August 31, 2012

Missouri Farm Bureau reconsidering Akin endorsement

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Farm Bureau is reconsidering its endorsement of Republican Rep. Todd Akin for U.S. Senate because of comments he made about women being able to thwart pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape,” an organization spokesman said Friday.
The move to reconsider an endorsement is unprecedented for the Missouri Farm Bureau, whose political action committee endorsed Akin over Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill by a 99 percent vote just three weeks ago.
“After polling the Missouri Farm Bureau county leaders, a majority believe the endorsement of Todd Akin for U.S. Senate should be reconsidered,” said Farm Bureau spokesman Estil Fretwell, an adviser to the group’s political arm.
Fretwell said a new endorsement vote will come soon.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Missouri-Farm-Bureau-reconsidering-Akin-endorsement-168143326.html

August 29, 2012

Online Food, Bev Purchase Intent Grows 44% in Two Years: Nielsen

Global consumers’ intent to buy food and beverages online increased 44 percent in two years, according to a new study from Nielsen, which finds more than one-quarter (26%) of global respondents reporting that they planned to purchase food and beverages via a device with Internet access in the next three to six months. Additionally, 61 percent of global respondents said they used the Internet for grocery shopping research.

“While non-consumer packaged goods (CPG) products such as clothing, books and consumer electronics report the highest penetration for digital shopping intentions, online influence for CPG products is clearly growing,” said John Burbank, president of Strategic Initiatives for Nielsen. “Marketers need to determine which consumers are embracing digital for their grocery shopping needs so they can focus on the right shoppers with the right digital strategies to improve consumers’ online experience.”

Nielsen’s survey finds that 61 percent of global respondents indicated using the Internet for grocery shopping research in the past month, such as checking prices or reading a consumer review. Forty-five percent used the Internet to get information about a grocery product, 43 percent searched for deals, 33 percent read a grocery retailer’s promotional circular/flyer, 33 percent looked for coupons, 26 percent browsed a manufacturer website, 18 percent provided feedback through social media and 11 percent used a digital shopping list.

“Online shopping delivers key attributes shoppers demand, such as convenience, value and choice,” said Burbank. “However, the Internet and more specifically e-commerce, will be successful to varying degrees of impact on consumer packaged goods depending on the product category. For these CPG categories, shoppers are more likely to adopt a multi-channel approach, where online shopping becomes a supplement to traditional brick-and-mortar retailing.”

Respondents from countries in Asia-Pacific said they used the Internet to conduct research (70%), compare prices (48%) and provide feedback through social media (26%). Latin American respondents were the most active deal seekers (64%) and manufacturer website browsers (41%) while more North Americans looked for coupons online (43%) than respondents in any other region.

More at link
http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/consumer-insights/id36122/online-food-bev-purchase-intent-grows-44-in-two-years-nielsen/

August 29, 2012

ShopRite Bows First-of-their-kind Reusable Grocery Bags in U.S.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the environment, ShopRite is bringing out what it describes as the United States’ first durable yet compostable nonwoven reusable shopping bag. The bag, exclusively supplied by Burbank, Calif.-based Earthwise Bag Co., will be sold in selected ShopRite stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.

“ShopRite has a long history of innovation, and we continue to look for new ways to ‘green’ our business practices,” explained Karen Meleta, a spokeswoman for Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp, a retail co-op whose members operate almost 250 Northeastern supermarkets under the ShopRite banner.

ShopRite already promotes the use and purchase of reusable shopping bags, offering a rebate to consumers who used them. As a result of this policy, more than 58 million bags were reused by ShopRite customers last year, and in the past five years, the chain’s shoppers have kept almost 200 million bags out of landfills, according to the companies.

Earthwise creates the bags from a combination of corn and tapioca fibers, using byproducts from the food manufacturing process. This reuse of “waste” materials further reduces the amount of material entering the waste stream. The bags are printed with water-based inks, sewn with cotton thread, contain no petroleum, are nontoxic and carry the ASTM 6400 certification, a national standard for biodegradability and compostability bestowed by the Besthesda, Md.-based U.S. Composting Council. Additionally, the items feature distinctive leaf embossing, differentiating them from other bags in the marketplace.

Further, the machine-washable bags have been tested to hold 50-plus pounds and will serve customers for a minimum of 100 uses and can be composted at a commercial composting facility, where they will biodegrade within 90 days.

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/nonfoods/id36112/shoprite-bows-first-of-their-kind-reusable-grocery-bags-in-u-s-/

August 23, 2012

Food Waste Is Overwhelming. Here Are Five Things People Are Doing About It

The food world is buzzing today about the latest news on just how often we waste perfectly good food. And we admit, the statistics are pretty depressing.

About 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. The average American consumer wastes 10 times as much food as someone in Southeast Asia — up 50 percent from Americans in the 1970s. Yet, 1 in 6 Americans doesn't have enough to eat, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And food waste costs us about $165 billion a year and sucks up 25 percent of our freshwater supply.

That's all according to the report with the not-so-subtle title, "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill," just released by the Natural Resources Defense Council.


