Happy Plaid Friday! Oaklanders founded this holiday as an alternative to the big box store “Black Friday” to promote local and independently owned businesses during the holidays.

A trip to a dinner party in Berlin reveals an idea of luxury different from the decadent British or American one; these Germans prize frugality, celebrating with boiled potatoes (how refreshing)! (BBC)

Payback Time! Organic diehards are boycotting these “natural” brands whose parent companies donated millions to defeat Prop 37: (Organic Consumer)

Check out these photos taken by an electron microscope that reveal how natural and processed foods differ not only in their nutritional value, but in their chemical structures: (Fast Company)

Swiss company Nestle is focusing on product innovation for the Chinese market, opening new research centers to try out peanut milk, spicy Sichuan sauces, congee, and a less bitter coffee more pleasing to Chinese palates: (Bloomberg)

A team of computer scientists have come up with an algorithm to guess how successful a recipe will turn out; it predicts with nearly 80 % accuracy how many stars a recipe will receive online, and can recommend more healthful ingredient replacements: (Capital Public Radio)

Looking for a fun holiday weekend activity in DC or NYC? For the first time, the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian have opened major exhibitions devoted to food and the food industry: (New York Times)