Price of spice not nice
One of the big casualties of the widely-reported rise in food prices has been an increase in the cost of spices. A combination of bad weather and growing demand has caused the value of spices to multiply almost tenfold. In 2007 cardamom was being sold at £1.20 a kilo. Today the price stands at £16.50.

Superdairy on backburner
In a week of u-turns, it was reported that the 4,000-cow superdairy planned in Lincolnshire has been shelved. The £34m project first saw its herd halved in an effort to appease protesters, but the Environment Agency’s opposition remained firm, and pollution concerns have led to the plans being scrapped.

Urban forager charged with theft
For freegans, digging around in supermarket bins is their bread and butter, but for how much longer? 21-year-old Sacha Hall was arrested for taking potato waffles and pies out of a Tesco bin following a power cut, and charged with ‘theft by finding’, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 7 years. Well harsh.

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Other food news this week:
* Collapse in supply of purple sprouting broccoli.
* Spread the news! Falafels are safe!
* Sainsbury’s boss: ‘no such thing as unhealthy food’.
* Woman eats only crisps for 10 years.
* John Torode’s restaurant is filthy.
* McDonald’s weddings all the rage in Oz (via @hollowlegs).

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Food pieces worth reading:
* ‘The Moral Crusade Against Foodies’, B.R. Myers. A must read.
* ‘If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn’t everyone in Asia have a headache?‘ Alex Renton.
* Food Urchin’s write-up of last weekend’s Mixed Grill.

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Blog of the week:
* Chris Harding’s new food blog is hugely entertaining.

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Video of the week:
* Morpheus explains the Matrix to The Dude: