Soap box:

- From further afield, a little power from the people: Pepsi are pulling aspartame from their diet drink in the US (but replacing with sucralose) in what appears to be a marketing stunt to LOOK like they are making a change; Tyson, one of the largest poultry producers in the states, have pledged to remove antibiotics from chicken by 2017 (the allegation being large-scale farmers have been using antibiotics to keep chickens healthy in over-crowded, unsanitary conditions) ... could this be a gentle return to something that actually is 'natural'? Before answering that, check out this article by Michael Pollan looking at the lawsuits and misrepresentation of the word 'natural' across a number of industries: "any food product that feels compelled to tell you it’s natural in all likelihood is not." True that.

- And saving the very best for last, it was actually the best of last week (that I failed to report, so sorry) ... the New York International Olive Oil Competition was held on 19 April in New York. My beautiful friend Westerly and her father Robert came out of the awards with two Best in Class awards for their ALTO Extra Virgin Olive Oil (specifically for their Robust and Vividus). If you have not had this oil before you really must try it. Note that Cobram also won two best in class, meaning that Aussie oils walked away with 4 of the 18 best in class awards. Boom.