this market is year round, but most of the shipments coincidewith the domestic shipping season. Hence, the recent growth in imports, averaging16 percent annually in the past 5 years, signals continued strong demand to fill infor supply needs in the domestic market, especially with robust exports taking uparound 12 percent of the fresh-market crop. U.S. fresh strawberry exports set newrecord-highs each year since 2005, reaching 272 million pounds in 2009. Canadareceived 85 percent of the total export volume in 2009 and exports to the countryincreased by 9 percent. Though exports fell significantly to Mexico and the UnitedKingdom, both major markets for the industry, exports were strong to East Asia,most particularly to Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and to the Middle East.Strawberries rank as the fifth most popular fresh-market fruit in the United States,following bananas, apples, oranges, and grapes, and they top the list for berries.Domestic fresh strawberry demand has trended upwards with average annualconsumption estimated at 6.0 pounds per person from 2005-09, almost double theaverage during the early 1990s. Per capita consumption rose consecutively over thelast 8 years, reaching an estimated 7 pounds per person for the very first time in2009. The frozen strawberry market serves more as a residual market forstrawberries, given the higher returns in the fresh market. Demand for frozen
strawberries has remained fairly steady over the past decade, with annualconsumption averaging between 1 and 2 pounds per person.In California, there are five major strawberry growing districts—OrangeCounty/San Diego, Oxnard, and Santa Maria in the south and Watsonville/Salinasand San Joaquin in the north. There are also two strawberry planting seasons inCalifornia. Acreage planted in the fall produces for the winter, spring, and summerstrawberry market, and makes up around 90 percent of California’s total strawberryarea. Fall supplies come from plantings done during the summer. The smallerstrawberry area forecast for California in 2010 stems from the fewer acres plantedlast fall in almost all of the State’s strawberry-growing districts, except in Oxnard,which is the second-largest producing district in the State. According to theCalifornia Strawberry 2010 Acreage Survey released by the California StrawberryCommission, strawberry acreage planted in the fall decreased by 6 percent from theprevious year while acreage for this summer is projected to increase almost 17percent from last summer. Oxnard and Santa Maria growing districts will accountfor all of the acreage this summer.Strawberry varieties developed by the University of California continue to representa majority of California’s strawberry area. However, proprietary varieties arecapturing a growing share of the State’s strawberry acreage, with expandingpresence in Oxnard, Watsonville-Salinas, and Santa Maria districts (fig. 4). Overthe past 10 years, acreage planted to proprietary varieties rose from an average of30 percent from 2001-03 to around 39 percent from 2007-09.
The acreage survey indicated acreage planted to UC varieties is projected to declineby 10 percent from a year ago for a total of 22,464 acres while acreage planted toproprietary varieties is projected to increase 5 percent to 14,479 acres, representing39 percent of the State’s total acreage. Among UC developed strawberry varieties,Albion continues to be the most predominantly planted, with more than half of totalacreage (excluding those planted with proprietary varieties). Other prominent UCvarieties include Ventana and Camino Real, varieties that became available for thefirst time in 2002. Declines in acreage are expected for these three major UCvarieties in 2010. Acreage growth is expected for the San Andreas variety, a morerecent UC variety that has similar production patterns to Albion but exhibits moresuperior qualities, planted primarily in the Oxnard district but also has acreage inSanta Maria, Watsonville/Salinas, and Orange and San Diego County growingdistricts. Very limited acreage was first reported for this variety in 2008,representing only a tiny fraction of the State’s total strawberry area. It is a very newvariety in that licensing and transfer outside of California only started in January2010. Acreage planted to the San Andreas variety in 2009 rose sharply, capturing 3percent of total acreage and for 2010; this share is expected to increase to 7 percent.

Wal Mart Reportedly Targets Asia Growth

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10712699/1/wal-mart-reportedly-targets-asia-growth.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI

Wal-Mart Reportedly Targets Asia Growth
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (TheStreet) -- Wal-Mart(WMT), the world's largest retailer, is eyeing a launch of its e-commerce operations in China and Japan, as it looks to drive sales by expanding its online presence into new global markets, the Financial Times reports.
A Wal-Mart job advertisement for a "product localization manager" for Japan and China lists responsibilities that cover preparing for the launch of an e-commerce business, the newspaper reports.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart's vice chairman, said in January that the new business unit would weigh expansion "both in developed markets where we currently have stores and an online presence, and in markets where we don't."
Wal-Mart's latest move comes as other U.S. retailers are also using the Internet to expand their international reach. Gap(GPS) recently said it would also launch an online service in China later this year, the Financial Times notes.

Lincoln, Chambliss: USDA should revisit crop insurance changes

Lincoln, Chambliss Continue to Urge USDA to Revisit Crop Insurance Changes

Washington – U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., along with 28 U.willingness to reconsider its previous proposals as the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRAS. Senators, today expressed appreciation for the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) ) renegotiation proceeds.

Despite a modest reduction in the size of the proposed cuts between the first and second drafts, the Senators expressed their concerns with RMA’s proposals that may undermine the crop insurance program, reduce the quality of service and availability of the program, and harm rural America through job loss. The Senators also noted concern with RMA’s approach of proposing significant cuts to the program prior to the completion of a study of program delivery costs.

Text of the letter is below.

Mr. William Murphy
Administrator, Risk Management Agency
U.S. Department of Agriculture
South Agriculture Building, Room 6092-S
1400 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Mr. Murphy:

As the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) renegotiation proceeds, we write to express our appreciation for the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) willingness to reconsider its previous proposals. We strongly encourage a thorough review of comments on proposals contained in the second draft from the crop insurance industry and other interested parties to ensure that the federal crop insurance program remains a viable risk management tool for producers. The program has made significant gains over the last decade in terms of acreage insured, the range of products provided, program integrity, and service, gains which are in large part attributable to the work of the private sector companies and their local agents. The new SRA should build on these gains rather than incorporate provisions that may compromise this risk management tool, which is a critical part of the farm safety net.

We remain concerned about the magnitude of the nearly $7 billion in proposed cuts over the next ten years to the program reflected in the second draft of the SRA. By comparison, the 2005 SRA was estimated to save $410 million over ten years and the 2008 farm bill included savings of $5.6 billion over ten years. While we believe there may be some efficiencies to be identified through the SRA renegotiation process, we are concerned that the level of program cuts in the second draft will seriously—and negatively—affect several insurance companies’ ability to continue to offer much-needed risk management products in many areas of the country.

In April 2009, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that RMA conduct a study of the costs associated with selling and servicing crop insurance policies, and we understand that RMA has recently committed to initiate such a study. Given the significant changes proposed to determine administrative and operating expense (A&O) reimbursements and underwriting gains or losses, we find it difficult to understand the justification for these proposals when empirical data on actual delivery costs is lacking.

It is important that the SRA provide fair and adequate compensation for program delivery so that farmers and ranchers continue to have access to the program. This objective brings into question the new proposal in the second draft to cap commissions paid to crop insurance agents, who are a crucial component of the delivery system. We remain concerned about proposals that may undermine the program, reduce the quality of service and availability of the program, and harm rural America through job loss.

Thank you for your work in managing the federal crop insurance program and please let us know how we or our Agriculture Committee staff members, Stephanie Mercier and Christy Seyfert, can be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Blanche Lincoln
Saxby Chambliss
Max Baucus
Kit Bond
Sam Brownback
Richard Burr
Roland Burris
Thad Cochran
Susan Collins
Kent Conrad
John Cornyn
Mike Crapo
Byron Dorgan
Lindsey Graham
Chuck Grassley
Kay Bailey Hutchinson
James Inhofe
Daniel Inouye
Tim Johnson
Amy Klobuchar
Mary Landrieu
Patrick Leahy
Ben Nelson
Mark Pryor
James Risch
Pat Roberts
Arlen Specter
John Thune
David Vitter
Roger Wicker

Eating farther down the food chain

Eating farther down the food chain
Friday, March 26, 2010
McCook Daily Gazette
Good luck, Jamie.

British reality chef Jamie Oliver stars in his new "Food Revolution" show on ABC Friday nights, aiming to change the way America eats.

Like we said, good luck.

We admire his effort, but we also have sympathy for the jaded lunch ladies in Huntington, W. Va. -- once called the "unhealthiest" city in America -- who watched him struggle to prepare acres of fresh food on budget only to see the vast majority of it dumped into the garbage after the lunch hour.

Like so many other efforts at social reform, Oliver's ambitious project attempts to use schools to achieve its goals. In reality, the American diet is defective from BPA-contaminated baby bottles to the trans-fats in the doughnuts retirees enjoy with their artificially-sweetened morning coffee. School lunches are an easy target, but they're far from alone when it comes to providing heavily processed food.

Institutional dietitians know how hard it is to meet federal guidelines while coming on budget for both food and the labor it takes to prepare it.

Add to that the struggle to provide something diners will enjoy, and you see the problem.

But there's no doubt the American diet is too high in fat, sugar, salt and processed food, as evidenced by the number of us who are overweight and who suffer from diet-related illnesses like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

All of us would do better to eat farther down the food chain, dining on fresh fruits and vegetables and home-cooked meals from raw ingredients. One simple yardstick is to look at your plate: half of it should be covered with vegetables, a fourth of it bread or pasta, and a fourth of it meat.

First lady Michelle Obama's emphasis on healthy eating is something we can all get behind, including her planting of a vegetable garden on the South Lawn and her "Let's Move" campaign aimed at school children.

