Discussing Healthcare & Finishing Doha

Discussing Healthcare & Finishing Doha plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

It did not take long for the Senate and House to pick up the healthcare reform debate after the break. Senators such as Dick Durbin of Illinois brought up the hot public sessions on health care that took place across the country during August. Durbin said such discussion is healthy and should be welcomed. Over in the House, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that while he supports a public option in a health care overhaul bill, he doesn’t think its omission should scuttle the top domestic policy priority of President Obama and the Democratic Congress.

Speaking of getting down to business, members of the World Trade Organization hope to put an end to the Doha round beginning in September after an especially long break according to the Director General Pascal Lamy.

LAMY: I sense the genuine strong renewal of political commitment to re-engage in the Doha negotiations. There were expressions of the need to fill in the remaining gaps and of the desire to enhance transparency and understanding of what is on the table.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I have been known to eat Tofu and even like it. Not that I would consider myself a “Tofu person”. Tofu will not be replacing my preference for pork, chicken or beef anytime soon, but hey, I do enjoy it on occasion. I do have to admit though that for the most part whenever I have had Tofu it did seem rather, well, bland. One Tofu entrepreneur though is working to change that. Phil Spiegel who makes Tofu in small batches at his Washington based operation is the mastermind behind infusing flavors such as garlic, sun-dried tomato, chipotle, and even sage, rosemary and thyme into his Tofu. Buying most of his soybeans from farms across the nation and his herbs and spices from regional producers whenever possible Spiegel is working hard to not only change the public’s opinion about Tofu, but also doing his part for sustainable agriculture. With Spiegel’s Small Planet Tofu offering more than fifteen flavors, Tofu doesn’t have to be bland and boring anymore. I guess my question is why didn’t someone think of this sooner?

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.