Claire Everett
The world’s biggest McDonald’s is going to open in Stratford on the Olympic site and yes, as the Daily Mail puts it, oh the irony! (Daily Mail, 2011)
McDonald's has been involved in sponsoring the Olympic Games or catering to the athletes and spectators since the Moscow Olympics in 1980. The 2012 involvement will see the chain open four restaurants on the Olympic site, including one in the athletes’ village. The supersize restaurant will be 3000m2 – that’s bigger than 2 Olympic-size swimming pools – and seat 1500 people.
Usain Bolt’s pre-race meal of Chicken Nuggets at the Beijing Olympics made headlines (BBC, 2011) and whilst he has justified the unhealthiness of this choice by saying he wasn’t familiar with a lot of Chinese food and wanted something he trusted, I’m still inclined to believe that it was the wrong message to put out there to children. Another part of Bolt’s reasoning is the fact that his volume of training means he can eat pretty much anything he wants as long as he retains a balanced diet. The report in the Daily Mail estimates that a fifth of meals sold at the Olympics will be McDonald’s. So what will the other food outlets be and will they provide the chance to maintain this balance?
As a spectator at the Athens Olympics I was pretty horrified on my first day at the athletics stadium to find that the food choices were McDonald’s, pizza, or hot dogs. I’d like to think London can do better than this and indeed the organising committee has confirmed there will be a “diverse and full range of local food offerings” (Daily Mail, 2011). But there’s a problem... the exclusive deal with McDonalds as an official sponsor of the Games, means any other foods sold must be unbranded (Guardian, 2011). Of course, McDonald’s isn’t the only official sponsor, but with others including Coca Cola and Cadbury holding similar exclusivity deals, the ‘unbranded’ food suppliers are going to be really up against it to promote their products.
We also have to consider the impact on the local economy. McDonald’s has said it expects to sell 1.75million meals over the course of the games and in doing so 470 jobs will be created at the Olympic site and British farmers may benefit from the sale of beef, pork and eggs to the chain (Evening Standard). However, the overall profit is of course going to go into the pocket of the global brand. It would be interesting to see a comparison of how much money the equivalent number of meals from local food companies could inject into the local economy.
I think my next blog is going to have to be about the one major topic I’ve not managed to fit into this one...what would happen to participation in sport if sponsorship from global food brands wasn’t present?
13.8.11
23.5.11
Sugar – ‘if its white its killing you’
Nova Corcoran
We are a nation that is addicted to sugar. You will find it almost impossible to get through your day without it. Almost all processed foods, drinks and snacks contain some form of sugar. The term sugar generally refers to sucrose, which comes from sugar cane and sugar beet and on packets of food it can also be called names like corn syrup. Other sugars include fructose and glucose. Sugar, particularly the white refined stuff is linked to all sorts of nastiness in the history, production and final product that ends up in your sugar bowl.
Effects of sugar on health
White sugar is really the worst offender. It offers no nutritional values and in return gives us empty calories. The refining process to create white sugar also includes the addition of a number of chemicals. Excessive calories from sugar can lead to obesity which in turn can increase the risk of diabetes. Sugar is also a common cause of tooth decay. Appleton (2011) has come up with 149 reasons why sugar is bad for your health including suppression of the immune system, hyperactivity in children, premature aging and links to a whole range of health related problems. Anisman-Reiner (2006) reiterates the phrase "If it's white, it's killing you," cited by a number of holistic practitioners. She notes that the way the human body and brain process sugar (especially in excess) becomes part of an addictive pattern, so we crave more of a product that is bad for us – rather like tobacco.
Sugar and the slave trade
Did you know most of the world’s sugar comes from Brazil? In the past considerable labour was required to produce sugar, and slaves from Africa supplied this. It actually became one of the main motivations to colonise certain parts of the world (Kew 2011). Don’t be too complacent in your thinking that the slave trade disappeared with the abolition of the Slave Trade Act – In 2007 newspapers reported an anti-slavery group who freed more than 1,000 workers from a sugar cane plantation hidden in the Amazon rainforest (Hennigan 2007). Although this plant was using sugar cane for ethanol it highlights that issues around slavery still remain.