March is a good time to think about planting a garden of your own, providing a chance to introduce fresh produce into your menu at a bargain price.

If Jamie Oliver, Michelle Obama and others like them are successful, perhaps it won't be impossible to persuade the next generation of school children to choose health fresh fruits and vegetables instead of the salty, fatty, fare they now prefer.

Farmers Sell Crop 'Shares' for Spring Harvest - Cornell

Farmers Sell Crop 'Shares' for Spring Harvest - Cornell


Farmers and Ithaca community members talked business at farmers’ booths last Sunday at the Community-Supported Agriculture Fair at the Boynton Middle School Cafeteria.

The event, which was organized by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, allowed community members to purchase shares in the crop yields that farmers will produce in the upcoming spring growing season.

Most plans allow community members to pay a certain amount up front and then receive weekly deliveries of vegetables that they can pick up at their local farmer's market. Other farmers offered locals discounts on future produce, depending on the size of their down payment. The bigger the payment, the larger the discounts later on. Some farm owners even pitched the chance to come to their farm and pick a certain amount of berries each week –– called the “U-Pick” plan –– after a lump-sum payment.

Plans like these are part of the community-supported agriculture initiative, which is a marketing strategy that depends upon the personal relationship between the farmer and the consumer. Consumers buy shares in the farm, and farmers deliver those shares. The farmer then has a guaranteed market for produce, and the consumer obtains fresh, local goods throughout the growing season and, usually, the opportunity to visit the farm.

“The CSA fair is mainly to give the public a chance to interface with all of the CSA [based farms] that we have in the community –– to talk to the farmers and find out which CSA fits their needs the best,” Monika Roth, the Agriculture Program leader for the CCE said.

“We’ve done this for about five years now. Each year it helps farmers recruit some new folks that may not have known about them. Every year we have a few new CSAs too.”

People milled around from booth to booth, sampling apples from the Fruit Bowl and asking farmers for details about their specific programs. The fourteen CSAs at the fair varied widely in the programs and produce that they offered, but all shared a common commitment to sustainable farming practices and and the production of the highest quality fruits and vegetables.

“Typical fair attendees are folks who know, or are pretty sure, they want to join a CSA farm and want to learn about as many as possible before making their decision,” stated Debbie Teeter of the CCE in an e-mail.

Katie Creeger from Kestrel Perch Farms is both a CSA member and a CSA operator. She gets her vegetables from a West Haven Farm and grows berries on her “U-Pick” CSA.

“I’d been a vegetable CSA member for years. You get to know who’s growing your food; you can quiz them about their practices. You know it’s fresh, you know it’s local. If I’m growing berries for 200 people I want someone else to grow my vegetables,” Creeger said.

Creeger also said that she believes in the division of labor, as it is very difficult to grow both fruits and vegetables. This was her third year at the CSA fair. She is trying to increase membership in her CSA to 200 people from 180 current members.

“I think it went well –– it’s a very high-yield crowd, meaning a high percentage of the attendees wind up joining a CSA. Also, we had a really nice turnout from the farms, which lets consumers talk to a lot of farmers in one place,” Teeter stated.

It was Gordon Gallup of Silver Queen Farm’s first time at the CSA fair. He has an established U-Pick farm, and had decided to offer the discount approach to consumers at the fair. He started using the community-supported agriculture approach because he was losing customers to other CSAs.

The personal level of the CSA model also appealed to Gallup.

“I think the family level is good for both the farmer and the consumer. For the farmer, on a family scale you can use your own labor. For the consumer, it’s an ideal situation for young families with kids so that they [the kids] can understand that there’s people out there growing food for them,” Gallup said.

“In the summer when you’re standing in a field that’s three football fields of strawberries it’s just … amazing.”

Roth also noted that the Cornell Cooperative Extension has multiple CSA-based programs.

“We have a program called Healthy Food for All, which subsidizes the cost of a CSA for food-stamp eligible residents in Tompkins County. We have about 7 CSAs who participate in that program … We coordinate with local social service agencies to get the sign-ups, the low-cost share,” Roth said.

“We had enough for about 120 households, so there were over 300 actual individuals who were getting CSA subsidized shares and weekly produce throughout the whole season.”

In terms of the success of the program, Roth said that “results and changes in diet have been really huge with most people who actively get 8-10 new vegetables into their diet.”

She added that the subsidized shares program “increases vegetable intake in the summer by leaps and bounds" and that their "main goal is to improve nutrition.”

Sunday, March 28, 2010

U.S. Tree Fruit Outlook USDA - Avocados

U.S. Tree Fruit Outlook USDA - Avocados


In the growing U.S. fresh fruit market, domestic per capita consumption of avocados increased an average 10 percent annually over the past 10 marketing seasons (1999/2000-2008/09), the second-fastest growth rate after blueberries.Only in two of those past 10 seasons did domestic per capita avocado consumption decline—in 2002/03 when domestic production declined 20 percent and in 2007/08 when sharply higher export shipments competed with domestic shipments for
available supplies (table 13). Domestic avocado production in 2008/09 declined to
its lowest level since 1979/80, yet per capita consumption rose to a record 3.8
pounds per person, mainly with imports of Mexican avocados driving the supply
growth. Consumption will likely continue to grow in 2009/10 as anticipated
production increases in all three of the United States’ major sources for avocados—
California, Mexico, and Chile—is projected to boost domestic supplies up to a
record 1.2 billion pounds. Even with a strong export market, this level of supplies
should be sufficient to meet the demand growth in the domestic market. ERS is
projecting 2009/10 consumption to reach the 4.0 pounds per person mark,
surpassing the record high last season by 7 percent.
Based on a crop projection estimate from the California Avocado Commission,
avocado production in California for the 2009/10 marketing season is expected to
more than double the very small crop size in 2008/09, and be the largest crop since
1992/93. About 90 percent of U.S. avocado production is from California and
therefore the expected rebound in their production will be reflected in the overall
U.S. avocado crop. ERS projects 2009/10 U.S. avocado production to increase
from 232 million pounds last season to a 5-year high of around 473 million pounds.
California avocado groves showed very little wind damage and pest problems this
growing season, signaling potential for a very good quality crop. However, fruit
were slow to size, especially those in the southern growing region, forcing a
delayed start to this season’s shipments. Normally, fruit from southern California
groves start showing up in the market around late January or February. For this
season, California avocado supplies began to increase to promotable levels in
March, thanks to the heavy rains in January and February which aided in the
sizing of fruit.
Although California and Florida shipments were down early this winter, increased
imports from Mexico and Chile provided sufficient volume for retailers during
those months, keeping prices to consumers down from the same time last year,
according to AMS data. January-February Hass avocado retail prices averaged
$1.02 each, from $1.14 the same time last year. While Chile’s shipping season has
finished, continued increased volume expected from California and Mexico through
the spring and summer will continue to put downward pressure on prices relative to
last year in the coming months. California’s northern growing region, typically
shipping avocados beginning around May or June, reportedly had a lot of fruit on
trees, so growers were forced to harvest some early to prevent an oversupply in the
spring and early summer and also to help the remaining fruit gain size. Achieving
both these situations would keep prices from slipping further in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Florida avocado shipments have wound down for the season, with
supplies down 17 percent from a year ago, based on AMS data.
The expected big 2009/10 crop in California should mean there will be increased
availability for the export market. There are at least 40 countries around the world
that serve as export markets for U.S. avocados. Canada receives the bulk of the
volume and South Korea is also an important market. U.S. avocados continue to
face growing competition in their key export markets, especially with major
producers—Mexico and Chile. Over the last 10 years, U.S. exports ranged from 3 to 6 million pounds (or around 1 to 2 percent of production) except in 2005/06
when exports were 14.5 million pounds and in 2007/08 at 13.5 million pounds.
Exports were much higher during both those marketing seasons than other seasons
over the past decade, but volumes still do not match up to high levels achieved
during the mid-1980s through mid-1990s when exports averaged around 25 million
pounds annually.
Chile’s avocado crop for this season benefited from improved crop-growing
weather with production rebounding from a sharply smaller crop last season due to
a freeze. The Chilean avocado industry was mostly unharmed by the strong
earthquake that shook the country on February 27. Shipments were winding down
for the season when the earthquake occurred and most export-bound supplies had
already left the country. AMS data indicate Chilean weekly shipments to the
United States slowed by almost 40 percent in late February through the first week of
March from the average weekly shipments during the first three weeks in February.
In addition to seasonal declines, the drop in shipments reflects the slow movement
of Chilean products, in general, as the country assessed earthquake damage to all
sectors of its economy. Relative to last season, however, the earthquake did not
prevent Chile’s avocado industry from shipping much higher volumes to the United
States late in the season.
In Mexico, a combination of favorable weather during the growing season and
continued implementation of phytosanitary programs to control pests led to
increased production potential for their avocado crop, with 2009/10 total production
forecast to increase to a record 1.18 million metric tons, up almost 6 percent from
the previous season, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

Mexico’s domestic market consumes most of that country’s avocado production,
but growing international demand for their Hass avocados, particularly from the
United States, (Mexico’s main export market), as well as from other important
markets such as Japan, Canada, France, and El Salvador, and potential markets like
China, has influenced increased plantings in recent years. Hence, avocado
production in Mexico is expected to continue to trend upward in the next few years
as these recent plantings come into bearing. Exports from Mexico for 2009/10 are
forecast to remain about unchanged from 2008/09, but volumes going to the U.S.
market are projected to increase by 10 percent.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Studies Confirm That Potassium-Rich Foods Are Great For Your Heart


Studies Confirm That Potassium-Rich Foods Are Great For Your Heart

Recent studies have confirmed that the consumption of foods rich in potassium such as raw fruits and vegetables is the best way to protect yourself against stroke.

