I was encouraged by Marion Nestle’s optimism when I heard her speak at Berkeley’s Edible Education course this Fall, but her prognosis for food politics in 2012 is cloudy: (full story)

One bright note is that with milk as a mark of new money in emerging economies around the globe, prices paid for it are higher and dairy farmers may earn and be rewarded the way they deserve to be: (full story)

During the winter, a lot of the organic produce in our supermarkets come from farms in the Mexican desert; stress on the region’s water supply and natural environment calls into question how truly sustainable the organic label has become : (full story)

In an online study of consumers, chocolate was judged as significantly lower-calorie when it was described as “fair trade”, demonstrating how the label promotes an inaccurate assumption of lower calories than its competitors: (full story)

Grist offered an apt exploration of how Walmart’s sneakily-spun expansion into food deserts and general take-over of the American food system is making it more concentrated and industrialized than ever before: (full story)

Meanwhile, for SF residents looking to invest food dollars locally, options will expand this year when Local: Mission Eatery opens their breakfast-centric cafe and market. With the exception of coffee, chocolate and sugar, ALL products will be sourced from Northern California: (full story)