Health of sugarcane workers
Even today workers face harsh conditions in plantations. Recent studies indicate sugar cane workers experience health problems associated with eyes and the respiratory system (Robins et al 1998). A South Africa study suggests workers face severe threats to their physical and psychological well being including poor pay and living conditions, high risk of occupational hazards as well as abuse by employers and their agents (Rocha et al 2010). Survival International (2011) also highlight issues linked to the heavy reliance on indigenous labour and the taking of land from these groups.
How do you turn the white into right?
• Check snack packets – low fat can mean high sugar
• Unrefined raw sugar is a better alternative – as it does not have any chemicals added that make refined and a few minerals and nutrients
• Buy fair trade
• Consider alternatives like molasses, honey or not adding that extra sugar to your tea
We are a nation that is addicted to sugar. You will find it almost impossible to get through your day without it. Almost all processed foods, drinks and snacks contain some form of sugar. The term sugar generally refers to sucrose, which comes from sugar cane and sugar beet and on packets of food it can also be called names like corn syrup. Other sugars include fructose and glucose. Sugar, particularly the white refined stuff is linked to all sorts of nastiness in the history, production and final product that ends up in your sugar bowl.
Effects of sugar on health
White sugar is really the worst offender. It offers no nutritional values and in return gives us empty calories. The refining process to create white sugar also includes the addition of a number of chemicals. Excessive calories from sugar can lead to obesity which in turn can increase the risk of diabetes. Sugar is also a common cause of tooth decay. Appleton (2011) has come up with 149 reasons why sugar is bad for your health including suppression of the immune system, hyperactivity in children, premature aging and links to a whole range of health related problems. Anisman-Reiner (2006) reiterates the phrase "If it's white, it's killing you," cited by a number of holistic practitioners. She notes that the way the human body and brain process sugar (especially in excess) becomes part of an addictive pattern, so we crave more of a product that is bad for us – rather like tobacco.
Sugar and the slave trade
Did you know most of the world’s sugar comes from Brazil? In the past considerable labour was required to produce sugar, and slaves from Africa supplied this. It actually became one of the main motivations to colonise certain parts of the world (Kew 2011). Don’t be too complacent in your thinking that the slave trade disappeared with the abolition of the Slave Trade Act – In 2007 newspapers reported an anti-slavery group who freed more than 1,000 workers from a sugar cane plantation hidden in the Amazon rainforest (Hennigan 2007). Although this plant was using sugar cane for ethanol it highlights that issues around slavery still remain.
Health of sugarcane workers
Even today workers face harsh conditions in plantations. Recent studies indicate sugar cane workers experience health problems associated with eyes and the respiratory system (Robins et al 1998). A South Africa study suggests workers face severe threats to their physical and psychological well being including poor pay and living conditions, high risk of occupational hazards as well as abuse by employers and their agents (Rocha et al 2010). Survival International (2011) also highlight issues linked to the heavy reliance on indigenous labour and the taking of land from these groups.
How do you turn the white into right?
• Check snack packets – low fat can mean high sugar
• Unrefined raw sugar is a better alternative – as it does not have any chemicals added that make refined and a few minerals and nutrients
• Buy fair trade
• Consider alternatives like molasses, honey or not adding that extra sugar to your tea
13.5.11
First week of eating local
My first local only mini shopping trip was to Waitrose.
What could I not get
I was amazed at what was not local - broccoli, cauliflowers, all types of beans which i can get in the local fruit and veg shop from local suppliers are not available in Waitrose. Beans and peas came from kenya, Zambia and other Africa counties, with squash coming from Argentina. One packet of peas and baby corn was from two countries that are no-where near each other.
I found...
