06/27/07 S. Korea Opens Up, Immigration Comeback & New Diet Pill

South Korea Opens Up, Immigration Comeback & New Diet Pill plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. In the search for an easier way to lose weight, people have donned rubber suits, smeared creams all over and of course, popped every kinds of diet pill on the market. Another new diet pill has been disappearing off the shelf..Alli is a fat blocker and has the FDA's approval. There are some significant contraindications you might want to check out before using. South Korea has announced that they are resuming meat shipments from 6 U.S. meat plants. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns said that a U.S. delegation has also started in Japan to fully open that market again to U.S. beef. Johanns says the answer is in the OIE Standard. JOHANNS: We have a very, very extensive system in place. We put it in place relative to the Japanese market opening up where we have double signatures and inspections and oversight  just all of those things so actually there's an excellent system in place. I think that every country that has looked at our system is  has been very satisfied with it. Also from yesterday, the immigration bill passed a key test vote in the Senate and will be facing more obstacles including bitter GOP opposition but the President has been pushing the bill hard over the last week ever since it nearly died on the Senate floor. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. In marketer's mad dash to make virtually every product we come in contact with green when is enough - enough! I mean come-on, how green can a chain saw really be? Home Depot has listed an electric powered chain saw as part of over 60,000 products they now offer under their eco-options label by virtue of the fact that it is electric not gas powered. Now if that's the case I should feel blissfully sustainable rather than constantly frustrated when wrangling with the cord on my electric hedge trimmer that invariably tangles and unplugs. While I get a eco- demerit for using a gas blower on my long driveway, no worries, I can recoup my carbon credits by sweeping the garage with an old fashioned broom made from, Sorghum vulgare ,i.e.; natural broomcorn. Oh my, broom grass typically comes from Mexico so how do I know if it was sustainably grown and harvested? Simply stated, "green" has become nothing more than the latest TUPS, "Trade Up Profit Strategy" for marketers and without regulated certified standards is meaningless marketing jargon. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.