Rice, however, is a special case. The rice price increase is a result of a domino effect. Drought in Australia led to a severe decline in rice production, that in turn led the world's largest rice exporters to restrict exports. That spurred higher rice prices and hoarding in Asian countries. Now, in the United States, rice prices have skyrocketed. NBC 4/23/08
Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks, the New York Sun reported on Monday. At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, California, on Sunday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy. Times of India 4/23/08
Costco Wholesale Corp. is reportedly moving to ease buying limits some of the chain's managers imposed recently on staples like rice, cooking oil, and flour. The Sun 4/23/08
Since January, the price of rice has jumped more than 100 percent around the world, and this means Bay Area stores are now changing policies for their customers. A 20 pound bag of basmati rice at Costco sold for $8.99 just two months ago. Today it’s nearly doubled at $15.99. KCBS 4/23/08
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The rise of community-based farming in the last 20 years has begun to bring consumers closer to farms, and also has given rise to a new breed of farmers. Nevada County is following this trend. In the past five years, several new farms have been established, and a vital new interest in locally grown food has fueled a rising demand for the county's farm-grown products that hardly existed a few years ago. The Union 4/23/08
Fewer doctors were disciplined in California in 2007 than the previous year, causing the state to fall in a nationwide ranking a consumer group released Tuesday. California ranked 36th in the nation in disciplinary actions against doctors, which include the revocation, surrender and suspension of medical licenses, according to a report released by Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group. LA Times 4/23/08
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is calling on labor unions representing city employees to renegotiate their contracts to help reduce the massive $338 million budget deficit projected for next year. SF Chronicle 4/23/08
In a significant reversal, major meat and dairy industry groups backed a total ban on so-called downer cattle from entering the food supply. Calls for such a ban have come from watchdog groups and some lawmakers in the wake of the large beef recall from a Southern California slaughterhouse in February, but the industry had resisted. NY Times 4/23/08
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Japan has suspended imports from a California plant of National Beef Packing Co after it found a box including a beef part it bans due to the risk of mad cow disease, a Ministry of Agriculture official said on Wednesday. Reuters 4/23/08
The illegal shipment was among 700 packs or 17 tonnes of beef imported through Japanese trading company Itochu last August, the ministry said in a statement. AFP 4/23/08
It was found in one of 700 boxes shipped from a plant in California owned by Kansas City-based National Beef, a statement said. USA Today 4/23/08
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State agriculture officials are targeting the crop-destroying light brown apple moth next week with pheromone-infused twist ties in areas of Carpinteria. The California Department of Food and Agriculture says the pheromones, which disrupt mating by confusing the moths, will be applied April 30 on fewer than 30 properties northwest of Carpinteria High School. SJ Mercury 4/23/08
In a long-awaited decision, a federal court in Fresno found that a 2004 biological opinion by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not adequately protect sensitive fish populations when authorizing long-term operations of the state and federal water projects. The California Farm Bureau Federation was among the organizations that intervened in the case on the side of the water projects and water users. The case is similar to the delta-smelt case, in which CFBF also intervened. Supplies have already been reduced because of last year's ruling to protect delta smelt. The impact of this decision, Chris Scheuring, CFBF managing counsel for the Natural Resources and Environmental Division said, will depend on whether more water must be saved or released for salmon at additional times of the year. California Farm Bureau Federation 4/23/08
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