Sounds like the "PAX" version of 1.8 may drop on the 8th, and a "final" version of 1.8 to follow a couple weeks later. Then the 1.9 update who-knows-how-long after that.
There's an overhaul to The Nether happening too, but I've seen 1.9 or even
later mentioned for that. Ugh. I hope if we start a new world with 1.8 we don't have to make any major adjustments to it for subsequent updates.
Some interesting things with food though: Eating dead flesh (that zombies now drop) or raw chicken can poison you. Apparently all food items will be stackable now, so that's something.
I couldn't find anything about the possibility of planting cocoa beans in these updates, but I hope that's on the list.