As we've reported, there are all kinds of offenders in this game, from restaurants to regular consumers and our refrigerators. But we thought we'd bring you some info on what some folks are doing to combat the waste and reroute the food where it's needed:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/08/22/159825659/theres-too-much-food-waste-but-here-are-five-things-people-are-doing-about-it?utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20120823

August 23, 2012

U.S. Drought to Boost Food Prices Through Next Year

The drought epidemic impacting much of the U.S. will result in overall higher food prices in the coming months and well into 2013, according to analysts with Great American Group. Beef and dairy products will be affected in particular, which are expected to post substantial increases as the cost of corn continues to rise.

“The drought has caused a state of alarm in the food industry,” said Ken Bloore, COO of Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Great American Group’s advisory & valuation division. “A continued lack of rain in the U.S. will be detrimental to crop development. This will result in a tightened supply and higher prices for raw materials, livestock, feed, and crops, which could impact gross margins for companies throughout the industry.”

The dry spell has impacted nearly 60 percent of the continental U.S., representing the largest drought area to plague the country since the 1930s and 1950s. With cows starving from lack of pasture and farmers faced with the additional challenge of increased corn prices, the meat and dairy markets will be particularly impacted by this trend. As corn is a primary food source for cattle, there is great concern that farmers will be unable to maintain their animals in the coming months.

According to USDA estimates, overall food prices are expected to increase 2.5 to 3.5 percent through the year’s end, with increases expected in all categories. Grocery store prices are on track to increase between 2.5 and 3.5 percent as well, while restaurant prices are predicted to rise by 2 to 3 percent. Any increases may be magnified by the length of the drought period, which experts predict could continue into the foreseeable future.

Great American Group’s newest quarterly Food Monitor is available on the company’s website. http://www.greatamerican.com/news_media/downloads/Food_Monitor_August.pdf


http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/consumer-insights/id36081/u-s-drought-to-boost-food-prices-through-next-year/

August 22, 2012

Missouri Rep. Akin opposes spending on National School Lunch Program

And just in case anyone missed this from about a week ago, another gem from Todd Akin.......

SEDALIA -- Missouri’s two U.S. Senate candidates tangled Thursday over whether taxpayers should subsidize school lunches for more than 34 million students across the country.

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican candidate, said he opposes federal spending for the National School Lunch Program, which provides cash and surplus food for nearly 650,000 school lunches in Missouri each day.

“Is it something the federal government should do?” Akin said. “I answer it no. … I think the federal government should be out of the education business.”

Akin made the statement outside the 60th annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair on the week many students are heading back to the classroom.

The big-tent, early-morning gathering was an opportunity for candidates of both parties to shake hands, distribute literature and profess support for the state’s farmers and ranchers.

Akin’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, quickly attacked Akin’s opposition to the federal school lunch subsidy.

“I support federal school lunches,” she said. “The notion that the federal government should stop using surplus commodities to help public schools feed kids lunch is a nonstarter for me.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/17/3766451/missouri-rep-akin-opposes-spending.html#storylink=cpy

August 18, 2012

REPURPOSE | TRASH INTO TREASURES PLASTIC-BOTTLE CELLPHONE HOLDER

Turn an empty plastic shampoo container into a wall-mounted charging station.

I converted an empty plastic baby-shampoo bottle into a charging station. First, I trimmed the bottle down to a size that would hold both the phone and the charger, and then I cut out a hole for the plug

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201209/repurpose-cellphone-holder-shampoo-bottle-DIY/default-260.aspx

Looks to be a pretty simple idea and might work out for some.

August 17, 2012

Americans Guilty About Food Waste: Survey

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — When it comes to their efforts to help the environment, Americans feel the most guilt about wasting food, according to a new survey.
The survey, called Eco Pulse, found that 39% of Americans feel guilty about “wasting food.” In comparison, only 7% felt guilty about “not sticking to an energy-efficient thermostat setting,” and just 6% felt guilty about “using chemical lawn or plant fertilizers.” The survey was conducted by the Shelton Group here.
“This is an issue that gets right to the core of who we are as Americans. We were all taught to waste not, want not, and trained that wasting food equals being a bad person,” said Suzanne Shelton, founder and chief executive officer of the Shelton Group, in a statement. “Yet the average household throws out 470 pounds of food every year, making it the largest component in our nation’s landfills. So I’m afraid we have plenty to feel guilty about.”


Read More: http://supermarketnews.com/consumer-trends/americans-guilty-about-food-waste-survey#ixzz23n4fxzJN

August 15, 2012

Best Friends Day

August 15th is Best Friends Day and I offer these thoughts from the book, "Becoming Jefferson's People", by Clay Jenkinson. "He (Jefferson) understood that friendship is the highest form of human relationship--voluntary, based on affinity and shared values, and uncluttered by the dense emotions and dysfunctions of family life."
Celebrate Best Friends Day!

August 11, 2012

Florissant, MO mother wakes up to hate crime in front yard

FLORISSANT, Mo (KMOV.com) -- A local mother woke up in her new home to find a swastika in her front yard. Friday night police are investigating the crime.

The incident happened in a Florissant neighborhood, and authorities are treating it as a hate crime. But Jeaneen Taylor-Tate says it won’t scare her away.
“That’s not gonna push me out,” she said. “Not gonna scare me, but it needs to be dealt with. Someone needs to know people are that ignorant to do something like that.”
Taylor-Tate had not been in her home two full days before the incident happened.
Police say weed killer was used to mark her front lawn with a swastika.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Florissant-mother-wakes-up-to-hate-crime-in-front-yard-165813166.html