According to a recent segment on the Today Show, cheese has moved from the "forbidden" foods category (because it's high in fat) to the "foods you should be eating" category. Sarah-Jane Bedwell, a blogger for Self magazine who was reporting on the segment, claims that cheese is chock full of calcium, and without calcium our bodies release a hormone that contributes to belly fat.
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CORPUS, a Canadian dance theater troupe, will start their first U.S. tour at the Long Island Children's Museum with a performance entitled Les Moutons - in other words, The Sheep. The performers combine dance, performance art, and slapstick to bring the world of sheep behavior to their audiences.

Audiences will observe a strange and hilarious universe as CORPUS re-enacts the results of their carefully studied overview of sheep behavior. Three white ewes (Julie, Marie-louise, Bernadette) and one black ram (César) comprise the “cast” under the watchful eye of a stoic shepherd. During the performance, audience members will observe such routine activities as shearing, feeding, milking and more. The piece is interactive allowing audience members to pet and feed the “sheeps” and for the “sheeps” to mix and mingle with them.

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Cambray Sheep Cheese fills in the seasonal gaps of their production cycle by teaching the art of cheesemaking to eager beginners. Trevor Hay of The West Australian sits in on a class and reports back on his experience.

Before long we are scooping the curds into the moulds. Because the focus is on home cheese-making Jane points out that we don't need fancy equipment. Our brie moulds are rounds of PVC drainage pipe and later we strain our feta through Chux cloths placed in desk tidy trays. The process for the feta is similar to that for the brie, but using different cultures and moulds. Once this is settled we have to turn the brie.

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Sue Riedl of The Globe and Mail takes us on a mouth-watering tour of familiar New York City cheese haunts. Follow her everywhere from Lucy's Whey to Union Greenmarket to Beecher's Handmade Cheese and more!

Walking off some of the fondue, we found ourselves in the Flatiron District, where we sidestepped the smorgasbord of Mario Batali’s Eataly and the temptation of Shake Shack in favour of the nearby Beecher’s Handmade Cheese store. I bought a serving of Flagsheep – Beecher’s firm, aged ewe’s milk cheese – while my husband munched on squeaky cheese curd and watched more being made through a window onto the production area. For an early-evening nibble, head downstairs to share a cheese plate and sip wine alongside the working cheese cellar where Beecher’s Flatiron Cheese (exclusive to New York) is ripened.

Vermeer, a low-fat Gouda-style cheese, and this year's World Champion Cheese Contest winner recently sold at auction for the whopping price of $8,400 per wheel. That's $350 dollars per pound! That sounds like a record-breaker, but other cheeses have gone for more:

While $350 might sound like a lot to spend on a pound of cheese, it's only half of what one of last year's gold-medal winners, a peppercorn cheddar, sold for at auction, said Jane Cisler, the marketing coordinator of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.

The Vermeer wasn't even the most expensive cheese sold at this year's auction. A 32-pound set of three gold-medal cheeses produced by Decatur Dairy Inc. in Brodhead went for $500 per pound, or a total of $16,000.

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The International Biscuit Festival celebrates one of the most perfect foods. Yes, you guessed it, the biscuit. This year the event boasts live music, plenty to taste, a biscuit bake off, and a celebration of Southern culture. The festival takes place May 16-19, 2012 in Knoxville, TN.

“For the past two years, the International Biscuit Festival has created an experience in Knoxville that is authentic and fun,” said Kim Bumpas, President of Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation. “The Festival brings together biscuit makers, artists, musicians, vendors, and thousands of attendees to downtown to enjoy southern culture and home cooking. The event offers fun and exciting activities, and highlights Knoxville’s authentic culture throughout the weekend.”

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Brad Johnson of the Salisbury Post takes on two popular livestock myths: "Do cow lie down when it rains?" and "Do goats eat tin cans?" Spoiler alert: The answer to both questions is "No," but Johnson does some research for us and explains his reasoning.

In the past two years, farmers markets have returned to the Czech city of Prague and have been very popular with residents. There are now 26 weekly markets throughout the city. Jiří Sedláček is an organizer of three such markets. He was inspired by a trip to Switzerland where he saw successful local farmers markets in action.

What better way to experience a culture than through its food? Lucy Gillmore of The Independent rounds up an incredible list of European food festivals, new and old, that are sure to make your mouth water. You may not be able to resist booking tickets today.

Trujillo is the location of the Spanish Cheese Festival (28 April-1 May), where you can taste hundreds of cheeses. Trujillo Villas Espana (trujillovillasespana.com) has five self-catering properties in the historic old town from £248 per person a week staying in the Artists Studio.

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The use of antibiotics in livestock is under scrutiny by the FDA, who argues their use will develop resistant strains of bacteria, which would resist antibiotics in humans as well, posing a serious health risk.

Antibiotic drugs like penicillin are routinely mixed with animal feed and water to help livestock, pigs and chickens put on weight and stay healthy in crowded feeding lots. Scientists have warned that such use leads to the growth of antibiotic-resistant germs that can be passed on to humans.

The FDA has struggled for decades with how to tackle the problem because the powerful agriculture industry argues the drugs are a key part of modern meat production.

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Photo by Jon Smith