Cell Phone Ban & Chinese School Lunch Program

Cell Phone Ban & Chinese School Lunch Program plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

U.S. agricultural officials, along with U.S. and Chinese food companies, are trying to sell the idea of starting a program in China similar to the U.S. school lunch and nutrition program. Bill Westman, U.S. Ag Attaché to China.

WESTMAN: We would like to promote the concept of a balanced meal for every child in school similar to what we have here at home and we think that this is an excellent vehicle and excellent means to not only provide nutrition education, improve the health of students but also provide a market for our products as well and also Chinese products because U.S. and Chinese companies are interested in this initiative.

As of Jan. 1, you can get slapped with a $90 fine if you use a hand-held cell phone while driving in Oregon. Oregon will become one of seven states that have banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone, including Washington and California. The ban, approved by the 2009 Oregon Legislature, does not apply to drivers using a cell phone equipped with a handsfree device. It also has exceptions for certain drivers, including those working in public safety and for others who are "operating a motor vehicle in the scope of the person's employment."

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

It’s hard not to watch the angry protests and demonstrations of farmers in Europe without feeling more than a little queasy, both for the hardships they have been suffering like most farmers around the globe, and for the dumping of good produce and milk on the streets of their cities. Some farmers in France have even gone so far as to ignite bales of hay on thoroughfares, causing traffic delays until firefighters could put out the blaze. Are they getting someone’s attention? You bet. But is it the kind of attention that will eventually benefit those farmers and their cause? That remains to be seen. Like a proverbial snowball rolling downhill these types of things can quickly get out of hand. They say that desperate times lead to desperate measures, but so often desperation can lead to devastation. Hopefully farmers here in the United States can watch and learn from the struggles going on with their counterparts across the sea and work with our nations legislators to make the right decisions and choices that will result in improving U.S. farmer’s economic outlook.

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