I managed to find tomatos, peppers, courgettes, carrots, parsnips, swede, potatoes, onions, apples, pears and rhubarb all UK produced. Difficult to tell how local they are though and overall more expensive than my local fruit and veg shop. Plenty of spag bol coming up for our house!
Good things
Labelling of meat was much clearer as all you have to do is look for the GB flag on their meat and there is plenty of choice all identical prices to the non UK stuff with many included in various offers. This impressed me. They even do take away curry with UK chicken.
What could I not get
I was amazed at what was not local - broccoli, cauliflowers, all types of beans which i can get in the local fruit and veg shop from local suppliers are not available in Waitrose. Beans and peas came from kenya, Zambia and other Africa counties, with squash coming from Argentina. One packet of peas and baby corn was from two countries that are no-where near each other.
I found...
I managed to find tomatos, peppers, courgettes, carrots, parsnips, swede, potatoes, onions, apples, pears and rhubarb all UK produced. Difficult to tell how local they are though and overall more expensive than my local fruit and veg shop. Plenty of spag bol coming up for our house!
Good things
Labelling of meat was much clearer as all you have to do is look for the GB flag on their meat and there is plenty of choice all identical prices to the non UK stuff with many included in various offers. This impressed me. They even do take away curry with UK chicken.
11.5.11
Can you eat local produce for one month?
Who is up for the challenge?
Do you think you could just eat produce grown in the UK (or your own country if outside UK i.e. Ireland, Mexico, America) for one month?
When I say produce I mean fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy. We'll exclude fish for now as this is tricky when we think about whose sea it is and we'll exclude tinned pulses i.e. beans as the location of the contents is not always clear.
Claire says she'll do it for one year, but I thought one month might be more realistic.
Any takers? and we'll want to hear about your experiences too.
Do you think you could just eat produce grown in the UK (or your own country if outside UK i.e. Ireland, Mexico, America) for one month?
When I say produce I mean fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy. We'll exclude fish for now as this is tricky when we think about whose sea it is and we'll exclude tinned pulses i.e. beans as the location of the contents is not always clear.
Claire says she'll do it for one year, but I thought one month might be more realistic.
Any takers? and we'll want to hear about your experiences too.
9.5.11
Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers (Part 2)
Claire Everett
So, following on from Tomates, pepinos y pimientos (Part 1), I’ve decided to try to only eat British seasonal produce for a year.
I like to think I’m relatively faithful to the British seasons – I never buy strawberries outside of the summer months simply because they just don’t taste good, I always go a bit mad for pumpkins and squash in autumn, I generally eat salads in summer and soups in winter, and I’d much rather eat cucumbers and courgettes from my own garden than buy them from a supermarket. But very often, whether intentionally or not, I don’t buy British produce because it’s cheaper not to, or I simply want peppers with my pasta even though it’s the middle of December!
Offers and deals
Like most people, I can’t resist a ‘BOGOF’ or ‘25% off’ offer, but the best deals tend to include the cheaper imported produce. When I went to the supermarket today, there was a ‘3 for 2’ mix and match offer on cherry tomatoes, asparagus and Jersey Royals, and whilst the latter two were grown in Britain, the cherry tomatoes were from Spain. So, determined to stick to my good intentions, I picked up two bags of the potatoes and one bunch of asparagus, then went off to the tomato section to find some British tomatoes.
Saving for later
One of my biggest fears about this whole idea is not being able to eat tomatoes! I snack on cherry tomatoes all year round and I’m going to have to find a healthy alternative for the winter, otherwise I think the temptation to replace them with Maltesers or Minstrels will be too much! I have a small veg patch in my back garden so I’m vowing to make the most of it this year and, like most people who grow their own veg, no matter how hard I try to stagger sowing and planting, I’m bound to have an influx of courgettes or tomatoes at some point. So I’m going to make full use of my freezer and semi-prep or batch cook and store what I can.
Exceptions to the rule
I’m going to make a few exceptions simply because I want eating British produce to be part of my life, not running it. If I eat out or if friends cook for me, I’m not going to reject their food because some of the ingredients are imported! I’m still going to eat imported fruit and veg if they can’t be grown in this country, e.g. oranges and pineapples, because I like them - but I’ll try to make sure they’re from sustainable sources and FairTrade.