The importance of eating plenty of potassium rich foods including potatoes, leafy green vegetables and bananas cannot be understated for those who wish to reduce their chances of suffering a stroke or even a coronary artery disease. In a recent study conducted by Italian scientists, the findings concluded that a higher intake of potassium was linked to a 19% reduced risk of stroke, as well as an 8% reduced risk of coronary heart disease. As such, these research findings have offered support to the worldwide recommendations made for people to generally increase their intake of potassium-rich foods, if they wish to protect themselves from vascular diseases. Other foods which are recommended for their good concentrations of potassium include apricots, soybeans, prune juice, avocado, dried beans, peas and plain non-fat yogurt.

A related study concluded that you can protect yourself against a stroke by partaking in a diet high in raw fruits and vegetables. In this study, the scientists investigated the incidences of stroke amongst more than twenty thousand men and women whose ages ranged between twenty and sixty-five years old; and all who did not suffer from cardiovascular diseases at the beginning of the research study. During the follow up studies which spanned a decade, there were two hundred and thirty three incidences of stroke amongst the subjects. General research findings concluded that persons with high intakes or raw fruits and vegetables in quantities higher than 262 grams a day were 36% less likely to suffer from a stroke, in comparison to persons with a low intake of raw fruits and vegetables in quantities lower than 92 grams a day.

Buy whole fruits and vegetables to save money - Norwich.com


Buy whole fruits and vegetables to save money
- Norwich.com

Everyone is on a budget and when it comes to buying groceries, saving money is at the top of the list. During National Nutrition Month, here are cost-saving tips to keep in mind when shopping for healthy food.

- Try to stay away from bagged salad mix. It tends to be more expensive because it’s not in its whole form. Instead, stick to whole lettuce heads of different varieties that need to be washed and cut.

- Avoid buying fruit already cut up, such as off the salad bar or in the cold food display case section. Buying whole fruit is cheaper.

- Pick fruits and vegetables that are seasonal and as always, watch prices. Sometimes even seasonal fruit and vegetables can be expensive depending on the weather in southern places where they are grown and harvested.

- In the summer, grow your own fruits and vegetables. If you have the time to do this, it will save you money in the long run.

- When it comes to snacks, try making your own. Recipes can be found for making snack mixes versus buying them already made. For example, pita chips for dip can be made from pita wraps and baked off — you’ll be able to season them yourself and likely cut back on salt content.

- Buy meat with skin and bones and trim it yourself. When comparing cost per pound, meat that has not yet been trimmed is cheaper.

- Buy food and supplies in bulk. Often times, wholesale club stores offer lower prices when customers can buy in bulk. In the case of meat, some of the product can be trimmed and frozen if not needed right away.

- Using coupons can help. Sometimes coupons are offered to get customers to try new things. You may want to avoid using coupons if it encourages you to buy a product you really don’t need.

- Watch your portions. It’s not only important to follow serving size on packages for food for weight management purposes, but also when using soaps and detergents. Laundry detergent will tell you exactly how much to use; don’t be tempted to use more for “extra clean” clothes.


Lastly, and most of us have heard this before, don’t go shopping when you’re hungry. You are more likely to buy food you don’t need, and even worse, eat it on the way home.


Whitney Bundy is a registered dietitian and director of Food and Nutrition Department at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. E-mail all of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org or comment on their blog at www.healthydocs.blogspot.com

Wal-Mart, Target Top Value Report - Twice.com

Wal-Mart, Target Top Value Report - Twice.com

DAYTON, OHIO — Wal-Mart and Target are the most “valuable” retail brands in the U.S. according to an annual report by retail brand consultants Interbrand Design Forum.

The discounters were followed by Best Buy (No. 3), The Home Depot (No. 4) and Walgreens (No. 5).

Interbrand evaluates brand value on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for a company in the future. Its Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands ranking factors in financial strength, importance in driving consumer selection, and the likelihood of ongoing branded revenue.

Wal-Mart, in its second year at No. 1, increased its brand value by 19 percent to $154 billion, as a store remodeling program improved comp sales and the economic downturn made the chain relevant to an even greater number of shoppers, Interbrand said.

Target also built its brand value last year, which rose a whopping 49 percent. Interbrand said the discounter’s focus on improving operations while reducing growth without compromising its brand helped it leapfrog Best Buy and The Home Depot to take the No. 2 spot.

Other CE and majap retailers on Interbrand’s Top 50 brand value rankings include Dell (No. 8); Amazon.com (No. 10); Lowe’s (No. 12); Staples (No. 14); Costco (No. 15); and RadioShack (No. 30).

Wal-Mart Has Plans To Reverse Same-Store Sales Slump - Mediapost

Wal-Mart Has Plans To Reverse Same-Store Sales Slump - Mediapost

Wal-Mart may have gone a bit overboard in the implementation of its "Project Impact" plan which, combined with food deflation, has led to the third straight quarter the store saw negative same-store sales growth. But it has plans to reverse the trend, Sean Gregory reports.

When the company reduced the number of brands and package sizes in its grocery section, it suffered two consequences. Some shoppers retreated to neighborhood supermarkets or dollar stores for staples. And the brands that were booted from Walmart shelves decided they had nothing lose by competing with the Bentonville Behemoth on price.

Now, the company is returning about 300 discontinued items to the shelves in one effort to lure back customers. It's also "lacing up the gloves" in the price war, says Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig. For example, a two-liter bottle of Coke that recently sold at a New York-area Walmart for $1.58 has been cut to 98 cents. "That's 'wow' pricing," says Weinswig, "and you'll think twice about going somewhere else."

At Rally, Call for Urgency on Immigration Reform - NYT

At Rally, Call for Urgency on Immigration Reform - NYT


WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of immigrants and activists rallied here on Sunday, calling for legislation this year to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and seeking to pressure President Obama to keep working on the contentious issue once the health care debate is behind him.



Demonstrators filled five lengthy blocks of the Washington Mall, down the hill from the Capitol where last-minute negotiations were under way on the health care bill. The immigrant activists, chanting Mr. Obama’s campaign slogan of “Yes we can” in Spanish and English, tried to compete with their numbers for public and media attention which were mainly focused on the climactic health care events in the House of Representatives.

The rally brought the return to major street action by immigration activists, who turned out hundreds of thousands of protesters in marches and rallies in 2006. After an immigration overhaul measure was defeated in Congress in 2007, the pace of enforcement raids picked up and many immigrants, especially those without legal status, preferred to lay low.

But immigrant advocates decided to gamble by calling the march, to give a show of force that might impress Mr. Obama and also to vent the frustration of many immigrants who have taken to heart his repeated promises that he would move an immigration bill in Congress by early this year.

Mr. Obama addressed the crowd via a videotaped message displayed on huge screens, promising to keep working on the issue but avoiding a specific time frame.

“I have always pledged to be your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system, and that’s a commitment that I reaffirm today,” Mr. Obama said.

He expressed his support for the outline of an immigration bill presented last week by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, and Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. While pledging to help build bipartisan support, Mr. Obama warned, “You know as well as I do that this won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight.”

But speaker after speaker rose to demand immigration legislation sooner rather than later, leaving aside any mention of the acrid political environment in Washington in the aftermath of the health care battle.

“Every day without reform is a day when 12 million hard-working immigrants must live in the shadow of fear,” said Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, a Democrat from New York who is the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“Don’t forget that in the last presidential election 10 million Hispanics came out to vote,” she said. She told the crowd to tell lawmakers “that you will not forget which side of this debate they stood on.”

Representative Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois, a Democrat who has been a leader of the immigrants’ movement, said he was optimistic that Mr. Obama would try to get an immigration bill this year.

“I see a new focus on the part of this president,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “That’s why we are here to say we are not invisible.”

The urgency was echoed by church leaders who spoke, including Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, and Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, the leader of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the largest organization of Latino evangelical churches.

“The angst and trepidation in our communities is unprecedented,” Mr. Rodriguez said. He compared the mood among Latinos to the hard days of the civil rights movement. “This is our Selma,” he said.

Echoing that thought were an array of African-American leaders who turned out for the event. Speakers included the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Benjamin T. Jealous, president of the N.A.A.C.P; Cornel West, a Princeton scholar, and Marc H. Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans and the president of the National Urban League.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum and a leading organizer of the event, said that rallies were planned in several cities on April 10, the last day of the Congressional recess. On May 1, Mr. Noorani said, immigrant groups would release a report card of every lawmaker and where they stand on the immigration overhaul.

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, said he thought an immigration bill could pass at the end of the year, after the storm of the November elections had passed.

The crowd, overwhelmingly Latino immigrants, arrived on buses from California, Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Colorado and many other places. Unions brought thousands of members, including dozens of workers from a meat-packing plant in Tar Heel, N.C.

While a few demonstrators waved flags from other countries, most flew American flags overhead, recalling the negative reaction from American voters to earlier protests where Mexican flags dominated. Farm workers from Florida held one billowing flag overhead and propped it with sticks, forming a tent.

