Premium Standard Farms—America's Number 2 hog packer—seemed like a mighty big bite even for Smithfield Foods, whose insatiable appetite for smaller competitors has made it the nation's largest pork processor. Until last week, there was some hope that Department of Justice would derail the merger as anti-competitive. But over protestations from politicians such as Senator Chuck Grassley R Iowa and consumer groups, the Antitrust Division's regulators gave the deal their blessing, proclaiming that the new meat-producing behemoth was, "not likely to harm competition, consumers or farmers."
Given that Smithfield will now process about one-third of the hogs in the United States (and outright own one in five), I find the assertion somewhat hard to swallow.
When is Organic not Organic?
When the term is applied to produce on the shelves of some Wal-Mart stores,
it seems. The Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog group, delivered an
embarrassing nip to the retail giant's backside by complaining to the Wisconsin's Bureau of Consumer Protection that the megastore was displaying inorganic
fruits and vegetables under cheery, green "Wal-Mart Organics"
placards. After receiving assurances
from the company that it "plans to implement additional measures to ensure
that organic products will not be inadvertently or accidentally identified by
shelf tags as being organic," the bureau said it would drop the
complaint—but cautioned that it will be monitoring Wal-Mart's practices.
Clean Your Plate—Or Else
In this age of gigantic portions (and waistlines), The
Christian Science Monitor reports that owners of Hong Kong's popular
all-you-can-eat restaurants have come up with a reassuringly practical solution
to diners whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs: You pay extra for food
left on your plate. One hot-pot joint charges 64 cents an ounce for leftovers;
at a more upscale sushi place, similar gluttony will set you back $1.28 an
ounce.
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