Seasonal updates
I’ll blog once a month about how it’s going, what I’ve eaten, what’s been good about this month and what the difficulties have been. I think I’ve chosen the best time of year to start and somehow have a feeling I’ll be fine for the next few months, but it could be a whole different story by February!!
So, following on from Tomates, pepinos y pimientos (Part 1), I’ve decided to try to only eat British seasonal produce for a year.
I like to think I’m relatively faithful to the British seasons – I never buy strawberries outside of the summer months simply because they just don’t taste good, I always go a bit mad for pumpkins and squash in autumn, I generally eat salads in summer and soups in winter, and I’d much rather eat cucumbers and courgettes from my own garden than buy them from a supermarket. But very often, whether intentionally or not, I don’t buy British produce because it’s cheaper not to, or I simply want peppers with my pasta even though it’s the middle of December!
Offers and deals
Like most people, I can’t resist a ‘BOGOF’ or ‘25% off’ offer, but the best deals tend to include the cheaper imported produce. When I went to the supermarket today, there was a ‘3 for 2’ mix and match offer on cherry tomatoes, asparagus and Jersey Royals, and whilst the latter two were grown in Britain, the cherry tomatoes were from Spain. So, determined to stick to my good intentions, I picked up two bags of the potatoes and one bunch of asparagus, then went off to the tomato section to find some British tomatoes.
Saving for later
One of my biggest fears about this whole idea is not being able to eat tomatoes! I snack on cherry tomatoes all year round and I’m going to have to find a healthy alternative for the winter, otherwise I think the temptation to replace them with Maltesers or Minstrels will be too much! I have a small veg patch in my back garden so I’m vowing to make the most of it this year and, like most people who grow their own veg, no matter how hard I try to stagger sowing and planting, I’m bound to have an influx of courgettes or tomatoes at some point. So I’m going to make full use of my freezer and semi-prep or batch cook and store what I can.
Exceptions to the rule
I’m going to make a few exceptions simply because I want eating British produce to be part of my life, not running it. If I eat out or if friends cook for me, I’m not going to reject their food because some of the ingredients are imported! I’m still going to eat imported fruit and veg if they can’t be grown in this country, e.g. oranges and pineapples, because I like them - but I’ll try to make sure they’re from sustainable sources and FairTrade.
Seasonal updates
I’ll blog once a month about how it’s going, what I’ve eaten, what’s been good about this month and what the difficulties have been. I think I’ve chosen the best time of year to start and somehow have a feeling I’ll be fine for the next few months, but it could be a whole different story by February!!
Thank fish its fry-day
Nova Corcoran
Did you know Fridays are the traditional day to eat fish and chips? This stems from the Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays and having fish instead. Eating fish and chips on the seafront is a very British tradition. In fact only places that the British population have emigrated to in large numbers have fish and chips at all. There are 11,000 fish and chip shops across the UK selling 255 million fish and chip meals every year (Jamieson 2010). That's a lot of fish! The UN note that fishing is central to the livelihood and food security of 200 million people, especially in the developing world (UN 2006). So why do we need to think more about fish?
So what the fish is the problem?
According to Greenpeace 70% of the world’s fisheries are over fished, over exploited or severely depleted (Greenpeace 2011a). Overfishing threatens the food supply of millions of people. Basically overfishing means that fish cannot replenish themselves quickly enough to keep up with our appetites for fish. One day fish and chips might be a delicacy rather than a Friday night special. Greenpeace says avoid our most popular fish and chip shop fish - cod, haddock and plaice unless it is line caught Icelandic cod or haddock.
Trawling for more than fish
Line caught fish are the best. Bottom trawling ploughs up the whole sea floor (imagine a huge net being dragged across the sea bed behind a boat) and pair trawling (a net between two boats) is indiscriminate and catches creatures like dolphins. One point aside is that tuna cans that have 'Dolphin Friendly' labels generally mean very little since they adhere to no legal standard or minimum criteria and may damage other marine life. For example, long lining for tuna is associated with a high by catch rate of turtles, sharks and seabirds (Greenpeace 2011b).
Health benefits of fish
Oily fish i.e. trout, mackerel, herring, sardines and pilchards contain vitamin D, selenium, omega 3 (Torpy et al 2006). Eating these fish can reduce the risk and risk factors of Coronary heart disease and related problems i.e. lowers blood pressure and risk of stroke. In addition all these fish are still from stable fishing stocks. Although there are levels of mercury in some fish that pregnant women are urged to avoid, generally traces are very low and health benefits outweigh any possible negatives. In relation to fish and chips, although the fish might be good for you, the way it is cooked may not be. If you can find fish that has been cooked in vegetable oil it will be slightly healthier than traditional frying methods. In addition thicker versions of chips have less fat in them. The key is moderation - don't eat battered fish every night of the week.
What can you do?
• Ask your chippy if the fish is from a sustainable source. Better still is it caught locally?
• In the UK, the best fish are line-caught mackerel, line-caught sea bass, and farmed mussels. Rod and line caught tuna and herring are also good fisheries. The Marine Conservation Society has a Pocket good fish guide which covers all fish. You can download this here.
• Eat more oily fish – its good for you!
• If you must eat Cod get it from M&S and Waitrose as it is mostly from sustainable fisheries.
• Use your local fishmongers if they sell fish from sustainable sources or local fisherman. Your local fish might be really tasty.
• Try alternatives to cod like coley, pouting, pollock and pollack. Instead of prawns try mussles, clams, cockles, crab and squid. BBC has some good recipes for alternative fish. Click here for Coley or Pollack.
Did you know Fridays are the traditional day to eat fish and chips? This stems from the Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays and having fish instead. Eating fish and chips on the seafront is a very British tradition. In fact only places that the British population have emigrated to in large numbers have fish and chips at all. There are 11,000 fish and chip shops across the UK selling 255 million fish and chip meals every year (Jamieson 2010). That's a lot of fish! The UN note that fishing is central to the livelihood and food security of 200 million people, especially in the developing world (UN 2006). So why do we need to think more about fish?
So what the fish is the problem?
According to Greenpeace 70% of the world’s fisheries are over fished, over exploited or severely depleted (Greenpeace 2011a). Overfishing threatens the food supply of millions of people. Basically overfishing means that fish cannot replenish themselves quickly enough to keep up with our appetites for fish. One day fish and chips might be a delicacy rather than a Friday night special. Greenpeace says avoid our most popular fish and chip shop fish - cod, haddock and plaice unless it is line caught Icelandic cod or haddock.
Trawling for more than fish
Line caught fish are the best. Bottom trawling ploughs up the whole sea floor (imagine a huge net being dragged across the sea bed behind a boat) and pair trawling (a net between two boats) is indiscriminate and catches creatures like dolphins. One point aside is that tuna cans that have 'Dolphin Friendly' labels generally mean very little since they adhere to no legal standard or minimum criteria and may damage other marine life. For example, long lining for tuna is associated with a high by catch rate of turtles, sharks and seabirds (Greenpeace 2011b).
Health benefits of fish
Oily fish i.e. trout, mackerel, herring, sardines and pilchards contain vitamin D, selenium, omega 3 (Torpy et al 2006). Eating these fish can reduce the risk and risk factors of Coronary heart disease and related problems i.e. lowers blood pressure and risk of stroke. In addition all these fish are still from stable fishing stocks. Although there are levels of mercury in some fish that pregnant women are urged to avoid, generally traces are very low and health benefits outweigh any possible negatives. In relation to fish and chips, although the fish might be good for you, the way it is cooked may not be. If you can find fish that has been cooked in vegetable oil it will be slightly healthier than traditional frying methods. In addition thicker versions of chips have less fat in them. The key is moderation - don't eat battered fish every night of the week.