In the crowd, frustration with Mr. Obama was strong. Rudy Romero, 19, and Andrea Rentaria, 23, said they boarded buses early Friday in Colorado with 54 other people, and 36 hours later, arrived in Washington. They said they were disappointed with the pace of progress on immigration.

“We’ve been waiting for so long,” Mr. Romero said. “I know it takes time, but a promise is a promise. We are demanding it today.”

Ms. Rentaria added, “We want to step up and say, ‘Hey, wake up. We’re here. We’re still waiting. We’ve given you time to settle in. When is this going happen?’ ”

“I understand you have to take care of health care,” Ms. Rentaria said. “As soon as we’re done with that,” she said, immigration should be next.

Although there were a few jeers for Mr. Obama during a morning rally, the crowd roared when he appeared on video.

Adrian Vasquez, 32, held up a sign reading “Support Our President, Immigration Reform Now!” Mr. Vasquez, who has been in the United States for 20 years and is now an illegal immigrant, admitted that the push for an overhaul “could not come at a worse time” for Mr. Obama.

But he said, “I’m eager for change. I think we can get it done.”

Theo Emery contributed reporting.

Revised Food Safety Law Predicted This Year - Wisconsinagconnection

Revised Food Safety Law Predicted This Year - Wisconsinagconnection
USAgNet - 03/22/2010

Speaking at Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit 2010, US Rep. DeLauro said she expects Congress to pass food safety law this year, which would include meat and poultry inspection. The bill could be held up because of trade implications but new trade deals should include food safety provisions. An expert panel of scientists should look at USDA system, she said.

Congress will pass a new law to overhaul the antiquated US food safety system by the end of the year, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, an influential House lawmaker, said last week at Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit 2010.

The first major reform of the system in 50 years could be followed by another close look at how meat and poultry are inspected, and the changes may create friction with trade partners, said the chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.

"I have every confidence that we are going to pass food safety legislation and this legislation is going to get to the president for a signature and that that's going to happen this year," said Connecticut Democrat, DeLauro, who was speaking at the Reuters Summit.

The House passed its bill last July. But a companion Senate bill has been held up by work on health-care and financial regulatory reform. It also has been stalled by the Trade Representative's office, which wants to ensure reforms do not contravene trade agreements, DeLauro said.

Mayor's agriculture plan soon to bear fruit SF Gate

Mayor's agriculture plan soon to bear fruit SF Gate



Vegetable gardens will soon be sprouting in unlikely places throughout San Francisco including a building that produces steam to heat the Civic Center, Department of Public Works land in the Bayview, outside McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park and at the San Francisco Police Academy in Diamond Heights.



The public library has installed gardens outside its Mission and Noe Valley branches with plans for more and is leading classes for teens on how to cultivate them.

And the city may soon adopt proposals from private groups to install easy-to-assemble chicken coops in its gardens and send mobile vegetable markets to school pick-up zones and other busy destinations.

It's all the result of Mayor Gavin Newsom's executive directive eight months ago to reshape how San Franciscans think about food and choose what to eat.

"Urban agriculture is about far more than growing vegetables on an empty lot," Newsom told The Chronicle. "It's about revitalizing and transforming unused public spaces, connecting city residents with their neighborhoods in a new way and promoting healthier eating and living for everyone."

Newsom unveiled the unusual plan in July. His directive required that all city departments conduct an audit of unused land - including empty lots, windowsills, median strips and rooftops - that could be converted into gardens.

He also demanded that food vendors that contract with the city offer healthful food and that vending machines on city property do the same. He required that farmers' markets accept food stamps, though some already did. He also put a stop to doughnuts and other junk food at city meetings and conferences.

The plan was deemed silly by some who said it shouldn't be a priority for the cash-strapped city, but Newsom remains adamant there are long-term benefits to urban agriculture.

"There's no better preventative medicine and no easier way to reduce health care costs for the long term than teaching our residents and our children to eat healthier," he said, pointing to First Lady Michelle Obama's White House garden as proof it's a matter of national concern.

Newsom today will break ground on a new garden at a steam powerhouse owned by the Department of Public Works at McAllister and Larkin streets, and the food grown at the farm will go to volunteers who help care for it. Several other gardens have recently gone up or soon will. The library is eyeing gardens at seven more branches.

The city is partnering with a variety of private groups and nonprofits to build individual gardens, and it's mostly those groups that are picking up the tab for seeds and other supplies.

The Department of the Environment has started an Urban Gleaning Program to teach people how to plant fruit trees, supply local food pantries with fresh food and manage a listserv for those interested in urban agriculture.

Sales at San Francisco farmers' markets to those using food stamps increased 85 percent last year. The public health department this summer will begin hosting cooking classes at the Alemany and Fillmore farmers' markets.

A project is under way to ensure the food served at the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department is locally grown and nutritious.

The city also helped launch a competition last fall seeking innovative designs related to urban agriculture and is likely to begin using some of the favorites. They include Chicken Cribs - billed as "the quick and easy, self-assembly urban chicken coop" - and Mobile Markets, carts stocked with produce that can easily be taken to any busy locale.

Astrid Haryati, the mayor's greening director, said the food grown on city property will either be given at low or no cost to neighbors or distributed to local farmers' markets. But she noted there's a benefit beyond healthful food: a more beautiful landscape.

"It's not only about feeding mouths," she said. "It's about feeding the soul and feeding the pride of San Francisco urban dwellers."

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.

Supersized Last Supper: Christ's final dinner portions 'grow with obesity crisis' - The Telegraph


Supersized Last Supper: Christ's final dinner portions 'grow with obesity crisis' - The Telegraph


Researchers compared the size of food in 52 of the most famous portrayals of Jesus Christ and his disciples at their final meal before his death and found dramatic changes. The size of the main dish grew 69 per cent; the size of the plate, 66 per cent; and the bread, 23 per cent, between the years 1000 and 2000.

"Supersizing" - a term that became popular in the mid-1990s and describes the ability of McDonalds' customers to increase portion sizes - is often considered a modern phenomenon. But "what we see recently may be just a more noticeable part of a very long trend," said Brian Wansink, a food behaviour scientist at Cornell University who conducted the study with his brother Craig, a professor of religious studies at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virgini



"We think that as art imitates life, these changes have been reflected in paintings of history's most famous dinner," he added.

He believes that the wider availability of food has led gradually over the millennium to the phenomenon of serving bigger portions on larger plates.

Computer technology allowed the brothers to scan, rotate and calculate images regardless of their orientation in the paintings, judging the size of the portions against the size of the heads of the disciples.

Details of the study will be published in the April issue of the International Journal of Obesity.

But some questioned the accuracy of the study. The study is "not very meaningful science," said Martin Binks, a behavioural health psychologist and a consultant at Duke University Medical Centre. "We have real life examples of the increase in portion size - all you have to do is look at what's being sold at fast-food restaurants."

A more contemporary test would be to analyse portion sizes in advertisements during American football's Super Bowl, he suggested.

Japan Feb Supermarket Sales -2.4% Y/Y, Down 15 Months In Row - Imarket


Japan Feb Supermarket Sales -2.4% Y/Y, Down 15 Months In Row - Imarket


TOKYO (MNI) - Sales at supermarkets in Japan open for at least a year fell 2.4% in February from a year earlier to Y933.3 billion as consumers remained frugal amid falling wages and high unemployment, an industry group said on Tuesday.

But the year-on-year drop shrank from the previous month thanks to good sales of flat-screen TVs, bicycles and some spring clothing, the Japan Chain Stores Association said.

It was the 15th consecutive year-on-year drop in supermarket sales following -4.9% in January. The last y/y rise in sales was +0.6% marked in November 2008.

The figures are based on the combined sales at 68 supermarket chains which together operate 8,201 outlets. The numbers have been adjusted to facilitate comparison on a same-store basis.

Including sales at stores newly opened during the past year, revenue fell 2.0% from a year earlier in February, down for the 27th consecutive month after falling 4.3% the previous month. The last time sales under this category rose was in November 2007 (+0.5% y/y).

Surprise! Harsh Supermarket Lights Add Nutrients to Spinach - Fast Company


Surprise! Harsh Supermarket Lights Add Nutrients to Spinach
- Fast Company

Think the spinach in supermarkets isn't as nutrient-packed as the stuff that comes straight out of the ground? Think again. The unpleasant fluorescent lighting found in grocery stores actually enhances the nutritional value of spinach, according to a study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Chemistry.

The researchers involved in the study found that spinach in clear plastic containers kept at 30 degrees F and exposed to fluorescent lighting for 24 hours a day contained boosted levels of vitamins C, K, E, folate, lutein, and zeaxanthin after just three days. Nine days on, folate levels increased by 84% to 100%, while Vitamin K levels increased between 50% and 100%.

Does this mean we should go for supermarket fruits and veggies over farm-fresh varieties? Not exactly. A recent study from IFR EXTRA showed that vegetables on supermarket shelves can lose up to 45% of their nutritional value between the time they are picked and land in stores. Spinach might be an exception. Eventually, though, the researchers hope to use fluorescent lights to improve the value of a number of vegetables--so supermarket produce might not be so bad in the end.

A push for healthier school meals - TDN

A push for healthier school meals - TDN



PHILADELPHIA — Charlie Baltimore eyed the pizza in the cafeteria of the High School of the Future with simmering contempt.

