Previously - A menu for restaurant waste reduction and more environmental coverage at eatocracy.com/infocus

A. Pawlowski writes for CNN Travel and she is nuts for Nutella

There’s something deliciously odd about buying groceries in the same place where you can also pick up a flat-screen TV and a $5,000 diamond ring.

Even more intriguing is the magnetic pull that Costco – the chain of warehouse clubs - seems to have on shoppers, if my local store in suburban Atlanta is any indication. On most days, it’s filled to wall-to-wall with bargain hunters stocking up on the giant portions of food that wholesalers are famous for.

Buying in bulk is big.

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In the wake of recent tsunami devastation, survivors in many parts of Japan are left struggling for bare necessities - including food.

iReporter trunaway shared pictures of open, but decimated markets in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture under the assignment Earthquake in Japan spurs tsunami.

Rationing has been imposed in some areas, but trunaway tells iReport that she was able to get supplies after standing in line for two hours after the quake hit. In addition to the 10 lbs of rice, and bottled water, she bought baby wipes in case she couldn't shower, and butane with which to cook.

"I hope for replenishment sooner then later," she says.

Read more on iReport at Earthquake in Japan spurs tsunami

After holding steady for two years, food prices in the United States are rising once again, due to growing demand and tight supplies of wheat, corn and other key commodities.

That means American consumers are being hit with higher grocery bills at a time when gas prices are already starting to dent household budgets. On the bright side, economists say the recent spike in fuel prices isn't yet translating into higher costs at the supermarket.

For the moment, food producers and retailers have been absorbing higher energy costs and have pledged not to pass them on.

Still, according to the U.S. government's Consumer Price Index, food prices in January rose 1.8% from the prior year, marking the fastest pace since 2009.

Read the rest of "Why you're paying more for groceries" on CNN Money.

Wanna get a gig at Whole Foods? It's going to take more than a quinoa fetish and a penchant for sustainable perch. Better have a great attitude, or you're not getting past the team vote. Yes - the employees have a say on their prospective co-workers, and they'll see right through a snow job says co-founder and CEO John Mackey.

Is the hoop-jumping worth it? The editors of Fortune magazine seem to think so. This video is part of their series "Best Companies to Work For 2011."

Watch Whole Foods' hiring recipe on CNN Money

Previously – Do you belong to a co-op or a CSA?

Experts refer to Detroit, Michigan, as a "food desert" - half of the city's population struggles to find ready access to fresh food and supermarkets.

People like Hantz Farms President Mike Score, who is trying to create the world's largest urban farm, and Fair Food Network's Oran Hesterman are working to fix that.

Poppy Harlow of CNNMoney has the FULL STORY.

Editor's note: all week, CNN Newsroom, Rick's List and Eatocracy are teaming up to take a look the effects our dining choices have on our minds, bodies and wallets. Tune into CNN Newsroom daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET for on-air coverage and join in the discussion here on Eatocracy. ALL COVERAGE

Jessica Yellin is a CNN national political correspondent based in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Rubell might be the world’s first vegetable butcher.

She slices and dices vegetables, shares cooking tips and generally promotes vegetable consumption at Eataly, celebrity Chef Mario Batali's new Italian food emporium in New York City. Catch her during the noon bustle and you’ll hear her extol the virtues of celery root, watermelon radish, or baby beets and as she chops to customers specifications advising them, "Toss with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Fantastic!"

"In the vegetable butcher area, we try not to give people recipes; we try to give people an approach to cooking," says Rubell.

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Editor's note: all week, CNN Newsroom, Rick's List and Eatocracy are teaming up to take a look the effects our dining choices have on our minds, bodies and wallets. Tune into CNN Newsroom daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET for on-air coverage and join in the discussion here on Eatocracy. ALL COVERAGE

Dan Howard takes time and care to keep his farm organically certified. This means obsessive care of the soil, eschewing chemicals in the form of pesticides and fertilizers as well as laborious hand-weeding - and it's reflected in his beans' price at the supermarket.

Sonia Angel, a licensed dietitian, tells CNN's John Zarella there isn't a significant difference in the nutrient content between organic and non-organic produce. The difference, for her, is that it's safer because it's pesticide-free.

So what does that have to do with the price of bananas?
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Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Markets announced today that it is launching a sustainability-rating program for wild-caught seafood sold in all of its 298 stores, becoming the first national retailer to provide that information to customers, courtesy of their partnership with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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