PMA Convention Observations
And Lessons For Produce Promotion
Each year when the industry gathers for the Produce Marketing Association’s annual convention and exposition, one expects a tone to be set. Partly this is because it is the trade’s largest event and thus there is a critical mass to reflect on the state of the industry; partly it is because its October timing is […]
Got Produce? Let’s Cancel The Effort
And Start Afresh
We have written extensively about the proposal for a mandatory generic produce promotion program. It would have been a difficult proposal to get passed under any circumstances, but thinking about it during a time of recession made it a doubly difficult proposition. Yet, we have written more in sorrow than in anger because the proponents […]
Citrus Industry Transformation
Is Now Upon Us
We have written much about Sunkist, and as we were preparing to attend the Produce Marketing Association it was nice to receive word that some good things were happening there: SUNKIST WELCOMES BRAVANTE PRODUCE Bravante Produce, a well-known grower/shipper in the California citrus industry, is the newest member of Sunkist Growers, the grower-owned citrus marketing […]
Tesco Watches As Fresh & Easy Sales Numbers Show Weakness
Tesco announced its earnings for the first half of its 2009/2010 fiscal year and Fresh & Easy continues to disappoint. Exact figures are not available, as Tesco, which published “Like for Like” sales numbers on Fresh & Easy — what we Americans call “Same Store Sales” — last year, stopped doing so when the numbers […]
Pundit Up For Nobel Prize?
We’ve written previously about the politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize. After the announcement that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, a gentleman who voted for Obama in the last election and who is a produce industry icon with a wry sense of humor sent along the following note: As you know, I […]
Despite Progress Made,
Feedback On PTI Reveals Real Problems
Our coverage of traceability has been extensive, and our recent piece brought much controversy. In fact some of the association folks weren’t all that happy that we ran the piece, expressing to us a wish that we had exercised “more discretion.” Of course, when a person holding a responsible position in the industry is willing […]
SPECIAL EDITION
An Opportunity Missed: ‘Ten Riskiest Foods’ List Highly Deceptive, Worse Than Useless to Consumers — CSPI’s Quest For The Headlines Means America Misses Out On a Rational Discussion About Risk
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a self-proclaimed consumer advocacy group, came out with a list of the “The Ten Riskiest Foods Regulated By the U.S. Food And Drug Administration,” and frankly, Caroline Smith DeWaal, who is the Director of Food Safety for the group and who serves on the Board of Advisors […]
Got Produce? …And Spawns Virtual Debate On Generic Promotion
Below the good Professor’s comments (in red), we have added some thoughts of our own (in black). (To avoid confusion, we are adopting Professor Kaiser’s style and are using blue type to denote content that the Professor picked up from our original article, Got Produce? Generic-Promotion Expert Enters Debate With Some Shocking Analysis I) PUNDIT […]
Come See Us In Anaheim
The Pundit is in Anaheim for the PMA Convention and Exhibition. Pundit Special Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott is here, along with Pundit Aide-de-Camp, the recently married James Elmer. In addition the whole team from Pundit sister publication, PRODUCE BUSINESS, is here, including Ken Whitacre, Eric Nieman, Ellen Rosenthal, Jennifer Jordan, Bill Martin, […]
Tesco Goes LEED, But Is LEED Sustainable?
Tesco’s Fresh & Easy has always worked to present a “sustainable” face as it has introduced itself to Americans. It started out by building what it claims to be America’s largest rooftop solar installation and made a fetish of putting pictures of polar bears in every store — although we questioned the science behind that […]