"In a year," the school administrator vowed, "we're going to eliminate pizza."

Unlike most city schools, the technologically specialized West Philadelphia school has a full kitchen where many meals are prepared practically from scratch. Like just four other schools, it gets $5,000 a year in extra funding from the district to buy fresh produce. There's even a vegetable garden.

Future is emblematic both of what healthy school eating can look like and of Philadelphia's place in the forefront of cities seeking to improve school meals.

But Future is a relative anomaly. And, according to Baltimore and others, much work has to be done to get other schools in the city — as well as across America - up to that same standard.

Denigrating most district meal offerings as "slop," Baltimore said: "The more we phase out garbage, the better our students will be."

Baltimore's call for change coincides with a movement to make school meals healthier.

There's a battle on to beat back childhood obesity and to fight hunger among poor children, more of whom are eating subsidized school meals because of the economy. Often, schools serve the only nutritious meals children eat, advocates say.

Within two weeks, Congress is expected to vote on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which funds the $12 billion-a-year school-meal programs, among others.

It's the first reauthorization in more than five years, and President Obama, who has pledged to end child hunger by 2015, wants to add $10 billion to it over 10 years.

His administration also wants to increase the reimbursement rate for meal programs, saying it will help districts afford healthier food.

Though many suburban districts have fewer poor students, a move to more healthful offerings would apply to those schools as well.

Recently, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked the nonprofit Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, to assess school meals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers school food programs.

The conclusion: Too much sugar, salt and fat. First lady Michelle Obama, in Philadelphia last month for her campaign against childhood obesity, concurred.

The institute did the first major overhaul of school nutritional rules since the 1970s, said the director of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Nutrition Center, Virginia Stallings, who headed the effort. The report calls for more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, while limiting fat, calories and sodium. If accepted, the IOM's recommendations could be in place by 2011.

The reauthorization is also inspiring proposed changes rooted in a 19-year-old local program.

In Philadelphia, all children in schools with high concentrations of poverty eat free meals without filling out forms. This avoids what advocates say are costly and stigmatizing applications that deter kids from eating. A bill to make the Philadelphia program the law of the land has been introduced by Sens. Bob Casey and Arlen Specter, both Pennsylvania Democrats.

Further, Vilsack announced that the reauthorization bill should limit the sale of high-sugar drinks and snacks in school vending machines. And he wants to curtail "a la carte" items - non-USDA-sanctioned snacks that schools sell to make money.

That also reflects a local practice. "The Philadelphia school district is a national leader in getting soda and junk foods out of schools," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy with the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. She noted that the district also has banned fried foods: "Now the rest of the country must follow Philadelphia's lead.

"With so much happening, all the stars are aligned for us to make progress this year."

Change is vital, say doctors who see obese children with adult illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wants to improve nutrition by mandating vegetarian meals in schools, said Kathryn Strong, the organization's dietitian.

Others agree. "If we take 100 calories a day out of school meals, we move the needle on obesity," said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University.

The Institute of Medicine is attacking calories. Until now, USDA school-meal guidelines have stipulated minimum calories only, without any upper limits. In the 1970s when the minimums were first set, doctors were worried that children weren't eating enough, Stallings said.

For example, the only rule about calories in lunches for kids in grades seven through 12 has been that they contain at least 825 calories. The new proposal calls for a range of calories: no fewer than 750 calories, but no more than 850 calories per lunch for that age group.

"That's a big change," Stallings said, acknowledging that the institute's recommendations would increase food costs — 18 percent for breakfast, 4 percent for lunch.

A whole-grain bun can be 10 cents more than a regular bun, said Wayne Grasela, senior vice president of the division of food services for Philadelphia schools.

As a remedy, Vilsack is asking Congress for an increase in the USDA reimbursement.

Throughout the country, the USDA reimburses school districts for meals on a scale connected to income.

The agency pays $2.68 per free lunch for children whose families live below 130 percent of the U.S. poverty level; $2.28 for reduced-price lunches for children at 130 to 185 percent of poverty; and about 25 cents for full-price lunches for those above 185 percent. (The poverty level for a family of four is about $22,000.)

Breakfast reimbursements run about $1 less per meal.

The nonprofit School Nutrition Association requested a 35-cent-per-meal increase.

In 2009, about 32 million children participated in the school-lunch program, with nearly 64 percent receiving free or reduced-price meals, USDA figures show. About 11 million ate breakfast at school, with about 84 percent eating free or reduced-price meals.

In Philadelphia, as many as 120,000 lunches and 58,000 breakfasts are served each day, the vast majority free or reduced-price.

From 2008 through 2009, the number of children eating subsidized lunch nationwide increased by 600,000, attributable to the bad economy, Wootan said.

About 20 percent of the food in school cafeterias comes from the USDA commodities program, a list of 180 foods donated by the agency. The rest is purchased on the open market with reimbursement dollars.

Beef and cheese make up 75 percent of the items districts get from the commodities list, Wootan said. Many districts — Philadelphia included - divert fresh commodities to processors, Wootan said. "Too many schools turn chicken into nuggets, or pork into pizza toppings," she said.

In Philadelphia schools, much of the food comes from a Brooklyn, N.Y., distributor, which prepares, packages, and ships frozen meals to schools to be warmed, Grasela said. Two-thirds of city schools - mostly elementary and middle schools - have no kitchens, said Sandy Sherman, director of nutrition education at the nonprofit Food Trust in Philadelphia.

Many high schools have kitchens where meals are cooked that "are better, fresher," Sherman said.

At Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School, which once had a full kitchen, it would cost $112,000 to build a new one, said science teacher Abby Pelcyger. "I'd prefer them eating fresher foods," she said, "but the district's hands are tied."

The food isn't loved. "I have questions about serving children things in heated plastic," said Alison McDowell, mother of a third grader at William M. Meredith Elementary School in Queen Village. "Food is thrown out because kids don't enjoy it."

Buns and doughnuts — USDA-approved — are part of breakfast in some schools, several teachers complain.

Jasmine Brown, 15, a freshman at the High School of the Future, said that what she eats now is so much better than the "artificial" cafeteria fare of her middle school: "I never ate. It got me sick."

While students carp about school meals, they're superior to most foods kids consume outside school, experts say. Since 2007, Foster of Temple and others have followed a group of fourth through eighth graders from 10 Philadelphia schools in the streets.

The results: Even a poor child would spend an average of $1.07 per stop in a corner store. Kids took in an average of 360 calories each time, mostly from chips and drinks.

It's difficult to alter children's eating habits, advocates say. But these days, there's a growing will to try.

"There's change coming," said Charlie Baltimore. "From the White House down, there's more interest. We'll get where we want."

Chicago high schoolers to demand better food at board meeting - Chicago Trib

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Chicago high schoolers to demand better food at board meeting - Chicago Trib



When school officials defend serving a daily menu of nachos, pizza, burgers and fries, they often say they're just giving students what they want.

But you wouldn't know it by listening to an angry coalition of high school students who plan to speak out on Chicago Public Schools meals Wednesday at the monthly Chicago Board of Education meeting.

One of those students is Teresa Onstott, a sophomore at Social Justice High School who last week practiced a speech that details the "sickening pizza, chicken sandwiches and nachos" the district serves each day and urges the board not to renew the contract for the company providing the food.

That company, Chartwells-Thompson, has provided food service to the district for nearly a decade. This year its contract is up, and during the next month the board will be reviewing bids for the next CPS food service contract, valued at about $58 million a year.

The mild-mannered Onstott is one of about 20 students from various Chicago high schools who plan to protest the district's food at the board meeting and present members with other possible paths as they review the bids.

Onstott became involved with the issue as part of a school colloquium called "What's In Your Stomach" led by social studies teacher Jackson Potter. Students in the colloquium — which they take as part of a Social Justice service requirement — work on local issues through hands-on actions and civic engagement.

Potter chose school nutrition as an issue, and the students decided to address it through planting an organic garden, researching school food and testifying at a board meeting.

Jessica Ortega, a senior at the Little Village school, said she thinks the district should incorporate organic foods, "and if that's not possible, our food should actually be cooked in the cafeterias rather than being brought in by trucks and having the lunch ladies just heat it up."

The lack of working kitchens in the district is an important issue for many school food activists. But CPS says it will not allow any new working kitchens to be built in the district, even in new structures.

Ortega also wants schools to have flexibility to improve their own food. "Otherwise," she said, "they're just holding back the schools who want to serve healthier food. Charter schools already get to do that."

The students also plan to protest the absence of physical education classes for juniors and seniors.

The students' suggestions echo those of many adults studying school food. But kids have a vantage point most adults don't: They get to watch the lunch program in action five days a week. Sophomore Courtney Ceasar said he's concerned about classmates who daily gulp down "pizza, nachos, fries, chocolate milk and blue or green slushies. … We are seeing a lot of health problems in younger people today, and I don't want my nieces and nephews to have to deal with the same problems."

The high schoolers know better meals will cost more, which is why students from the South Side's Julian High School plan to offer cost-saving tips. First on the list: Stop forcing students to take foods they plan to throw away. Students from Hancock on the Southwest Side will speak on the nutritional content of CPS food.

Senn High School students created two presentations, according to their adviser, biology teacher Brian Roa. One encourages the district to serve more organic and nongenetically modified foods. The other examines the food safety record and corporate affiliations of Chartwells-Thompson.

