Truffle crisis in france

[smith renate]

I am trying to straighten out some facts on the current truffle crisis 
in france. All the articles i have found seem to contradict each other.
I have a 1992 report from Spain about imminemt massproduction, but 
nothing mentioned about it again. Did he or didn't he?

I have a 1991 report about the development of a truffle sniffing device 
which is never mentioned again.

The best is a 1989 report about two guys in california claiming to have 
produced them in their lab. Their names are: Dr. Robert Mah UCLA and 
Dr.Arnold Demain MIT. Never heard from them again.

Price quotes range from $50 - $1000 per pound

Decline of truffle production is blamed on everthing from change in 
wheather, to WWII, to deforestation, to new taxlaws in 1917.

William Griner from Mendocino CA claims to have perfected high-yield 
cultivation, never heard from again.

The latest and most persistent news are about cheap tuber himalayensis 
from China being pawned off as the real tuber melanosporum.

I would very much appreciate any updates on the above and also any 
sources that are more reliable than the New York Times and the Wall 
Street Journal.

thank you in advance, renate m smith