Given the over $1 billion of food the US exported to Russia last year, Putin’s ban on American food imports is going to hit our poultry, pork and nut industries hard; food makers, however, claim they’ll be able to redistribute production to other global markets: (Washington Post)

In other geo-political food news, as the Israel-Gaza conflict has intensified, an app called Buycott is allowing shoppers to avoid products deemed to support Israel: (Forbes)

The next international exposition, 2015 Expo Milan, will gather 140 countries to tackle the question of how to feed a future of 9 billion people without destroying the planet; America’s presence will focus on topics like GMOs and our obesity epidemic, fueled by national faves like lobster rolls and po’ boys: (Washington Post)

French scientists seem to have figured out how to make raw milk cheese safe, so cheesemakers at England’s legendary Neal’s Yard Dairy want to translate a French government cheese manual to unlock the secrets of how to use good bacteria to battle the bad: (NPR)

Whether it’s San Francisco’s Valencia or D.C.’s 14th NW, many urban streets beloved for independent business are losing ground to chain stores that all feel the same; somehow though, the “sleek epicurean village” one entrepreneur is hatching in Paris feels especially dramatic: (New York Times)