• Research indicates that feeding babies starchy processed foods early on influences a later taste for salt — and probably fosters more than a few budding chefs. [US News]
• “Exercise labels” seem a pretty effective way of keeping people away from junk food. Would you still want a can of soda if you knew you had to jog for 50 minutes to burn it off? [NYDN]
• Kim Jong-Il’s death came just as the U.S. was preparing to resume food aid to North Korea; now starving people there may not see assistance until the New Year. [National Security/ABC News]
• Casual dining restaurants like the Olive Garden and Applebee’s are increasingly courting a foodie clientele with special menu items. [WSJ]
• Thanks to greater demand, more and more farmers’ markets are selling year-round. Hope you like root vegetables! [USAT]
• Aw, this is sweet: Slate readers sent in holiday recipe cards from their grandmas; here’s a slideshow. [Slate]
• The owner of Revision, Fetch, and other bars in the city is such an animal lover that he’s banned fur coats from his establishments. No word on whether he keeps cans of red paint on hand in case of rule-breaking. [DNA Info]
