Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Bonds, Currencies, Commodities and Index Futures -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Chip McVickar who wrote (2718)	2/26/2003 4:49:23 PM
From: Rich1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12411

Pretty interesting..Thanks for sharing it..

To: Chip McVickar who wrote (2718)	2/26/2003 10:09:27 PM
From: robert b furman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12411

Safe to a say we should get nervous at a break below 820ish. Bob

To: Chip McVickar who wrote (2718)	2/27/2003 8:59:52 AM
From: Doo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12411

Hey, Chip! Take a look at what the beef lobby is pushing through, particularly on the "grass fed" claim. As I read it, I could feed my lambs grain mixed with chicken manure (which is done in feedlots, btw), and as long as it didn't exceed 20% of their diet, I could label our meat "grass fed". Comforting, huh? ams.usda.gov Was in your town last week, and stopped into Bread & Circus to see what all the buzz is about. I had to laugh at all the labels claiming "free range" this, "naturally raised" that, "omega 3" this, "no antibiotics" that. Most of it is totally unregulated, as I understand it. "Free range" means little more than the highly bred Cornish Cross chickens (that can barely walk anyway since they don't need to in confinement facilities) have another square foot to move around (though they can't move cuz they can barely walk) inside a facility. That might be an exaggeration, but it won't be long before Purdue greases some palms and calls their trash "pasture raised". Buyer beware. In the long haul, probably good for small farm producers, assuming we can keep the gov't from regulating them completely out of the business of selling direct to folks that want the real mccoy. Here's another nice one: 2/26/2003 Senate Bill Would Restore Organic Food Standard - 2/26 Reuters Organic food organizations and consumer groups were enraged by a provision quietly slipped into a massive federal spending bill earlier this month that eased the livestock feeding requirements for U.S. farmers selling products labeled as organic. The spending bill was signed into law by President Bush last week. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said she supported a new Senate effort to repeal the organic provision. "It is important to maintain a strong organic program that ensures the integrity of the organic label placed on consumer products," Veneman said in a statement. "I support bipartisan efforts to ensure those USDA standards remain in place." A group of 27 Senate Democrats and Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday that would again require organic producers of meat, eggs and dairy products to use organic feed. The USDA launched a program last October that allows U.S. organic food companies to carry a special USDA seal on the label. To qualify for the USDA organic seal, livestock producers were required to meet strict conditions, including feeding their animals 100 percent organic grain or grazing them in special pasture land. However, some organic livestock producers began lobbying the USDA last summer for permission to feed their animals conventional grain because of skyrocketing prices for organic feed. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said the legislative language inserted into the federal spending bill earlier this month was done to help a Georgia organic livestock producer, but was written so broadly that it created a loophole for the entire industry. "We should not weaken the organic standards because one producer wants to cut corners that his competitors are not cutting," said Leahy, a co-sponsor of the new bill. A similar bill is planned for the House of Representatives by California Rep. Sam Farr, a Democrat. The legislation has been endorsed by companies such as Tyson Foods Inc., Grain Millers Inc. of Minnesota, the J.M. Smucker Co. and others. Lawmakers have expressed concern that unless it is repealed, the provision could undermine consumer confidence in organic food and hurt U.S. exports of organic products. The organic food industry is the fastest growing segment of American agriculture, with an estimated $11 billion in sales last year.