Last week, however, the students learned that Senn officials had rejected their request for a Wednesday field trip without explanation. Roa said the students were very upset and he will deliver their speeches for them.

At Social Justice, part two of the nutrition colloquium involves planting an organic garden. The plot CPS gave them is on the outskirts of the school's playing field, just steps from moving freight trains and in the shadow of a coal-fired power plant. Undaunted, the students plan to use raised beds to grow organic produce that they hope to serve in the cafeteria.

Ortega knows it might be a rough adjustment. Still, she said: "If we could get used to the nasty food, why couldn't we get used to the healthy food too?"

U.S. Plans Spot Tests of Organic Products - NYT



U.S. Plans Spot Tests of Organic Products
- NYT


The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that it would begin enforcing rules requiring the spot testing of organically grown foods for traces of pesticides, after an auditor exposed major gaps in federal oversight of the organic food industry.

Spot testing is required by a 1990 law that established the basis for national organic standards, but in a report released on Thursday by the office of Phyllis K. Fong, the inspector general of agriculture, investigators wrote that regulators never made sure the testing was being carried out.

The report pointed to numerous shortcomings at the agriculture department’s National Organic Program, which regulates the industry, including poor oversight of some organic operations overseas and a lack of urgency in cracking down on marketers of bogus organic products.

The audit did not name growers or processors that marketed products falsely labeled organic or say where any such products had been sold.

The head of the National Organic Program, Miles McEvoy, said on Friday that enforcing testing rules was one of several steps the agency was taking to improve oversight of the industry. It will also require unannounced inspections of organic producers and processors and start regular reviews of organic products in stores to make sure they are correctly labeled and meet federal regulations, he said.

“There’s a real commitment from this administration to improve the integrity of this program,” Mr. McEvoy said.

The testing for pesticide residues is expected to begin in September. It will be done by the network of independent certifying agents that are already accredited by the department to inspect and certify organic growers, processors and handlers.

As of last July, 98 independent agents were licensed to inspect and certify about 28,000 organic operations worldwide, the inspector general’s report said.

Mr. McEvoy said that details of the pesticide inspections were still being worked out but that they would probably focus on growers whose risk of pesticide contamination might be highest, like those whose organic fields are cultivated next to nonorganic fields or those that raise both organic and conventional crops.

Some certifiers already do spot tests, he said, but many do not, testing only if they suspect a problem. The inspector general’s report said a review of four large certifiers, which were collectively responsible for inspecting almost a third of the organic operations nationwide, found that none did regular spot testing.

The organic program’s budget increased to $6.9 million for the current fiscal year, from $3.9 million the previous year, Mr. McEvoy said, while its staff is slated to nearly double, to 31 from 16. The Obama administration is seeking to increase the budget to $10 million in the next fiscal year and allow the program to expand to about 40 employees.

Christine M. Bushway, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, an industry group, said improved oversight, and more money to make it possible, were needed to ensure that consumers had faith in the United States Department of Agriculture’s organic seal. “Compliance and enforcement are critical to the seal and the long-term health of the industry,” she said.

Sales of organic products reached $26 billion last year and, until the recession hit, had been growing by double-digit percentages each year.

Ms. Bushway said the organic program never had the resources to keep up with the industry’s growth. “They were underfunded and understaffed,” she said.

The inspector general’s report focused largely on conditions at the organic program at the end of the Bush administration, from 2006 through 2008.

It said that in several cases officials had taken up to 32 months to act against producers or processors that had sold conventional products claiming they were organic — even as those products remained on the market. In one case, the report said, officials failed entirely to take action against an operator that, for two years, sold nonorganic mint under an organic label.

The report also said that the organic program had failed to adequately vet several of the independent certifying agents it allowed to approve organic operations in foreign countries.

Under normal circumstances, the program gives preliminary accreditation to certifying agents based on a review of paperwork they submit. That allows them to begin certifying and inspecting organic producers and processors. But the program is supposed to follow up with a site visit to inspect a certifier’s operations before making accreditation permanent.

In five cases, the inspector general found, officials failed to make the follow-up visits, allowing the certifiers to operate for as long as seven years with only preliminary accreditation.

Officials at the program said that in three cases, involving certifiers operating in Bolivia, Israel and Turkey, they did not send staff members to make the inspections because the State Department had issued travel warnings about potentially dangerous conditions in those countries.

In two other cases, involving certifying agents in Australia and Canada, officials said that scheduling problems blocked them from arranging visits — in one instance for as long as five years.

The Department of Agriculture said in its response to the audit that it had now visited and completed its review of four of the five foreign certifiers cited in the report and had scheduled a visit to the remaining certifier. It did not say if the reviews had found compliance problems.

The audit also highlighted numerous inconsistencies in the way that certifiers operating in the United States enforced organic regulations.

The report warned that officials must tighten oversight of the industry to give consumers the assurance “that products labeled as organic are meeting a uniform standard.”

Consumers Would See Impact Soon After Health-Care Bill's Enactment - WSJ

Consumers Would See Impact Soon After Health-Care Bill's Enactment - WSJ

For consumers, the vote on health-care legislation scheduled for Sunday could mean a slew of changes that would take effect within months. But the measure's biggest impact remains years away, and some of the benefits for consumers aren't assured of passage in the Senate.

If the House passes the two pieces of legislation that are up for a vote, the main bill that was approved by the Senate in December is expected to be signed shortly afterward by President Barack Obama. The other component, a package of changes sought by House members, would still need to pass the Senate before reaching the president's desk.




The primary bill would put about a half-dozen major consumer provisions in place six months after it is signed. Insurance companies would no longer be able to cancel enrollees' policies because they got sick, or to place lifetime caps on their policies' payouts. And children could stay on their parents' insurance policies until their 26th birthday.

New insurance plans would have to cover the full cost of certain preventive care, and exempt such care from deductible payments. The requirement wouldn't apply to existing policies until 2018.

Starting this year, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 would be eligible for tax credits to cover up to 35% of their insurance premiums.

For patients frustrated by attempts to get reimbursed for insurance claims, the government would establish an ombudsman and a claims process to help them reconcile contested medical bills.

Many other provisions that would take effect this year won't become law unless the Senate passes the companion measure. Republicans plan to introduce parliamentary challenges to that package, and the Senate's parliamentarian already has jettisoned one provision, a federal panel to regulate insurance premiums. Among other things, the companion package would provide a $250 rebate this year to seniors who face a Medicare prescription-drug coverage gap known as the doughnut hole.


Critics of the legislation say the value of any immediate benefits would be outweighed by new taxes on insurers, drug companies, medical-device makers and wealthy individuals. The latest package of changes to the main bill would delay these taxes so they wouldn't take effect until closer to 2014. A new 3.8% tax on unearned income to help fund the overhaul would hit individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and families earning more than $250,000, starting in 2013.

The most significant provisions won't take effect until 2014. That's when the government will begin requiring most Americans to carry health insurance or be hit with a fine. If the bill carrying the changes gets approved, that fine starts at $95 a year or 1% of income, whichever is greater, capped at the cost of the average health-insurance plan. By 2016, the fine would rise to $695 a year, or 2.5% of income.

In 2014, lower earners would be eligible for two types of insurance expansion.

A family of four earning up to about $30,000 a year, in any state, would be eligible for Medicaid, the joint federal-state insurance program for the poor.




For those just above that income level, the government would begin handing out tax credits to offset the cost of buying insurance. A family of four earning just over the $30,000 threshold would pay no more than 3% of its income fpr insurance. That assistance stretches up to a family of four earning $88,000 so they would spend no more than 9.5% of their income on coverage.

Insurers would be barred from denying people coverage because of a pre-existing health condition, but that provision doesn't take effect until 2014 for adults. (Children would get the protection this year.) In the meantime, the bill would set up high-risk pools to help people with illnesses buy coverage.

People who already have insurance would be able to remain on their plans, and they likely wouldn't see significant changes. Large employer plans would for the most part be grandfathered in, although certain new provisions such as the one blocking lifetime coverage limits would apply to them.

The bill also puts more pressure on large employers to help pay for insurance. Companies with more than 50 workers that don't offer health-insurance coverage would pay an assessment of $2,000 per full-time worker if any of their workers gets a tax credit to buy coverage. Employers with more than 200 employees would be required to enroll all employees automatically in their health-insurance plans, though workers could still opt out.

Florida AG warns of commercial foreclosure crisis - Bizjournals.com

Florida AG warns of commercial foreclosure crisis - Bizjournals.com

A day doesn’t go by without some talk of the residential foreclosure crisis in the media. But the severity of that problem could be overshadowing yet a bigger problem looming on the horizon: commercial foreclosure.

Florida Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum wrote a letter to Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul Friday bringing the potential commercial foreclosure crisis to the Legislature’s attention and sharing what his office has been doing about it since 2007.

“As I learn more about the potential for massive commercial real property mortgage foreclosures, I am convinced that swift legislative remedial action this legislative session would avert some of the more devastating consequences of such foreclosures,” McCollum wrote in the letter.

The Attorney General’s office created the Interagency Mortgage Crisis Task Force in 2008 designed to help educate and assist homeowners about to go into foreclosure. The task force has hosted community forums on the problem, providing distressed homeowners with access to lenders, counselors, voluntary bar associations, and state and federal housing and finance agencies.

