Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Friday, February 5, 2010

Students grapple with a Grapple

Students grapple with a Grapple
Posted: Feb 04, 2010 4:41 PM CST

Students Got to Try a New Fruit Called "Grapple"

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - If you have children you know how difficult it can be to get them to try new food. Especially vegetables and fruits that look *different* than what they are used to.The Nettleton School District has a grant to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables to kids who might not ordinarily try them. Nettleton has been receiving this grant for two years and it's spread around four different schools.

If you shut your eyes and took a sniff it smells like a grape. ..open them and it looks like a Fuji apple.

"It's the Gra(ay)pple an apple that tastes like it's had grape Kool-Aid injected in it." Says Leshia Stevens one of the Grant writers.Actually they soak the apples in grape-flavored water out in Washington where they are grown.

Now pass them out to second graders. Watch the teeth crunch and the look on the faces as the grape and apple combine flavors.

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Food stamps to encourage poor to buy organic food - UK

Food stamps to encourage poor to buy organic food - UK

Feb 4 2010 by Richard McComb, Birmingham Post
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Low income families could be given food stamps to allow them to buy healthy organic food, according to the director of the Soil Association.Patrick Holden, the director of England’s leading organic organisation, also suggested that the poor could be encouraged to eat better by learning to cook with fresh produce instead of relying on expensive junk foods.

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Urban farmers fight nationwide to sow green biz - Washington Post


Urban farmers fight nationwide to sow green biz
- Washington Post


LOS ANGELES -- Tara Kolla fancied herself a green thumb-turned-green businesswoman when she planted an organic flower plot in her yard and sold poppies, sweet peas and zinnias at the local farmers market. For her neighbors, it was an eyesore.

Where Kolla saw her efforts as creating a lush sanctuary, her neighbors witnessed dusty pots, steaming compost, flies and a funky aroma on their tiny cul-de-sac in Los Angeles. They complained to zoning officials - and prevailed.

Kolla and other urban farmers are fighting back by challenging city halls across the country to rewrite ordinances that govern residential gardens. They believe feeding their fellow urbanites homegrown tomatoes, fresh eggs and sweet corn will change the world one backyard at a time.

Seattle has loosened its rules for backyard goats, New York City's health department is taking steps to legalize beekeeping and Detroit is looking into regulating compost and greenhouses.

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Supermarket watchdog now unnecessary, says retail body - FT

Supermarket watchdog now unnecessary, says retail body - FT

By Andrea Felsted, Retail Correspondent

Published: February 4 2010 02:00 | Last updated: February 4 2010 02:00

A strengthened code of practice governing relations between food retailers and their suppliers, in force from today, makes a supermarket ombudsman "unnecessary", according to the British Retail Consortium.

Supermarkets must from today comply with a beefed up and extended Grocery Supplier
Code of Practice, which will be included in all retailers' contracts with their suppliers, and is designed to provide a clearer framework for these agreements. There has been a code of practice for the four largest supermarkets since 2002.

However, it is being strengthened following the Competition Commission's two-year investigation into the £125bn a year grocery market.

The extended code will apply to 10 retailers with a grocery turnover of more than £1bn a year.

It comes into place as both the government and the opposition say they will introduce a new ombudsman to police it - a move that has been attacked by retailers, but welcomed by suppliers.

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Crisis Renews Concerns on Euro - WSJ

Crisis Renews Concerns on Euro - WSJ


FRANKFURT—The worsening debt crunch on the euro zone's periphery has reawakened concerns about the viability of a currency union that encompasses 16 sovereign nations with disparate economies.

When the euro was introduced in 1999, supporters argued that strict controls on member states' deficits would, over time, compel weaker members to become more competitive. Instead, the lower interest rates that came with membership have allowed countries such as Greece and Portugal to take advantage of cheap borrowing costs to spur domestic growth, papering over their structural inefficiencies such as low productivity and high labor costs.

The looming financial crisis has laid these problems bare, making it increasingly difficult for the weaker countries, including Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain, to both revive their economies and service their debts.
[euMktDPromo]

Click to see full chart

That is in part because the more governments have to pay in interest on their outstanding debt, the less they can absorb infrastructure spending or tax cuts that could improve the underlying potential of their economies. That, in turn, is undermining confidence in the euro itself as investors have begun to worry that Europe's monetary union could unravel.

The euro, which Thursday fell to a eight-month low of $1.3741, is still quite high by historical standards. It traded at around 85 U.S. cents a decade ago when many investors questioned its viability.

What worries some observers more than the decline itself is the fall's velocity. The euro has lost about 9% against the dollar since December. One concern is that a further drop could make it harder for countries with high current-account deficits, such as Greece, to attract the foreign capital needed to finance them.

By most accounts, the worst-case scenario—a breakup of the euro zone—remains very remote. Nevertheless, the debt problems in Greece and other periphery countries highlights Europe's lack of a powerful political framework. The European Central Bank sets interest across the 16-member euro zone but has no direct power over members states' fiscal policies.

The euro zone "has one central bank, but there isn't political union," says Meg Browne, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman.

That is making it difficult for the EU to overcome the current situation by taking direct control of the budgets in troubled member countries.

Meanwhile, a weak economic outlook and very low inflation have raised doubts about whether Greece, Spain and others can cut deficits enough even if they make all the right political choices. Those countries enjoyed a mix of strong economic growth and moderate inflation that filled government coffers from 2000 to 2007, allowing them to maintain levels of government spending that proved unsustainable.

Now, the reverse is happening. Government coffers are drying up. The economic reforms that European officials say those countries need to become more competitive imply sluggish growth and perhaps even deflation in the years to come, making it still harder for governments to generate revenue.

Whether the common currency withstands this latest threat depends greatly on Spain. The most vulnerable peripheral countries—Portugal, Ireland and Greece—combine for only 6% of euro-zone GDP. When Spain is added to the mix that share rises to almost 20%. Though often lumped into the smaller periphery, it has one foot in the core group of Germany, France and Italy.

Many economists believe the only way to fend off the crisis is for the periphery countries to undertake drastic budget cuts in the face of what is likely to be fierce public opposition. Such steps could help dispel concerns about the cohesion of monetary union and strengthen the euro.

Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@dowjones.com