Pundit’s Mailbag —
Grower Comments On Grape Shatter
Our piece, Grape Shatter Issue Hits Wholesalers Hardest, dealt with a grape industry initiative to change USDA grade and “good delivery” standards for grapes shipped in bags and clamshells. The grape growers hope to increase the allowance for shatter. The debate centers around four issues: To what extent is shatter a normal occurrence with healthy […]
Safeway’s Steve Burd’s Comments
Buttress Pundit’s Fresh & Easy Analysis
There’s more back up support for the Pundit’s assessment — also buttressed by a report from the Willard Bishop consultancy — that Tesco’s Fresh & Easy store volumes are only running at around $50,000 a week, per store, once the grand opening period passes. The “evidence” of Tesco’s volume can be deduced from a statement […]
Pundit’s Pulse Of The Industry — Perfection Fresh’s Michael Simonetta
The relationship between the produce industry in Australia and New Zealand and that of the United States is most intriguing. There is some trade… the Pundit remembers, in his youth, buying apples from the late, great Harry Chilton of Tasmania. We ran a piece, ‘Great Mates’: USA Pears And New Zealand, about USA pear exports […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Organic Icon DiMatteo Weighs In On
Sustainability Standard
In the world of organic agriculture, few names are held in higher esteem than that of Katherine DiMatteo, the longtime Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association, so we are honored she has weighed in with a response to our Special Pundit edition entitled, Sustainability Standard Being Steamrolled — Does A Sustainable Vision Encompass Only […]
Naturipe’s Executive Team Complete
With a little over a year having passed since Bruce Peterson left Wal-Mart, we’ve still had many occasions to think about Bruce’s role in the industry. We have, in fact, mentioned Bruce many times in pieces such as these: Wal-Mart’s Bruce Peterson Resigns Bruce Peterson Focus On Traceability Bruce Peterson Lands At Naturipe As Its […]
Grape Shatter Issue
Hits Wholesalers Hardest
As technology and marketing change, long established industry norms are bound to be questioned. Such questioning is occurring now in the table grape industry. The gist of the issue: Growers of table grapes point out that when grapes are marketed in bags or clamshells, retailers get paid for the loose grapes or shatter. Therefore growers […]
Grandstanding Senator
To Grill Leafy Greens Board
It was almost exactly a year ago when State Senator Dean Florez grilled a produce exec at a hearing in California. The hearing was positively abusive, and we wrote a piece entitled A Tip Of The Hat For Tom Stenzel that included this note: …when Tom Stenzel flew to California to testify before a joint […]
No Standardization Without Representation (Part 2)
Tim’s clarion call has turned out to be prescient, as the sustainability issue is being co-opted by people who choose to define sustainability in a manner that comports with their ideological predispositions, rather than engaging in vigorous debate on what principles should guide an understanding of sustainability. Specifically, these people have basically proclaimed that only […]
The Produce Industry Strikes Back
(Part 3)
Now we have received a statement specifically dealing with fresh produce. Bob Martin of Rio Farms has been working with a group of California producers looking to outreach to the industry, including the buying segment: The (Not So) Hidden Agenda Behind the Term “Sustainable Production” Over the last several weeks a growing group of concerned […]
Sustainability Standard Being Steamrolled — Does A Sustainable Vision Encompass Only Organics?
The Imperative For Action (Part 1)
We’ve been harping on the importance of sustainability and social responsibility as an issue for the fresh produce industry to wrestle with for some time. The issue has now reached a point where attention is not only important, but urgent. As such, we dedicate this entire issue to the controversy now enveloping the industry in […]
