by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

I was shocked on Saturday to pick up a basket of fresh blueberries in the supermarket and find — not that they were imported, I expected that — that they were not only grown in Florida but packed in British Columbia, before being put up for sale in Charlottetown.

by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca

In almost any amusement park, playground, or shopping mall across Canada at this very moment, there are surely children throwing five-alarm tantrums. The meltdowns all exhibit some of the same properties. The feet are stamped in a drum-like roll, the bottom lip protrudes in a pout and the whining wails of discontent echo loudly.

Dietitian Mary Bamford suggests maintaining proper hydration may go a long way in preventing these episodes.

by Jessica Wong, CBCNews.ca

Food can elicit such a range of emotions — in my case, it's most often excitement, yearning, curiosity and wonder. Of late, however, the feeling I'm returning to again and again seems to be nostalgia.

This lingering feeling may have been sparked by an ode to old-fashioned frosted cakes I read a few months back or perhaps the Proust-like response I've had recently upon hearing the tinkling, summertime sound of ice cream trucks lazily weaving through my neighbourhood (and invoking childhood memories of playing with cousins at my grandmother's house).

by Amber Hildebrandt, CBCNews.ca

The locavore trend appears to have taken a bloodthirsty turn — into the realm of hunting and slaughtering animals.

Perhaps it was inevitable that the interest in city and rural foraging would translate into some going a step further to tracking or butchering our prey.

by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

Maybe you already know that dandelions are an alien invader species in North America, brought here centuries ago on purpose by early European settlers who coveted them as a food source. I have known this for some time, but I still get annoyed thinking about it.

But I was reminded this week how clouds have silver linings when a joint federal-provincial commission on the future of agriculture on P.E.I. released its first report.

by Andree Lau, CBCNews.ca

I've never worked in a restaurant or a professional kitchen, so I'm fascinated by the barrage of reality food shows on TV, especially the pressure-filled, expletive-laden Hell's Kitchen.

As I dutifully watched this season's finale this week, one question still bothered me: why do these aspiring chefs smoke so much?

by Amber Hildebrandt, CBCNews.ca

One of my vegetable bins in the fridge is brimming with produce about to go to waste. Half a lettuce head turned slimy. Carrots gone limp. Some broccoli that's questionable. It's the classic mistake of my grocery cart being too big for my stomach.

If I didn't feel guilty enough, the British government released a report last week revealing how families there throw out one-third of the food they buy, a sad fact that puts higher demands on an already straining food market and contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than I'd care to think about.

by Jessica Wong, CBCNews.ca

For writers or people who love language, it's usually an interesting day when a new slate of words makes it into the dictionary.

Edamame, or immature green soybeans, have become much more common in North American cuisine. (Lee Reich/Associated Press)

This week, the folks at Merriam-Webster announced the addition of dozens of words to the latest edition of their Collegiate Dictionary.

Amid a gaggle of techie-inspired entries, it was satisfying to see a cluster of food-related entries, including edamame (immature green soybeans), pescatarian (a vegetarian who also eats fish), prosecco (a type of Italian sparkling wine) and soju (Korean vodka distilled from rice).

by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

Farmers have to deal with wild price fluctuations (CBC)

There is this image of the potato farmer as the staid, conservative type, not interested in taking chances, taking life as it comes.

Twelve years of living on P.E.I. has shattered that image. Potato prices are like oil prices on uppers.

by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca

Exercise, counselling and cholesterol-absorption inhibitors are on the prescription pad for children as young as eight, according to new guidelines released by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

by Andree Lau, CBCNews.ca

I can't cook pancakes. Made from scratch or out of the box, it doesn't matter. I will either burn or undercook them without fail. That's why I look forward to the 10 days in July when I can enjoy all the perfectly cooked pancakes I can eat — and free, to boot.

by Amber Hildebrandt, CBCNews.ca

As soon as I read Montrealer Adam Leith Gollner’s recently released book, The Fruit Hunters, I too wanted to become a fearless explorer of the fruit underworld.

His descriptions of adventures abroad in pursuit of a taste of thousands of fruits most of us have never seen or even heard of had me thinking of going on my own mini quest - albeit a more local one.