Digest - Features & blogs: China’s milk madness, the joys of UnderSecs

Lactotalitarianism: Up until the mid-'90s, milk was far from a staple food in Chinese diets. But when the national development bank decided that milk production would lead to economic growth in the countryside, it encouraged peasant farmers to take out loans to buy cows, and China catapulted to a leading position in the global milk industry. What happens when lots of resource-poor farmers have to pay back loans so they can produce a product that makes them gag? Guess. (Los Angeles Times)

The Dirt-dabbling Dozen: Following Steph's advice, the folks that brought us the petition for a reform-minded Agriculture Secretary are putting their weight (or their webpage, anyway) behind 12 great candidates for undersecretary positions — and they're asking for your signature to back them. (Fooddemocracynow.org)

Kid chef likes local: A 5-year-old chef gets national exposure, and he recommends local foods. (NPR)

Squirrelly form of sustainability: Brits embrace squirrel meat. (New York Times)

Longhorn defense: A neat guest post from Joel Salatin's slaughterhouse partner about the unusual animals that pass through this Virginia facility's killing floor. (ChewsWise)

Getting buggy: Sometimes, even in the Western world, companies put bugs in your food on purpose. They just don't say so in those words. (New York Times)

New survey picks local food as the top trend for 2009 (Green Lodging News)