FNJ Fans,

Thanks for your patience during our brief hiatus. We've definitely enjoyed the break after several years of near-nonstop news hunting.

It hasn't been all play and no work though. So many of you wrote to tell us how much you missed your daily dose of food news; and we promise: We heard you. We're hard at work now on a new plan for Food News Journal. Watch this site – and follow us on Twitter (@foodnewsjournal) – for news of what's to come.

For now, you can reach Fran at fran.brennan2 (at) gmail.com, and Shelly at sepeppel (at) gmail.com. We're also still both reachable at info (at) foodnewsjournal.com. So by all means, continue to keep in touch. We've loved hearing from you and hope we'll continue to do so.

Shelly and Fran

Food News Friday, July 8

Mississippi most obese state, Colorado least - Reuters
Video Shows Kobayashi Didn't Eat World Record 69 Hot Dogs - IBT
GOP decries "nanny state" push on junk food ads - CBS News
Lemonade Stand Robbed - Huff Post
Thousands of CA prisoners refusing state food - SJ Mercury News
20 Chemicals Found In Typical Glass Of Milk - Huff Post
Egypt Denies Local Seeds Caused E. Coli - TIME
Extreme coupon cutters save cash, teach their ways - AP
UK school lunches take-up increases - BBC

Food for Thought

Missing home cooking? Borrow a grandma - Eatocracy
World's strangest supermarket items - NY Daily News
4 Reasons to Eat Your Ocean Veggies - Oprah
Factory Farms vs. Video Activists - Atlantic
How to Navigate Chinese Cuisine - Marketplace
Foodzy: A Dieting Game For You And Your Friends - Fast Co.
Alain Coumont recipes from Languedoc, France - Telegraph UK
Yacht chef travels seas cooking for rich and famous - Miami Herald
The Difference Engine: Hold the carcinogens - The Economist
The rise of TV's warrior chefs - Vancouver Sun

Best of the Blogs

Kitchen Wisdom, Volume 1 - Matt Bites
Cherry Cake with Nutella Frosting - Lucullian Delights
Hirkum Pirkum - Kokblog
Star Wars and Photography - Taylor Takes a Taste
Thank-you Istanbul - Yummy Supper
Puffed Pasta - Playing with Fire and Water
This week's ingredient: Watermelon - Weekly Greens

Wine and Spirits

Bloodhound Who Nose Her Wines - Express UK
How Craft Brewers Help Towns Hit By Hard Times - Fast Co.
Is white wine better for my teeth than red wine? - Wine Spectator
When aging is good - Chicago Tribune
France loses US market share but is most popular online - Decanter
Villalobos' French wine collection brings $160,000 - Sacramento Bee
Trummer Refuses Plea Deal in Bartop Pyrotechnics - New York Times
California winery declared greenest in the US - Independent

The Business of Food

5 events on the Major League Eating circuit - Yahoo! Sports
David Chang’s Lucky Peach ‘Zine Sells Out - Zagat
Restaurant Gardens a Boon to New Farmers - Civil Eats
NASA gadget turns urine into Capri Sun - Grist
Georgia Farmers Hail China's New Taste For Pecans - NPR