Forget the mantra about Pepsi's North American market's beverage and snack revenue being hurt, yada yada.

I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) first recommended on March 13, 2009 at a price of $48.62.

The women's movement is an uphill battle of Sisyphean proportions, with every step forward (the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act) quickly negated by five steps back (the movie Bride Wars). I've been a feminist since I was old enough to be argumentative, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the latest move by PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP). The parent company of Fritos, Doritos, and Lay's announced Thursday that it's launching its first snack food targeted specifically toward women. Uhh ... progress?

So, if Pepsi is right, the answer to Sigmund Freud's famous query, "What do women want?" is, "Popcorn." Seriously. The company plans to debut its new Smartfood popcorn clusters in March. The snack combines salty flavors with sweet, and -- prepare to be not at all shocked -- the popcorn clusters are low-calorie. You know, because we're all on diets and we hate our thighs.

The relationship between Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) and Wall Street has been sour for a while. Shares of the chocolate maker have plunged more than 30% over the past year amid concerns about rising commodity prices and the growth of healthier eating habits. Now, the confectioner is raising wholesale prices by an average of 13% on one-third of its domestic product line effective immediately [subscription required].

Chocoholics are paying the price for higher costs for raw materials, fuel, utilities, and transportation.

The move comes less than a week after the Pennsylvania company reported lousy fourth quarter results and gave investors disappointing guidance. In addition, the No. 1 candy maker recently bowed to pressure from law enforcement officials and said it would stop making Ice Breakers Pacs mints after some complaints that the candy might be mistaken for heroin or cocaine.

Yet another reason for people to eat healthy.

Recently released earnings from Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) are a mixed bag. Sales of the company's signature product, soup in whatever form, are down. Sales are not down by a lot, but down nevertheless. Overall, total sales increased 7% to $2.3 billion, but almost half of that increase was due to currency exchange, not organic growth. EPS increased 6% to $0.70, but some of that gain was due to a $78 million stock repurchase that reduced the number of shares outstanding by 2 million. In many divisions, costs rose more quickly than prices, thereby depressing gross margins. Overall, cost of sales increased as well. Higher advertising and promotional expenses, coupled with a $104 million increase in net debt, caused a decrease in cash flow from operations. CEO Douglas Conant is optimistic that the current winter quarter, always a good season for soup sales, will deliver better numbers.

Soup sale declines were counteracted by increases in sales of Swanson broth, various types of V-8 juices and Prego pasta sauces. US baking and snacking sales increased 10% to $532 million, half the soup division revenue. Increased snack sales were led by the humble Goldfish cracker and other Pepperidge Farms baked goods.

Worldwide sales of Godiva Chocolate increased at least 10%. So why is Campbell looking to offload the brand? Campbell soups are now beginning to be available in Russia and China. The company hopes to see incremental additions to the bottom line from those two markets shortly. The company is sticking with its FY 2008 guidance of 3-4% sales growth rate and 5-7% EPS growth rate, acceptable numbers as long as the major driver of growth is organic and not currency exchange.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) today reported better-than-expected third quarter results, helped by strong sales of healthy snacks and robust growth overseas.

Net income rose 17% to $1.74 billion, or $1.06 a share, from $1.49 billion, or 89 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 11 percent to $10.2 billion. Excluding a one-time gain, the Purchase, New York company's results beat Wall Street expectations by 3 cents.

"Our third quarter performance was very strong, with double-digit revenue and operating profit growth," said Indra Nooyi, the company's chairman and chief executive in the earnings release. "All of the Company's operating divisions successfully navigated through an environment of higher input costs in order to deliver balanced top- and bottom-line performance."

PepsiCo reiterated its previous guidance for full year earnings of at least $3.35 per share and slightly rose its cash flow from operations forecast to be at least $7 billion. Capital spending is seen at about $2.6 billion.

Next time anyone chows down on a $5 organic apple at Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) or counts carbs on the Atkins and South Beach diets, they should think about the consequences of their actions on the struggling maker of Twinkies.

ABC News is reporting that Interstate Bakeries Corp., which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since 2004, is threatening to shut down unless the company's unionized workforce makes some major concessions by September 30. The Kansas City-based baker, which has already announced plans to exit the bread business in Southern California and lay off 1,300 workers, also makes other wholesome fare such as Wonder Bread.

Though the story argues that if Interstate Bakeries is liquidated, some buyer will be happy to take over the Twinkie business, I am not so certain.

Sancti-mommies and a few sancti-daddies now rule the world. Kids today think that carrot sticks are snacks to be washed down with organic juice made from fruit hand-picked by colonies of aging hippies living on a collective farm. They have driven out sugary sodas from the schools and are cracking down on childhood obesity through non-competitive cardio activities that do not include ducking from balls of any sort.

Twinkies need to continue for another generation because they also provide a valuable introduction to children to the world of investing. When I was a kid, the spongy, cream-filled snacks were like gold in the trading market in my elementary school lunchroom that could be traded for anything. Times probably haven't changed much, and I imagine kids trying to swap celery sticks continue to get a chilly reception from their peers.

Veggie Booty, a kids' snack food that all but screams "healthy alternative to Doritoes" on its packaging, is now being recalled due to concerns that it may carry salmonella. The green crunchy snack is made by Robert's American Gourmet Food of Sea Cliff, New York, which also makes other purportedly healthy snack foods like Pirate's Booty and Smart Puffs.

What's a mother to do? This latest case is reminiscent (albeit a milder version) of the awful cases of organic spinach E. coli poisoning that went on last fall. Mothers around the country bought the organic greens for the kids, thinking they were serving their kids a healthy meal and it turns out the tots would have have been better off with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) nuggets.

Well, I hadn't served my kids organic spinach at that time, but I confess to having a bag of Veggie Booty on my shelves at this very moment. I sent my daughter to her first day of camp yesterday with a bunch of it, thinking I was meeting the camp's request that she bring a "healthy dry snack." Yikes!

So far, she is exhibiting no signs of salmonella poisoning. But a neighbor says her one-year-old, who ate the stuff by the bucketful, got salmonella recently. She thought a local restaurant was the culprit until she fielded a couple of calls from the health department.

All this, just when I was worrying about buying tainted food and toothpaste from China.