Few American chefs take foraging wild foods quite as seriously as Daniel Patterson of Coi restaurant in San Francisco. At any given day, he might be cooking with California clams, lichen, coastal spinach, Monterey Cypress, and angelica root in one dish.

The president of the Humane Society of the United States and the president of the United Egg Producers are an unlikely duo to lobby Congress to approve new rules for egg farmers. But they agree on the need for a law that would allow farmers to keep their chickens in more spacious cages.

In a new cookbook, food writer Elizabeth Andoh tells the story of the cuisine of Japan's Tohoku region, which was hard hit by last year's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident. Andoh says it's important to document the region's cuisine now, because traditional dishes often disappear during periods of upheaval.

You don't have to have big bucks to join the latest trend in philanthropy. Soup groups around the country let diners pool their money to support deserving local initiatives. In Philadelphia, one dinner raised $225 for a teacher's class project.

Health researchers found the the levels trans-fatty acids in some Americans' blood decreased by 58 percent between 2000 and 2009. They say it's a sign that the campaigns to ban food products with trans fats have been working.