Available only in New York and New Jersey at this time, Double Cross is a premium organic vodka imported from Slovakia. Already the recipient of industry accolades, the vodka is made using a seven step distillation process in which diamond dust is used for what the company claims is unparalleled purity.

Double Cross website

Whether you order online or take the little ones to dine at their store in Newport Beach, your kids are assured a healthy and delicious meal from the team at Pomme Bebe. The founder combines flavors from her youth in Bulgaria with the touch of Executive Chef Laurent Brazier for recipes sure to please the pickiest of customer.

If you aren’t in the Newport Beach area, order your supplies via the company website.

Following the pig and veal industry, egg producers will now be required to give their hens adequate space to spread their wings. California voters approved the move and hen farmers will need to provide the new digs by 2015.

Story from Progressive Grocer

Whole Foods reported their Q4 (calendar Q3) earnings and it’s clear that consumers are cutting back on the small luxuries in life. Comparable store sales were up just 0.4% compared to the 8.2% rise the previous year. Their Q1 (calendar Q4) sales are off to an even worst start with comp-store sales off 2.1%.

Story from MediaPost

Despite some recent troubles on the business side of the house, Starbucks has reaffirmed its commitment to fair trade coffee and will become the largest such purchaser next year. The company plans to purchase 40 million pounds of fair-trade coffee as part of the Shared Planet program.

Press release from Starbucks

Hoping to make a few bucks while bringing family farmed food to the Washington D.C. market, The North Dakota Farmers Union has opened up a second restaurant in the nation’s capital.

Founding Farmers was built with LEED compliance in mind and serves as a destination for those who prefer locally grown food. Yes, the restaurant was founded by farmers from North Dakota, but only a portion of the food is actually trucked for the oh-so-cold state up north.

Story from the AP (via Google)

PETA is a master of gaining press coverage by making controversial statements and they have found success again with their latest stunt. The organization has sent the founders of Ben & Jerry’s a letter requesting that the company switch from cow’s milk to human milk in the production of its ice cream.

Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, politely denied the request and will continue producing ice cream the old fashioned way.

Useless Trivia: It takes 12 gallons of cow’s milk to produce one gallon of ice cream.

Story from AdAge

After an unplanned 14 month hiatus, Gerber is back with its line of organic cereals and dinner purees. The products were removed from store shelves last year after lumps in the products were identified as a potential choking hazard.

The company has spent the last year updating the manufacturing process and adding several new variations to the product line.

Story from MediaPost

If you are still convinced that you need extra special bottled water to function at your best, some enterprising souls in Tasmania have got a deal for you. Water that has never touched the ground. Yes, dear readers it true, you can now drink water straight from the clouds for just $83.00 per case.

Evidently the air over Tasmania is the cleanest in the world and it can thus be assumed that any water falling from that air must also be pure. Evidently they don’t have winds down there. The company claims to be carbon neutral, but shipping cases of water from Tasmania is surely not the most environmentally friendly thing to be doing with water.

Tasmanian Rain website

After years of incredible growth, the bottled water market is finally showing signs of slowing down. Whether you attribute the slowdown to the economy or environmentalism, the numbers show that the market grew at less than 1% for the first half of the year. Bottlers are fighting back by slashing prices an average of 6.6% and Dasani leads the pack with a 10% reduction.

Story from Brandweek