Food Prices & Onion Marketing Order

Food Prices & Onion Marketing Order plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Well imagine this...food prices at the grocery store are up from last year. Economist Ricky Volpe explains.

VOLPE: The food at home index is .8 percent above where it was a year ago so we are seeing so far inflation on the year. We’re seeing if nothing were to change for the rest of 2013 we’re going to end up with food prices higher than they were in 2012 but of course this is a very modest increase especially compared to what we have seen in recent years.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Walla Walla sweet onion producers will vote from September 14, 2013 through October 4, 2013, on whether to continue their Federal marketing order. The marketing order requires that a continuance referendum be held every six years. USDA would consider terminating the marketing order if a majority of the producers voting in the referendum and producers of a majority of the volume of Walla Walla sweet onions represented in the referendum do not favor continuance. All producers of record will be receiving ballots and voting instructions in the mail.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

A new study published Monday says that eating red meat may boost the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Headlines announcing the study tend to forget the word “may”. Duke University Medical Center adjunct professor William Evans points out that the study’s message should not be that people should stay away from eating red meat. He says that it’s not the type of protein that’s the problem; it’s the type of fat. Evans suggests that public health recommendations should include cuts of red meat that are also low in fat and saturated fat, along with fish, poultry and low-fat dairy products. Jude Capper, adjunct professor at Washington State University states that, “We need to get over the perception that fat is bad, particularly that fats found in dairy and meat are worse than fats found in olive oil. Oleic acid, which is prevalent in olive oil, is also found in grain-fed beef.” Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid found naturally in many animal products as well as plant sources. It is an omega-9 fatty acid, and is considered one of the healthier sources of fat in the diet. Interestingly, the study authors point out that the study is observational and does not prove cause and effect.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.