Fresh Ideas: Paying Attention in Uncertain Times

In most years, the holidays are slow news times. Not so in 2012, when a convergence of political developments created a climate of angst and a new catchphrase that was on everyone’s lips: fiscal cliff.

Fans of “Saturday Night Live” can imagine Gilda Radner’s malaprop-prone Emily Litella character opening her Weekend Update commentary with the question, “What’s all this fuss I hear about Physical Cliff? I know three guys named Cliff and none of them get any exercise at all!”

Now that the federal government has patched together a solution that avoids sending the financial version of a long drop and a splat, we may be tempted to now echo Ms. Litella’s exit line and say, “Never mind!”

Blissful ignorance, however, is not an option for businesses, including fresh-cut produce. Consider these current realities:

–The federal government avoided one fiscal cliff, only to create a few others. If they ever really do get serious about the deficit, program cuts will be coming.
–The Affordable Health Care Act (“Obamacare”) is taking root. Its effects cannot be exactly predicted, but businesses are being forced to come up with unique ways to respond to its implementation guidelines.
–A clattering can labeled “2012 Farm Bill” has been kicked down the road, to be retrieved (we think) by September 2013.
–An agricultural labor environment that holds a glimmer of promise for immigration reform, at the same time that enforcement measures have become much tougher.

You don’t win in this climate by saying “never mind.” You win by paying attention to the basics, the trends, the people and the products. We’re here to help you do just that with stories about traceability, temperature monitoring, protective clothing, packaging and a very cool product launch from Mann Packing.

I’m pulling for Mann’s new Veggie Mac-n-Cheese (P. ??) to be a hit, because if we can find a way to get more kids to eat broccoli, anything’s possible, even in these times.

By Lee Dean, editorial director


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