Industrial Food
There was a programme on TV tonight, in the supposedly high-brow Horizon series, purporting to tell us The Truth About Fat. It didn’t. It told us things it didn’t mean to tell us, for instance that science still subscribes to archaic systems of research and that there is, as ever, a predominance of reductionist thinking [...]
Food is a central preoccupation of all living things, and we humans are no different. Without sufficient food, we die. This is quite apparent in many places in the world, and the media regularly obsess about feeding the world. In an overfed Western world, it is quite right that we should feel some pang of [...]
Continue reading about Feeding the World, Take 2: the population myth
Last night I watched a documentary by Martha Kearney, called Who Killed the Honey Bee? I am well aware of the issues, as they have been in and out of the news for a few years now, so it was just a passing whim to have a quick look at this programme. Despite my awareness [...]
In an idle moment the other day, Sally and I were looking at a tin of dog food (yep, times is hard . . .). More specifically, it was a tin of chicken and vegetable casserole, or something along those lines. I have to tell you that I feel a little nervous twitch coming on [...]
Nearly five years ago, a greengrocery shop opened on the outskirts of Hereford, marking the beginning of a new life for one couple who had chosen to exchange their metropolitan lifestyle for something more meaningful in a quieter corner of England. As with all such ventures, it took a while to get the project going. [...]
My inbox this week has included three emails from different sources with the same message, “Sign this petition and stop the EU bureaucrats from banning herbal medicines and making alternative healing illegal.” Or words to that effect. All three display varying levels of hysteria, and one in particular grew more hysterical as the text progressed [...]
Continue reading about Codex Alimentarius – wolf in sheep’s clothing?
For those of you who have heard nothing about the proposed dairy operation at Nocton Heath in Lincolnshire, let me just say that there are plans afoot to build a US-style factory mega-dairy here. The original application was for the construction of a dairy factory that would house 8100 cows, but this number has since [...]
In my self-appointed role as urban mythbuster, iconoclastic terminator of sacred cows and derider of naked emperors, I have during recent public appearances been expounding my thoughts on the damage caused to our planet by the global industrial food system. Regular followers of these musings may well have noticed that I have touched on this [...]
Continue reading about What has industrial food ever done for us?
At a Farmers’ Market last month, we came upon a stall selling ‘cold-pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil.’ The stallholder was keenly praising this deeply golden liquid for its beneficial properties, emphasising in particular the healthy nature of polyunsaturated oils and the presence of Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9. Omega-9? Not one we hear much about, but [...]
Continue reading about Oiling the Myths: all that glisters . . .
I would be the first to admit that my vision of our future world might look a little rosy. Certain elements of it might even have a naive tinge, and could be criticised for being idealistic – possibly even unattainable. But, if I hear one more person attempting to justify intensive, mechanised agriculture by saying, [...]
Continue reading about Feeding the world, or simply feeding the myth?