Tis the season to...shoplift

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and oh yes, shoplifting. With shoplifting up six percent this year, retailers will probably lose around $119 billion of merchandise to shoplifters in 2011.

75 percent of shoplifters are adults, and most of them have jobs, but what do they care?

But, you may ask, what are the thieving adults stealing the most?
The answer may surprise you.
Ad Week says the number 1 item on their shoplifting list is Filet mignon.



These people tuck these choice cuts of meats under their jackets and into purses at such a rate, that supermarkets are the stores with the most theft these days.

The Drama of the Coke White Cans

It seems like just yesterday that Coke® was proud of their white can and the saving of the Polar bears.
But now, Coca-Cola Co. is switching back to its familiar red can.
Yes, its been just one month since the cola in the snowy white can was released.
But the white cans are out and the red cans are back in, and they will start being shipped next week.

So who cares?, you may ask.
It seems consumers complained that it looked confusingly a lot like the Diet Coke's silver cans. Others argued that regular Coke tasted different in the white cans. (oh please)
Then there were the devoted who called the white cans sacrilegious.

Coke says this year's campaign is part of a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to highlight global warming's threat to bears' Arctic habitat.
"The white can resonated with us because it was bold, attention-grabbing'' and "reinforced'' the campaign theme, says Scott Williamson, a spokesman for the beverage company. Coke's marketing executives wanted a "disruptive" campaign to get consumers' attention. (well Scott, you did)

Atlanta-based Coke says that it's happy with the campaign and that critics of the white can represent a minority. "The can has been well received and generated a lot of interest and excitement,'' says Mr. Williamson. (we haven't met anyone "excited" over the white can)

Coke says it will distribute more than one billion white cans and roughly the same number of seasonal red cans, which also include polar-bear images. The special red version is "a way to maintain the excitement'' until the campaign ends in February, added Mr. Williamson. (more excitement for Mr. Williamson)

But the company initially said it would distribute more than 1.4 billion white cans in a press release that did not mention the red cans. The company now says red cans will be in the majority by Christmas and that there likely won't be any white cans on store shelves by the time February rolls around. A spokesman said a red holiday version was always part of its plans. (yeah right)

Coke said it became aware of consumer complaints through Internet postings and some telephone calls to the company.

Another person accused Coke of "trickery,'' and still another called the white cans "blasphemy."
Some Coke customers posted on the company's official blog that they weren't happy about the company getting political with the issue of climate change.

Coke says it hasn't changed the taste of its cola and that protecting polar bears is a worthwhile initiative.
It recently put out a "fact sheet'' on its website showing how white Coke cans are different from silver Diet Coke cans. Among the differences: Regular Coke is labeled "Coca-Cola'' and states the calories at the front of the can, while Diet Coke's holiday can—silver as always—is labeled "Diet Coke."

American horse-slaughter industry back in business

President Obama was quiet as a church mouse as he signed into law a spending bill that restores the American horse-slaughter industry.
The ban that has been in place didn’t end horse slaughter, but instead moved the slaughter to Mexico and Canada.

Back in 2006 the ban had been imposed when Congress defunded the government’s ability to inspect plants that butchered horses for consumption.
Without those inspections, the meat couldn’t be sold, and the industry basically ended.
But the spending bill President Obama has just signed ends the prohibition on inspections, and the if anyone wants to open a horse-slaughter plant, they will have their inspections.

“While we have a long way to go, responsible processing represents a vital first step in reversing the unintended consequences to blame for the dismal state of neglected horses and their frustrated caregivers across our country,” said Rep. Adrian Smith, a Nebraska Republican who wanted the change. “Reinstating a humane, accountable and legal management tool is good for horses, good for owners and is good policy.”

A June report by the Government Accountability Office, said thlee was an increase in reports of neglect or abuse as owners of older horses had no way of disposing of them, short of selling them to “foreign slaughtering facilities where U.S. humane slaughtering protections do not apply.”

The move got a nod of approval from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which said it had always been worried about the way Congress went about its initial ban. PETA said it predicted that horses would be shipped to foreign slaughterhouses.

Horse meat is regularly used for consumption by circuses and zoos, and it is now sent to countries in the Eastern Hemisphere where it is an accepted food.

A bill to ban horse slaughter and export of horses for slaughter has been introduced in the House and Senate, and the Humane Society of the United States said it would redouble its efforts to try to enact that legislation.
In the meantime, the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said there are no horse slaughterhouses operating in the U.S. that produce meat for human consumption, but the agency would be ready for inspections if a facility opens.
Another factor is that many states have laws banning horse slaughter.
Michael Markarian, who oversees the Humane Society Legislative Fund, which lobbies for animal protections, said any state that allows a horse-slaughter plant to open will face pressure.
“People will not be happy about their community potentially bringing in one of these plants,” he said. “Americans don’t eat horses, and don’t want them butchered and shrink-wrapped and sent to France or Japan as a delicacy.”

In 2010, about 138,000 horses were exported for slaughter, and another 30,000 horses were shipped for other purposes, though some of those likely were sent to feedlots to be fattened for slaughter.