New research in Britain has found that a food preservative called sodium benzoate -- commonly used in sodas like Fanta, Pepsi Max, Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper, as well as thousands of canned and jar food products -- can actually "switch off" important functions of DNA, leading to cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson's and other diseases. Sodium benzoate mixed with vitamin C has previously been found to cause cancer. So now the list of diseases cause by soft drinks looks like this:

* cirrhosis of the liver
* Parkinson's
* diabetes
* obesity
* cancer
* hyperactivity

Millions of people drink soda every day. In addition to causing all these diseases, soda displaces water in the diet, which of course is needed for healthy functioning of all human organs.

The UK's Soil Association, which decides what foods get the "organic" label in Britain, may remove foods imported via airplane from eligibility. The possible move would promote less polluting methods of import and boost domestically grown foods.

The UK's plans to require by law that bread-makers add folic acid, also known as folate, to all bread is yet another example of a government clumsily experimenting on the public by medicating our food. The requirement, which is designed to make sure pregnant women get enough folic acid without having to actually educate them, may put the rest of the population -- especially the elderly -- at risk. Like the requirement for B1 in baby formula, fluoridated drinking water, and other similar government-mandated supplementation, the folic acid requirement punishes those who want to choose which and whether our diets are supplemented by various chemicals and also puts millions at risk while safeguarding only a few dozen pregnancies.

European scientists have created a portable electro-chemical biosensor that detects and identifies traces of toxic chemicals such as pesticides and antibiotics in food including milk, produce, water and orange juice. The biosensor can detect even small amounts of atrazine, a commonly used herbicide in conventional agriculture in the United States, antibiotics used to promote the growth of animals raised for food and sulphanilamides used to treat sick animals in factory farming. Now that's a wonderful invention that should keep factory farms and food manufacturers honest.

Children conceived during summer (June through August) tend to score lower on math and language tests. The likely reason: Seasonal pesticide use.

Mark Di Ionno writes in the San Francisco Chronicle how junk food companies have motivated Americans to literally eat ourselves to death: "Spend $12 billion a year on advertising. Put product on every corner. Don't stop until you've changed the American lifestyle." These are the "two main ingredients for the pervasiveness of junk food in our culture: advertising and availability." He lambastes children's TV ads for pushing hard for kids to see junk food as "cool." And he illustrates the "availability" issue thus: "Drive down any stretch of any highway and count the number of gas stations that sell soda and snacks. Then count how many can actually fix a flat tire."

Charles, the Prince of Wales, has written a book on organic gardening, which will hit U.S. bookstores in the Fall. The Prince is well known for using only organic gardening techniques for the gardens of his 1,000-acre country home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.

Europeans may wonder why some Americans are so crazy about Whole Foods Market. But starting June 6, they can wonder no more, as the ginormous 80,000 square foot Whole Food Market is set to open in West London's Kensington as Europe's first. The 300 or so Whole Foods Markets in the United States have helped countless American shoppers escape from toxic, dead-foods grocery chains like Vons, Safeway, Ralphs and others. Even more impressive is that they've thrilled shoppers in America's natural-foods and gourmet foods Meccas from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach. What's so great about Whole Foods? An article in the Times will give you a pretty good idea.

India's new MDLR Airlines advertises itself as India's first exclusively vegetarian airline. They fly to multiple cities inside India and "provide a wide variety of multi-cuisine vegetarian specialties." (Thanks to SuperVegan)