• During an address last night at UC Riverside, Jonathan Gold summed up his feelings on the authenticity question: “Authenticity often comes down to the idea of, ‘Did you like it? Did you clean your plate?’ Authentic enough.” [PE]
• Diet soda, better for your hips, but potentially bad for your risk of stroke. [KVIA]
• It seems Taco Bell needs a boost after that maelstrom of bad beef publicity: the chain is giving away free tacos if you ‘like’ the brand on Facebook. [WDTN 2]
• In further proof that not everybody is being harmed by the current economy, profits at Whole Foods have gone way up. [Reuters]
• Wondering what to do with the bling left over from that botched marriage? Why not follow this good Samaritan’s example and donate the ring to a food bank? [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
• Threats of stroke be damned, Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter net income more than tripled. [USAT]
• At last! Some good news about food inflation: India’s has slowed, owing to lower onion costs. [Bloomberg]
• And now, some bad news about food inflation: That darn ethanol industry is drawing down corn supplies and that’s pushing food prices up. This time, Americans will likely be affected. [Indy Star]
