Pushing Trade & Gas Price Hit

Pushing Trade & Gas Price Hit plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack met with 28 EU ag ministers, commissioners and others in Brussels to talk trade - and stressed that U.S. and EU farmers have much in common - especially the need for open markets. But Vilsack also stressed ag must be part of any Trans-Atlantic trade deal.

VILSACK: I was very candid with my colleagues that absent a real commitment to a strong commitment to agriculture in this trade agreement it would be very difficult for Congress to be able to get the votes necessary to pass TTIP.

Gas prices are something that no one wants to see go any higher but violence in Iraq may very well put the bite on your wallet this summer. But there may be some good news around the corner as new report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency sees a 1% decline in U.S demand over the next 10 years. The report says "Tightening fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, and changing consumer preferences look set to send U.S. gasoline demand back on the declining course on which it embarked in 2007." No word on what that might mean for fuel prices although usually glut in supplies translates into a bit lower prices so keep your fingers crossed.

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

I've talked in the past about how "dumpster diving" is no longer considered the social pariah it once was. One of the main reasons revolves around "food sharing", where people who are appalled by the amount of edible food that gets thrown away by supermarkets on a daily basis use the internet to connect with others so they can share perfectly edible food they've recovered from these supermarket dumpsters. Foraging for food is as old as time itself, it's only within the last 100 years that we've come to see ourselves as above this type of food finding. But with the ever rising cost of food and the rising global awareness of daily food waste such food foraging is no longer frowned upon. This time of year adds to free food possibilities when many homeowners are offering free fruit for the picking just to get it off the trees and off their lawns. Also, picking free fruit from local fruit trees is much more appealing to many people. It's also a good way to meet the neighbor down the street. Remember though, if you haven't been invited to pick ask permission first, pick only what you will eat, and be sure to wash it thoroughly first.

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