Immigration Deal & Veggie Sticker Shock

Immigration Deal & Veggie Sticker Shock plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

A bipartisan group of leading senators has reached agreement on the principles for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, including a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country. The deal also covers border security, non-citizen or "guest" workers and employer verification of immigration status. The legislation could run into trouble in the Republican-controlled House but the development heralds the start of what could be the most significant effort in years toward overhauling the nation's inefficient patchwork of immigration laws. More details will be forthcoming.

Are you ready for a bit of sticker shock at the grocery store? Shoppers are going to see a significant price hike for fresh vegetables this year according to USDA Economist, Ricky Volpe.

VOLPE: It’s not because we’re looking at any sort of shock to really drive up vegetables more than they ordinarily would be, the issue is that vegetable prices were extremely low in 2012. They deflated over 5% compared to the very high levels they were at in 2011 so this range of 4 to 5% increase in 2013 simply represents a course correction for fresh vegetable prices.

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

I found it a little disturbing that the “family farmer” just barely made it onto a list of the 50 most powerful people in food for 2013. By just barely I mean in the number 50 spot. This is the third such list that a website called The Daily Meal has put out. It appears to be a good website with useful information about all things food. This year’s list includes many celebrity chefs and restaurateurs, which comes as not surprise. Then there are the heads of retail outlets and multinational food companies such as Whole foods, Kroger, McDonalds, Nestle, Tyson Foods, and even Walmart. Again, no surprises. Michael Pollan, Ingrid Newkirk, and Michelle Obama all made the list. Thankfully, no one representing the HSUS were on the list. The site’s editor writes that, “In the food world, the people with power are the ones who affect what and how and where and why we eat, or could if they wanted to”. And yes, most of the people listed do seem to have an inherent power to influence consumer food choices. That’s perhaps why the American farmer barely made it onto a “power” list of food people. Now if it had been a list of the 50 most “important” people in food, the family farmer would be in the #1 position.

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