Another Florida Freeze & Diet Crackdown

Another Florida Freeze & Diet Crackdown plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The sunshine state may have to rethink their marketing campaign as yet another freeze has hit Florida. Meteorologist, Brad Rippey.

RIPPEY: Like the January 17th event it does not look like we'll have major concerns for citrus which take a little bit lower temperature on the order of 28 degrees for a couple of hours or more to cause concern in the citrus belt but for winter vegetables in South Florida it's another morning of protective measures such as flying helicopters and for some of the strawberries, the sprinklers are running once again. Certainly the potential exists for additional freezes heading into next week.

Well if you are like a lot of folks that have been trying to lose some extra holiday poundage you may have thought about opting for some of the weight loss aids being advertised. The Federal Trade Commission has cracked down on four weight loss products. Sensa is being ordered to return $26-million dollars to consumers for using deceptive advertising claims. LeanSpa, L'Occitane and HCG Diet Direct will return $34-million. According to doctors losing weight is as simple as diet and exercise. Simply burn more calories than you consume.

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

Most of us find pleasure in sharing a good meal with friends and family. Sharing a meal is a wonderful way to create a sense of togetherness, forge friendships, and share which foods are our favorites and how we go about making them. What if we could do that on an international scale while traveling? And no, I'm not just talking about the vacations spent visiting relatives in far away locales. Thanks to new meal-sharing websites people traveling abroad can request a home cooked meal with a local host, while those who love to cook and share their creations can host guest travelers coming to their town. Meal Sharing, which touts home cooked meals made by people in over 425 cities, is one such site where you could have the chance to eat with people from around the world. The founders of Meal Sharing say it was their mission to connect people through food, "aiming to build communities through shared resources, facilitate deeper cultural exchange, and encourage people to cook at home to enable a healthier lifestyle." As if that wasn't reason enough to partake, Meal Sharing is completely free by way that neither the host or the guests have to pay to sign up or participate. Part of Meal Sharing's mission statement really resonates - Meal Sharing "turns the places you have been into the people you have met."

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