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Michael Voltaggio Hosting Sundance Ping Pong Battle; Bernard Parks Defends Fast Food Ban

• Michael Voltaggio will host the K-Swiss Ping Pong Classic at Sundance next week, where five filmmakers will play each other in a strange combination of art and sport. [Film Threat]

• In regards to the new fast food restaurant ban in South L.A., city councilman Bernard Parks defends the move by saying, “We don’t think our community needs to have 10 or 15 or 18 ways to eat a hamburger.” [New York Times]

• Secret tests of tuna and swordfish bought at California grocery stores was shown to have three times the amount of mercury that authorizes its removal from shelves. [S.F> Gate]

• In the face of a global food crisis, one Dutch scientist recommends we all develop a taste for nutritious green bugs. Meanwhile, American children are preparing to go on strike. [BBC]

• With a quick substitution from El Pollo Loco, even soul food can be diet-friendly. [L.A. Times]

• It seems the 20-ounce “venti” just isn’t big enough for some Starbucks customers; today, the chain is rolling out its 30-ounce “trenta” size, beginning in thirteen Southern states. [USAT]

• Sluggishness and memory problems might be related to a deficiency of vitamin B-12, found in fish, beef, and dairy products. [WSJ]

• Gluten-free diets are increasingly touted as weight-loss regimens, but that’s actually not such a hot idea. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

• With skyrocketing food prices, the U.N.’s World Food Programme has found itself $3 billion short. [AP]

Michael Voltaggio Hosting Sundance Ping Pong Battle; Bernard Parks Defends Fast