The message may be kind and timely, but do outrageous tactics undermine vegans' central mission?

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What’s the deal with airline food?

It’s a question travelers and stand-up comedians have been asking for decades. Bags of peanuts, barely-edible dinner rolls and the dreaded “meat-like substance” have been a staple of in-flight dining for decades. There are even websites devoted to all things airline food, such as AirlineMeals.net.

But did you know that airline food is celebrating a milestone birthday? Eighty-five years ago this month, the first meal was served on a commercial airliner.
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Barefoot and covered in dirt and sweat, 14-year-old Dante Campilan pulls weeds from orderly rows of sugar cane.

Wearing an oversized red cap to protect him from the scorching Philippine sun, Dante is doing work that should be reserved for men, not children.

Earning 150 pesos ($3.50) for a seven-hour day, Dante has been a child laborer in the Philippine region of Mindanao since he was seven years old. He says he does it to help his parents, but he is just one of many children who are part of an illegal economic system of child labor.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates 2.4 million child workers are in the Philippines. Many of them, according to the ILO, are in rural areas working in fields and mines. The organization estimates 60% work in hazardous conditions.

Read the full story: "Life not sweet for Philippines' sugar cane child workers"

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• From "sex cake" to a break-up salad: A relationship told through food. - Gilt Taste

• To accommodate food allergies or not to accommodate, that is the question. - Seattle Times

• Need help hosting a church potluck? Your prayers have been answered. - Fatback and Foie Gras

• These multicolored piñata cookie, complete with a hollow center, are sure to be a smash at your Cinco de Mayo fiesta.  - She Knows

• How Mexican food evolved into American fast food. - New York Times

In cafes across Cape Town, brewing the perfect cup of rooibos has become a fine art.

Measuring just the right amount of tea is key while great care is needed to not allow the leaves to swirl for too long. Once ready, the rooibos cups, gleaming in a sumptuous deep red color, bring with them a reedy scent that greets the noses of the customers waiting to enjoy a sip.

Grown only in South Africa's Western Cape province, the naturally caffeine-free tea used to be a specialist drink appealing to only some taste buds.

Read the full story: "South Africa's rooibos a hit with tea lovers across the world"

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Do the truffle shuffle! May 2 is National Truffle Day.

A little more rare than your average pack of button mushrooms at the grocery store, these underground beauties that seem to magically surface at the foot of trees are definitely special enough to get their own day.

There are plenty of species of truffles, but only a few are prized as edible. White and black truffles are the favorites, with white being a little more dense and pungent. While they are difficult to cultivate, it is possible - and folks still use their specially trained truffle hogs, or even dogs, to help sniff them out among the acorns. If you've got a passion for it, you could turn it into quite a business like this Jack Czarnecki in Oregon.
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