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The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929
By Richard Cherrix The Roaring Twenties were a time of discovery and progress. Dr. Frederick Banting discovered Insulin; the Tomb of King Tut was unearthed. Women were granted the right to vote in the United States, the League of Nations was established, Reader’s Digest was published, and talking movies were invented. The twenties also marked an era when many "firsts" occurred; the first commercial radio broadcast aired, the first Winter Olympic Games were held, the first woman swam the English Channel, Babe Ruth set a record for the most home-runs, and Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic. All the while, the American economy and stock market boomed.
The DFA annual meeting in 1925 was well attended. Yet surprisingly, the 1920's were a relatively calm decade for the Dried Fruit Association (now known as the American Council for Food Quality & Safety/DFA of CA). The discussion of uniform contracts, the great benefit of the inspection service and the standardization of containers of dried fruit were the prominent issues during the decade. Years of talk of forming an export association came to fruition with the establishment of the California Dried Fruit Export Association (now known as the Specialty Crop Trade Council) in 1925, who will celebrate their 85th year serving our industry in 2010. A code of ethics was proposed, but was referred to the Executive Committee for further development, a topic of continued discussion even in 2009. The inconvenience suffered by the industry by the 8 hour law for women was another hot issue with the Association promising to consult the California Industrial Welfare Commission to seek relief during the heavy shipping season. The Association also increased the initiation fee twice from $100 to $500 and again from $500 to $2,000 during this time. As we look back into history, we see that the current topics are what have defined the industry, and the Association. To learn more about the progress, and setbacks the Association has encountered, stay tuned for the next issue of the e-Newsletter to read about The Depression Years (1930-1939). |
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Comments, questions or story ideas? Please contact newsletter editor Richard Cherrix at 916.561.5900 ext. 107 or richc@agfoodsafety.org IN THIS ISSUE American Council for Food Safety and Quality/ DFA of CA Board Members Specialty Crop Trade Council Board Members Agriculture’s Take from the Stimulus Package Member Spotlight: Chico Nut Company Staff Spotlight: Patrick Ferreira World-Class Food Safety Experts are California Bound 
SCTC Summer Meeting By Erika Tarr & Patrick Ferreira The Specialty Crop Trade Council (SCTC) held its summer meeting on August 11, 2009 in Stockton, California. 40 SCTC members and associate members attended. The meeting began with an introduction of the new President /CEO of SCTC, Gary Ford. A recap of 2009-2010 carrier contracts were reviewed. SCTC is currently renegotiating rates with Hapag Lloyd as our current contract expires on August 31, 2009. The membership will be notified once the contract has been agreed upon, signed, and the new contract number is provided by the carrier. read more Container Shortage By Erika Tarr Recently, there has been a container shortage in Oakland with a couple of our carriers. This is due to the low number of imports that are coming into this particular port. With the low volume of imports and a continuous flow of exports out of Oakland, it was inevitable that the carriers would soon run out of equipment. Traditionally, we have an issue with reefers (refrigerated containers); however, in 2009 we have seen a shortage of 20’ and 40’ dry containers (non-refrigerated containers). read more U.S. Free Trade agreements Please click here for more information |
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