As a follow-up to the pink slime headline I shared last week, and testament to how consumer pressure can lead to changing practices in the food industry, Beef Products Inc. announced the temporary shutdown of three of its four plants that produce “lean finely textured beef”; not only had McDonald’s, the National School Lunch Program, Kroger & Safeway decided to reduce or eliminate it, but viral campaigns by regular joes also changed the game: (full story)

The Just Label It Campaign announced this week that a record-breaking one million Americans signed the petition calling on the FDA to label genetically engineered foods:(full story)

We were excited to see six of the food producers we work with (Dandelion Chocolate, Farmhouse Culture, Baia Pasta, Barinaga Ranch, Emmy’s Pickles…and Chez Pim coming soon!) celebrated in San Francisco Magazine’s list of top ten artisan food makers to watch:(full story)

The new wave of food co-ops are slick community markets that have thrown off the members-only rules, volunteer requirements and vegetarian philosophies commonly associated with them, going with an every-man’s product assortment: (full story)

With volumes of traditional sodas declining for the seventh consecutive year, soft drink companies have been acting similar to tobacco companies, putting promotion dollars behind the drinks with the highest margins, and introducing non-carbonated alternatives the same way cig companies promote smokeless tobacco and other spinoffs: (full story)

Similarly, Coca-Cola Great Britain pledged to cut portions and reformulate its products as part of a U.K. government drive to curb obesity; they will invest $24 million by 2014 to reformulate soft drinks and cut the average number of calories per liter by at least 30%:(full story)

Maybe it’s time to reconsider donkey meat–here’s a quirky roundup of foods that might change your perspective on our ability to feed the planet: (full story)