A Promising Development
August 3rd, 2010 | simcha | No Comments »
Ten days ago McClatchy Newspapers had an interesting article that probably made very few headlines anywhere else, but certainly looks like a significant development, particularly in our industry. As McClatchy reports, “our nation’s farmers could face severe restrictions on the use of pesticides as environmentalists, spurred by a favorable ruling from a judge in Washington state, want the courts to force federal regulators to protect endangered species from the ill effects of agricultural chemicals.” Below are a few more key excerpts from the article: Read the rest of this entry »
In two and a half months Albert’s will be exhibiting at the Natural Products Expo in Boston. The Expos are always an amazing experience. For me personally it will be a high energy jammed packed few days; setting up our booth display, participating in two presentations; several meetings; and of course, meeting our wonderful customers. With all of that, I find that the most poignant and compelling part of the show is about two hours after the show is over, everything is packed up, and the local food bank volunteers come around to pick up the show food that was on display. After every show, we donate all of our food to the local food bank in the town that hosts the show. They, of course provide for feeding the homeless and those who are uncertain about where their next meal will come from. 
The cover story on today’s edition of the Boston Globe is entitled, “End of a 378-Year Era”. The article is about the Tuttle Family Farm in New Hampshire that is now up for sale. The farm is considered the oldest running family farm in the U.S. having passed from father to son since 1632. It’s stunning just thinking of the historical legacy of this farm. In 1632, Williamsburg, VA was just being settled. Only 12 years prior in 1620, the Mayflower landed off the coast of Massachusetts. The article points out that according to the latest federal figures, more than 4 million acres of active farmland were developed between 2002 and 2007, an area roughly the size of Massachusetts. Since 1982, the nation has lost more than 41 million acres of rural land. Massachusetts has lost 24 percent of its prime farmland since 1982, more than all but four states. 
On May 3rd there was a meeting in Quebec City to discuss international standards for food labeling. Sorry you missed it, eh? In preparation for the meeting the FDA and USDA put together a written draft in which they wrote, “that requiring labels indicating that a food has genetically modified ingredients would be false, misleading or deceptive as it is likely to create the impression that the labeled food is in some way different.” No need to go back and re-read that quote, you read it correctly. That is the new official position put forth by the USDA on Genetically Engineered (GE) foods. They believe that there is no proven difference between GE foods and whole foods. The European Union (EU) on the other hand, has had GE Food labeling laws since 1997. 
This past Sunday, July 18, Nelson Mandela celebrated his 92nd birthday. Mr. Mandela has worked his entire life for peace, and against the oppression of apartheid in South Africa. His accomplishments are both numerous and significant: anti-apartheid activist; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993; and elected as President of South Africa in 1994 after the first multi-racial elections were held. He is a man who is loved and respected throughout the world. Although not his most noteworthy contribution, nor the most publicized, Mandela did make a small contribution to the world of agriculture. As Rachel Cernansky writes: 
I don’t really watch much television, but I have seen this commercial (see video below) on occasion and find it pretty compelling. If you’re wondering how Marketing might look in the not-too-distant future, it’s a quick peak at a very possible direction. For those of you at work who cannot view the video, it shows a young boy dancing while his moves are being captured on a cell phone. The video is shared from phone to phone, and in no time, people who didn’t even know this young boy existed, are enjoying his moves all across the globe. As the commercial ends you see that the video has found its way onto a digital billboard in Times Square. The commercial is presented by Cisco. 
Like the majority of Americans, I find myself sporting a few extra pounds these days. Although I mostly eat healthy foods and exercise regularly, those extra pounds have crept up on me over the past few years. And, as we all know, the only way to get rid of excess weight is to exercise more and eat less. For the exercising more part of the equation, I’ve committed to doing some sort of exercise for at least one hour every single day. As for the eating less part of the equation, that is the subject of this blog post – portion control. 
Below is a nice research finding from the online publication, 
The job numbers that came out this morning were certainly no cause for celebration. We saw our economy shed 125,000 jobs for the month of June. It is worth noting however, that over the past 8 months, we have had positive job growth, and although not nearly where we need to be, it is still improvement. I mention all of this because in several past articles I’ve written about the effects of this recession on the organic and natural foods industry. It’s wise to consider unemployment as a very significant factor in everyone’s business model. It makes sense – if people aren’t working they typically need to make dramatic cutbacks in how they spend their money.