BAD NEWS — but probably no surprise to parents — when it comes to young children and vegetables: A government study showed fifth graders became less willing to try vegetables and fruits when more were offered as free school snacks. Older kids in the same study upped the amount of fruit they ate, but there was no change in their vegetable consumption. The study results are somewhat disappointing for champions of getting more fresh produce into school lunchrooms. And they show that simply offering children fruits and vegetables doesn't get the job done, said Howell Wechsler, director of adolescent and school health with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC sponsored the research.

By Rich Thoaselli Dream Endorser: Tiger Woods as a Giant of Marketing ROI Golf Superstar May Be History's Most Effective Product Spokesperson

By Rich Thomaselli  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Follow the bouncing golf ball to see how much marketing impact one man can have in a celebrity-driven, star-making culture. In 1996, Nike signed Tiger Woods to an endorsement deal, mostly for apparel. In 1998, the company decided to create Nike Golf. In 2000, Mr. Woods began playing with a Nike ball. In 2002, he switched to Nike clubs. This year, Nike Golf became the fourth-largest equipment retailer in the $5.8 billion golf-equipment market.

KUNMING, China — Americans and Europeans are used to buying mass produced shoes, toys and microwave ovens from China. So why not roses? That is the thinking behind an elaborate Chinese government effort to export cut flowers, aimed not just at developing a new business to take on the world but at redeveloping the social and economic landscape here in southwestern China. By placing the flower industry, along with several others, far from the coastal provinces that have enjoyed most of the nation’s prosperity, Beijing officials hope to bring jobs to tens of millions of impoverished, isolated workers in a bid to narrow the income gap between rich city dwellers and unemployed farmers.