However, commercial foreclosures have the chance to have an “even greater potential to negatively impact the state and national economies” over the next four years, McCollum said. Nearly $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans will reach the end of their terms between 2010 and 2014, and may spawn defaults, according to a February report of the Congressional Oversight Panel.

That could trigger economic damages to financial institutions, small business and families across the nation, McCollum said.

“As one of the largest markets in the nation for commercial real estate loans, Florida faces a significant risk of financial loss,” he said. “In anticipation of this crisis, the Legislature may wish to review current Florida law and the finding of the Congressional Oversight Panel.”

Other large states with similar demographic and growth issues already have put laws in the book that could ease the pain of commercial foreclosures. Florida should look at those laws to emulate here, McCollum said.

One example of the laws passed in other states is the “one action” rule where all claims can be consolidated into a single action or lawsuits seeking relief from borrowers personally before proceeding against the collateral can be prohibited. Other laws seek to establish a clear methodology for deficiency judgments, right of redemption and foreclosure defenses so that there are no ambiguities in the process.

Jamie Oliver Misses A Few Ingredients - School Nutrition Association

Jamie Oliver Misses A Few Ingredients - School Nutrition Association

Just like any good meal, the whole story is also incomplete if you leave out a few critical ingredients. In the case of ABC Network's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, the missing ingredients are the significant improvements school nutrition programs nationwide have made to the quality and nutrition of school meals.

The School Nutrition Association's (SNA) "State of School Nutrition 2009" survey of more than 1,200 school districts across the country found that nearly every school district offers students fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains and salad bars or pre-packaged salads. Most schools still bake items from scratch in their kitchens, and school districts are offering more vegetarian meals and locally sourced foods. School nutrition programs have reformulated kid favorites to make them healthy, like pizza prepared with whole wheat flour, low-fat cheese and low-sodium sauce.

Under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, school meals must contain no more than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat. School lunches must provide 1/3 of Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium, and they must be served in age-appropriate portion sizes.

"School nutrition professionals must satisfy taste preferences and regional/cultural food influences to provide meals within nutrition guidelines that will be consumed by the students. Working within those guidelines and limited budgets, districts strive to provide a balance of fresh and homemade foods with healthier, nutritionally-formulated foods traditionally considered kid favorites - whole grain chicken nuggets that are baked at schools are not the same product served at most homes and restaurants," said School Nutrition Association president Dora Rivas, MS, RD, SNS and Executive Director of Child Nutrition Services for Dallas ISD (Tex.), "Children are increasingly recognizing and enjoying scratch-made and natural foods at schools nationwide, much like those suggested by Jamie Oliver, but communities, schools and parents must work together to shift food influences, encourage a greater role for exercise and help students improve their health."

SNA and its members share a common passion with Jamie Oliver and are constantly working to further improve the nutrition, taste and variety of school meals. School nutrition professionals are challenged every school day to prepare healthy school meals that meet federal nutrition guidelines within the limited budgets available. SNA is calling for increased funding for school meal programs and we welcome efforts to emphasize the importance of school meals for the more than 31 million children who rely on them every school day.

SNA is an active participant in the national debate on school nutrition and can provide evidence of the progress made in school districts across the US to provide an even greater variety of healthy foods in school meals.

Source
School Nutrition Association

Poll: Economy, deficit, top voter issues in Calif. SFGate


Poll: Economy, deficit, top voter issues in Calif.
SFGate

Voters rank California's abysmal economy and high unemployment rate, along with continuing uncertainty about the state's budget deficit, as the top issues facing the candidates vying to be governor, according to a Field Poll released Tuesday.

More than two-thirds of California voters ranked those issues as most important, followed by education, health care, taxes, immigration and water.

Democrats, Republicans and decline-to-state voters agree that jobs, the economy and the state budget are the most pressing problems facing the state this year, as California faces a 12.5 percent unemployment rate and another $20 billion budget shortfall.

All three leading candidates for governor have been sounding similar themes as they stump for votes. Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner have argued for tax cuts, although they differ on the specifics, and creating a more business-friendly climate. They say those steps will go furthest in promoting an economic recovery.

The two are vying for their party's nomination in the June primary.

Whitman, the billionaire former chief executive of eBay, says she would focus on three priorities as governor: creating 2 million private sector jobs by 2015, cutting spending — partly by eliminating 40,000 state government jobs — and fixing education.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/23/politics/p060036D27.DTL&type=politics#ixzz0j0gIyZPj

GOVERNMENT ASKS BT BRINJAL DEVELOPERS TO DEPOSIT SEED STOCK - USDA FAS

GOVERNMENT ASKS BT BRINJAL DEVELOPERS TO DEPOSIT SEED STOCK - USDA FAS

The Government has said that Mahyco, the developer of Bt brinjal (egg plant), has been asked to deposit the seed stock with the National Bureau of Plant Genetics Resources to prevent any potential leakage and contamination till it’s safety is proven. "There is no chance of Bt brinjal making a backdoor entry through leakages of its seeds till it is cleared by an independent regulatory body," Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh informed the Rajya Sabha. He said some state governments, NGOs and sections of the scientific and farming communities have expressed apprehensions on the safety of Bt brinjal and its long-term impact on human health and environment. (Source: PTI, 03/15/10)

U.S. Pest Rules for Tomato Imports - USDA FAS

U.S. Pest Rules for Tomato Imports - USDA FAS

Tomatoes coming into Canada from countries known to have pest problems with tomato leafminer, a small moth that mainly attacks tomato crops, now need a temporary phytosanitary certificate declaring that the tomatoes originated in an area where tomato leafminer doesn't occur and that they were inspected and found free of the moth. While the moth can "severely" damage tomato crops in many countries, it can't survive Canadian winters. It can, however, pose a risk for hothouse tomato crops and for export trade with the United States. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is enforcing these temporary requirements until permanent measures are developed. The decision to implement the certification requirement follows new import requirements in the United States, under which tomatoes imported to Canada from countries infested with tomato leafminer will not be allowed into the United States without first meeting additional import requirements. The United States requires additional certification for tomatoes coming from Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay or Venezuela.

‘Environs’ Clears Initial Regulatory Hurdle - USDA FAS

‘Environs’ Clears Initial Regulatory Hurdle - USDA FAS

Environment Canada recently determined that the genetically engineered Enviropig is not toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The developers of Enviropig, the University of Guelph, applied for approval for commercialization both in Canada and the United States. This is the first of three regulatory hurdles which must be met in Canada. Full regulatory approval will also be dependent on other essential considerations such as consumer and market acceptance via Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The Enviropig, the world's first transgenic animal created to solve an environmental problem, was created in 1999 with a snippet of mouse DNA introduced into their chromosomes, which causes the pigs to produce reduced phosphorus feces.

Probation ordered in SoCal supermarket labor fraud


Probation ordered in SoCal supermarket labor fraud

The Associated Press
Posted: 03/22/2010 06:07:40 PM PDT
Updated: 03/22/2010 06:07:40 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES—A federal judge has sentenced two former supermarket managers to probation for telling locked out employees to use false Social Security numbers so they could be rehired during the 2003-2004 Southern California grocery strike.

U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson on Monday sentenced Charles Vance of Norco and Randall Kruska of Leucadia to two years of probation each.

Prosecutors say the men, who were zone managers for Ralph's supermarkets, pleaded guilty to instructing locked out employees to falsely complete Internal Revenue Service and immigration forms during the six-month long strike.

A jury acquitted three Ralph's executives of similar charges last year.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Congress clears historic health care bill


Congress clears historic health care bill



Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage.

Widely viewed as dead two months ago, the Senate-passed bill cleared the House on a 219-212 vote. Republicans were unanimous in opposition, joined by 34 dissident Democrats.

Obama watched the vote in the White House's Roosevelt Room with Vice President Joe Biden and about 40 staff aides. When the long sought 216th vote came in - the magic number needed for passage - the room burst into applause and hugs. An exultant president exchanged a high-five with his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

A second, smaller measure - making changes in the first - was lined up for passage later in the evening. It would then go to the Senate, where Democratic leaders said they had the votes to pass it.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the legislation awaiting the president's approval would extend coverage to 32 million Americans who lack it, ban insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and cut deficits by an estimated $138 billion over a decade. If realized, the expansion of coverage would include 95 percent of all eligible individuals under age 65.

For the first time, most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused. Much of the money in the bill would be devoted to subsidies to help families at incomes of up to $88,000 a year pay their premiums.

Far beyond the political ramifications - a concern the president repeatedly insisted he paid no mind - were the sweeping changes the bill held in store for millions of individuals, the insurance companies that would come under tougher control and the health care providers, many of whom would face higher taxes.

Crowds of protesters outside the Capitol shouted "just vote no" in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable taking place inside a House packed with lawmakers and ringed with spectators in the galleries above.

Across hours of debate, House Democrats predicted the larger of the two bills, costing $940 billion over a decade, would rank with other great social legislation of recent decades.

"We will be joining those who established Social Security, Medicare and now, tonight, health care for all Americans, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, partner to Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in the grueling campaign to pass the legislation.

"This is the civil rights act of the 21st century," added Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the top-ranking black member of the House.

Republicans readily agreed the bill would affect everyone in America, but warned repeatedly of the burden imposed by more than $900 billion in tax increases and Medicare cuts combined.

"We have failed to listen to America," said Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, leader of a party that has vowed to carry the fight into the fall's midterm elections for control of Congress.

