Retailer after retailer has fallen in line to back animal-rights groups' strident calls to "meet consumer demand" for eggs from hens not housed in cages. But has the food chain based their high-stakes promises on a  dangerous assumption?

With the passing of the 11th anniversary of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires refiners to blend increasing amounts of biofuels into new options for consumers at the pump, it remains a complex and contentious issue. Here are three facts about the federal requirement you should know.

The gap between rich and poor has widened, income growth at the bottom is stalled, and beef prices are leading nagging food inflation. Under the old rules, all those factors should add up to a crash in beef demand. Yet annual retail demand for beef has continued to rise. Have the old assumptions changed? 

A champion team roper and national-caliber bareback bronc rider himself, 19-year-old Sargent native Rowdy Moon spends summer weekend nights under the lights in county rodeo arenas, running towards the business end of three-quarter ton of mean beef.  

On this annual end-of-summer salute to the contributions and achievements of America's working class, travel back 30 years with us, to a day when several hundred friends and neighbors gathered in the small town of Bruno to demonstrate the real power of organized muscle. You won't believe what they accomplished.

Mark your calendars for these events:

Sept. 9-10	Affiliated Foods Midwest Fall Trade Show in Omaha
Sept. 11-15	National Grocers Association: The Sustainable Growth Conference, Ithaca, NY
Sept. 22	Hackers & Snackers Golf Extravaganza