Immigration And The Poultry Industry
Here is a piece that points out that Delaware’s poultry-processing plants depend heavily on immigrants, many of whom are suspected of being illegal. It is a useful reminder that the immigration issue, which we have dealt with here, here and here, affects more than the produce industry. But whether it is poultry or produce, the […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Immigration
Some very incisive thoughts in response to our piece on immigration: On immigration, much to the dismay of my shippers, I’ve long contended that the agricultural community is hooked on the drug of cheap labor. In the 60’s, people were mechanically harvesting certain vegetables for Campbell’s Soup. They had to quit doing it because labor […]
Presenting “Pundit Classics”
Between Christmas and New Year’s, we are presenting “Pundit Classics,” pieces that ran previously that deserve a second look. Today we are reviewing some of our work on public policy issues such as Immigration and the WIC program.
Reducing Labor With Technology
Here at the Pundit, we’ve dealt several times with the issue of immigration reform, including here and here. The Pundit also made some specific suggestions on what could actually pass in Straight Talk On Immigration. One wild card in this issue is what the industry could actually do in terms of mechanizing harvesting if labor […]
Straight Talk On Immigration
First we welcomed the new United Fresh Produce Association here. Then we discussed the challenges related to conducting government relations for an association that is both vertically integrated and horizontally diverse here. We have dealt with immigration reform before, both here and here, but the situation is now coming to a head. We would be […]
Doubtful Immigration Policy
Immigration is a crucial issue to business in general and the food industry in particular. The big growth in foodservice probably wouldn’t be possible without substantial immigration to provide staffing for all those restaurants. And it is said that no industry is as dependent on illegal immigrants as the business of harvesting produce. There are […]
Pundit’s Mailbag —
Characters and Marketing
One of the industry’s veterans in the realm of marketing has both kind words for the launch of the pundit and also doubts about programs that we discussed to apply cartoon characters across a broad range of products. First, Jim, thank you so much for spreading your abundant common sense on a daily basis. It […]
Is It A License To
Print Money?
There has been a recent explosion in the use of cartoon characters and produce. In addition to long-established uses such as River Ranch and its use of Popeye on spinach or Ready Pac, which merged in Tanimura & Antle’s use of Bugs Bunny on carrots, Nickelodeon just announced an expansion of its licensing program with […]
Disney Default
Perhaps the most exciting food industry news out last week was that Disney now has plans to make fruits and vegetables the “default choice” on fast food meals served at its theme park restaurants. This means that if you order a #1, you will get a hamburger, a drink and some carrots, for example, rather […]
The Bitter Truth About
Promoting Produce To Children
Few subjects bring about the kind of unanimity of opinion that the desirability of promoting fresh fruits and vegetables to children does in the produce trade. It is a clear win/win: improve the health of America’s children while increasing sales for the trade. The Produce for Better Health Foundation has long run a special site […]