The final obstacle to the bill's passage was cleared at mid-afternoon when Obama and Democratic leaders reached a compromise with anti-abortion lawmakers whose rebellion had left the outcome in doubt. The White House announced he would issue an executive order pledging that no federal funds would be used for elective abortion, satisfying Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan and a handful of like-minded lawmakers.

A spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed skepticism that the presidential order would satisfy the church's objections.

Republican abortion foes also said Obama's proposed order was insufficient, and when Stupak sought to counter them, a shout of "baby killer" could be heard coming from the Republican side of the chamber.

The measure would also usher in a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. Coverage would be required for incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, $29,327 a year for a family of four. Childless adults would be covered for the first time, starting in 2014.

The insurance industry, which spent millions on advertising trying to block the bill, would come under new federal regulation. They would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions and from canceling policies when a policyholder becomes ill.

Parents would be able to keep children up to age 26 on their family insurance plans, three years longer than is now the case.

A new high-risk pool would offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion would go into high gear.

For the president, the events capped an 18-day stretch in which he traveled to four states and lobbied more than 60 wavering lawmakers in person or by phone to secure passage of his signature domestic issue. According to some who met with him, he warned that the bill's demise could cripple his still-young presidency.

After more than a year of political combat, Democrats piled superlative upon superlative across several hours of House debate.

Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York read a message President Franklin Roosevelt sent Congress in 1939 urging lawmakers to address the needs of those without health care, and said Democrat Harry Truman and Republican Richard Nixon had also sought to broaden insurance coverage.

Republicans attacked the bill without let-up, warning it would harm the economy while mandating a government takeover of the health care system.

"The American people know you can't reduce health care costs by spending $1 trillion or raising taxes by more than one-half trillion dollars. The American people know that you cannot cut Medicare by over one-half trillion dollars without hurting seniors," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.

"And, the American people know that you can't create an entirely new government entitlement program without exploding spending and the deficit."

Obama has said often that presidents of both parties have tried without success to achieve national health insurance, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt early in the 20th century.

The 44th president's quest to succeed where others have failed seemed at a dead end two months ago, when Republicans won a special election for a Massachusetts Senate seat, and with it, the votes to prevent a final vote.

But the White House, Pelosi and Reid soon came up with a rescue plan that required the House to approve the Senate-passed measure despite opposition to many of its provisions, then have both houses pass a fix-it measure incorporating numerous changes.

To pay for the changes, the legislation includes more than $400 billion in higher taxes over a decade, roughly half of it from a new Medicare payroll tax on individuals with incomes over $200,000 and couples over $250,000. A new excise tax on high-cost insurance policies was significantly scaled back in deference to complaints from organized labor.

In addition, the bills cut more than $500 billion from planned payments to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and other providers that treat Medicare patients. An estimated $200 billion would reduce planned subsidies to insurance companies that offer a private alternative to traditional Medicare.

The insurance industry warned that seniors would face sharply higher premiums as a result, and the Congressional Budget Office said many would return to traditional Medicare as a result.

The subsidies are higher than those for seniors on traditional Medicare, a difference that critics complain is wasteful, but insurance industry officials argue goes into expanded benefits.

Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Erica Werner contributed to this report.
Posted on Sun, Mar. 21, 2010 10:53 AM

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/21/1827476/democrats-predict-health-bill.html#ixzz0isCpaJt9

Jamie Oliver's food revolution: the beginning

JAMIE OLIVER: Humor and Personality Cook Up Success for Food Revolution
Series Ending Changed to Accommodate High Profile Endorsement?

By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor

Huntington, WV (HNN) – When British celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver first came to Huntington, nerves peaked. Did Jamie have honest (at least in front of the camera) motives for teaching city residents to cook more fresh foods? Would his network ‘reality’ series inflame Appalachian stereotypes or those that naturally follow the statistic on unhealthiest and fattest city in America?

The showing at the Jeslyn Performing Arts Center spotlighted local personnel who had roles in the reality series, such as The DAWG’s Rod Willis, high school students, Rod’s on air pal, Rocky, and ‘lunch ladies’ at Central Elementary School.

Rod challenged Chef Oliver ‘on the air.’ He becomes in the first two episodes the chief antagonist of Jamie. In hindsight, he expressed issues with the Chef’s personality, but applauds the program’s healthy cooking intentions.

After antagonizing Jamie over eating too much lettuce, Rod bet him he could not find 1,000 people in Huntington to volunteer to learn how to cook.

“It came up spontaneously,” Willis explained prior to the premiere. “I really didn’t think he would get 1,000 people to go through his kitchen. Of course, he ultimately won and I am the 1,000th one that went through.”

Reflecting back on the shooting of the six episode ABC mini-series, Willis said, “I should have been a little more receptive to the [nutritious] things he was talking about and a little more cruel to him. I don’t think Jamie Oliver should be the one to tell us how to live our lives. After all, this guy is a rich, British bastard.”

Willis admitted the ‘fattest city’ and ‘unhealthiest city’ designations are “something we already knew. I think it’s more personal responsibility. Jamie brought light on it’s basically up to you to take [eating habits] to heart. If you want to live healthy, that’s up to you to take those matters to heart.”

HNN: How much of the show was choreographed?

ROD: So you are asking me if reality TV is REAL? Eighty percent is real and unscripted. Twenty percent, they do plan. They don’t walk in to a place; they have to make preparations to be at certain places. The Governor will not show up randomly. You will not walk into a radio station randomly, you have to make contacts. It was real to an extinct; he message is real. But, I don’t think it should have been Jamie doing this.

HNN: Is it fair to say that like even news and documentaries, the shots and dramatic arcs are in place on many reality shows

ROD: There is a lot of reality in it. Jamie taught me one thing when we were doing the episodes: Go ahead and be yourself, if you want to say sh--, go ahead and say it. They will cut it out anyway. Be yourself and you will be ok. Jamie did it himself. He enlightened me on that.

On the show’s more serious combating obesity and unhealthy eating, the morning disc jockey revealed that Oliver taught him “if you cannot pronounce or you do not know what is in the ingredients when you read those, don’t eat it. If you [see] dye number six, and you don’t know what Dye #6 is, don’t eat it.”

Although caught amongst several venues at the same time, Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe attended the screening, leaving shortly before the first segment ended. Responding to a quick, ‘was it up to promised expectations,’ the Mayor gave a smile and a big thumbs up.

Most of those watching had strongly affirmative responses.

Dr. Leo Fleckenstein, a retired dentist now a volunteer dentist and dental director at Ebenezer, seized the opportunity for a few ‘dental’ wisecracks such as, “I’ve been in your mouth lot of times,” to radio listeners of the remote broadcast. After viewing the first episode, the dentist told HNN, “ Jamie Oliver has one great sense of humor. It was good. It did not portray us all that badly either,”

Originally, Kendra Kelley had strong concerns about whether the show would depict the city and its people in a favorable way.

“I think we are just about like any other city. It shows us the brass bones of what every city has. He’s trying to help us fix it, “ Ms. Kelley said.

Marisa Clayton, one of the teens participating in the production, said it was “I thought it was amazing; it was really cool.” She confirmed that the chef’s production company lived up to their word in how the people in the series would be portrayed.

“He put it in a positive way. There’s no negativity towards the city. I think the first episode brought out he was not here to make fun of us,” Clayton said.

However, Rev. Samuel Moore, an educator and minister, still had reservations after the first episode.

“I had [an advance] heads up that it was not very flattering. It pretty much lived up to its billing. I’m not going to pass judgment right away; it’s trying to build a television audience. I’m going to give it a chance,” Rev. Moore said.

He understood, though, that Oliver portrayed the situation in an “urgent crisis” mode, which is often necessary to motivate change. Moore agreed with a laugh about an “unscripted script.”

Ebenezer Medical Outreach director Yvonne Jones told another reporter while multitasking prior to the showing that the series portrays the Huntington community in an increasingly positive light AFTER the episodes that tackle the delicate obesity topics.

Watching the episodes, Oliver himself does most of the ‘personable acting’ seemingly allowing locals to play straight and serious off his sharp, edgy and succulent one-liners. He’s expectedly traumatized by the processed school food including breakfast pizza, but he’s part clown and part mentor in conveying his fresh cooking message through often outlandish bits. (Kudos to the Jamie as a pea and Jamie dumping a year’s worth of fat from the garbage truck.)

Meanwhile, an informed source told HNN that the final episode had to be re-edited. Favorable buzz attracted a high profile cameo. Let’s describe her as an attractive woman of color with two daughters, who never wears hosiery and has stirred discussion by her fondness for bare arm dresses. Oh, and, she lives in a big white house that does not have a picket fence.

And, seriously, let’s think about the realty show terminology. As an experienced film writer/critic, my thoughts steer toward the production techniques of a documentary. Relying upon factual materials, a documentary filmmaker usually scripts his film and plans shots, editing techniques, and narration. In addition, think about the amount of preparation necessary for lighting, camera movement, and sight angles for film and television, even a stand up by a news reporter.

With that said, let me suggest: How much ‘reality’ is real and how much is at least partially planned, orchestrated for dramatic arcs, and correct flubs with a ‘take two’ even on spontaneous events?

Now, without blowing the reality ‘Santa Claus’ live on tape myth, contemplate the filmmaking equipment mechanics, then, ask, what portions of any reality show ‘go with the flow’ and what portions are, let’s say, shot from comedic or dramatic ‘outlines?’