5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Whether it's kicking your soda habit or resolving to open that bottle of wine you've been saving just because, the beginning of a new year means reflecting on what we'd like to change. Seeing that we're a food-based Web site, any impending alterations tend to be of the edible variety.

Gene Baur is the co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization with a mission "to end cruelty to farm animals and promote compassionate living," and he has his own notion of a food resolution - and hopes you'll chew it over during the upcoming year.

Five Ways to Eat More Compassionately in the New Year: Gene Baur
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Sara Dickerman doesn't mean to sound salty, but pepper kind of sucks. - Slate

• For these food lovers, you don't have to see it to believe ... that it's delicious. - Foodie Buddha

• Does your diet have a sexual orientation? - New York Times

• Bye, bye "The Martha Stewart Show," it was a good six years while it lasted! - NASDAQ

• Remembering "the Dean of American Cuisine," more formally known as the late, great James Beard. - Saveur

Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

In the frenzy leading up to New Year’s Day, and the exhaustion following it, people forget that tomorrow - January 5 - is National Bird Day. Yes sir, that’s right, National Bird Day - not to be confused with Bird Day (evidently the non-national version) nor with International Migratory Bird Day. But what a fine holiday it is!

And this year I’m going to go out on a limb, as it were, and suggest that in addition to birdwatching and bird-adoption, bird lovers everywhere should drink some wine. I’ll go so far as to suggest that even if you don’t like birds you should drink some wine. And to that end, here are some tasty and, yes, you guessed it, bird-related wines.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese - January 4 is National Spaghetti Day!

Get your comfort food on by whipping up an easy spaghetti dish at the end of this long (and bitterly cold!) day. And don't forget the spicy meatballs!

The long, thin strands of pasta, made with semolina and water, get their name from "spago," meaning "twine." Quite imaginative, those Italians. The pasta masters started cranking out thin forms of their favorite carbohydrate in the 12th century, which eventually led to the creation of pasta factories in the 1800s. Spaghetti for everyone!
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Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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