What can you do?
• Ask your chippy if the fish is from a sustainable source. Better still is it caught locally?
• In the UK, the best fish are line-caught mackerel, line-caught sea bass, and farmed mussels. Rod and line caught tuna and herring are also good fisheries. The Marine Conservation Society has a Pocket good fish guide which covers all fish. You can download this here.
• Eat more oily fish – its good for you!
• If you must eat Cod get it from M&S and Waitrose as it is mostly from sustainable fisheries.
• Use your local fishmongers if they sell fish from sustainable sources or local fisherman. Your local fish might be really tasty.
• Try alternatives to cod like coley, pouting, pollock and pollack. Instead of prawns try mussles, clams, cockles, crab and squid. BBC has some good recipes for alternative fish. Click here for Coley or Pollack.
5.5.11
Virgins, Weeders and Queens
Nova Corcoran
Ok so I stole the title from Twig Way (2006) and her history of women in the garden but early gardens and growing your own food has a history connected to women. Queens were often to be found in their gardens, Elizabeth I was rarely out of hers (although I am not sure she got their hands dirty growing vegetables). Even the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland is obsessed by her garden – she chopped off heads for her roses!
Women in history
Historically women have always been connected to gardening and growing food in gardens even if they are not visible in history. The job of a ‘weeder’ was a respectable profession for widows and spinsters who earnt a small sum of money weeding (Way 2006) Gardening is also connected to the women suffragette movement – Emily Pankhurst’s daughter Amelia attended horticultural college.
Gardening and health
It was recognised in the early 1900’s that gardening was good for health and happiness of the body and mind and traditionally women often supported their households by growing herbs and medicines. It was war that changed women’s role in gardening and vegetables, as men went to war women were left at home to feed a nation. Bombsites were converted into allotments and women encouraged to ‘dig for victory’ turning gardens into vegetable plots and picking up spades to get digging. The question is if historically women were closely connected to growing food, why are many women not carrying on this tradition?
What does it mean for you?
Just under 30% of women obtain the recommended levels of weekly physical activity (30 minutes five times a week) (Sustrans 2011). Time, family commitments and careers may be one obstacle, but we should still get out and grow what we can for ourselves and our families. Did you know you can burn approximately 118 calories in 20 minutes of gardening i.e. moderate digging (calorie counter 2009)? In addition growing your own may help improve mental health and relieve stress (NHS 2011). Certainly preliminary findings from research that I have undertaken suggest that females cite mental health benefits as one of the main advantages of growing your own. So what are you waiting for? Grab a spade and get growing!
Ok so I stole the title from Twig Way (2006) and her history of women in the garden but early gardens and growing your own food has a history connected to women. Queens were often to be found in their gardens, Elizabeth I was rarely out of hers (although I am not sure she got their hands dirty growing vegetables). Even the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland is obsessed by her garden – she chopped off heads for her roses!
Women in history
Historically women have always been connected to gardening and growing food in gardens even if they are not visible in history. The job of a ‘weeder’ was a respectable profession for widows and spinsters who earnt a small sum of money weeding (Way 2006) Gardening is also connected to the women suffragette movement – Emily Pankhurst’s daughter Amelia attended horticultural college.
Gardening and health
It was recognised in the early 1900’s that gardening was good for health and happiness of the body and mind and traditionally women often supported their households by growing herbs and medicines. It was war that changed women’s role in gardening and vegetables, as men went to war women were left at home to feed a nation. Bombsites were converted into allotments and women encouraged to ‘dig for victory’ turning gardens into vegetable plots and picking up spades to get digging. The question is if historically women were closely connected to growing food, why are many women not carrying on this tradition?
What does it mean for you?
Just under 30% of women obtain the recommended levels of weekly physical activity (30 minutes five times a week) (Sustrans 2011). Time, family commitments and careers may be one obstacle, but we should still get out and grow what we can for ourselves and our families. Did you know you can burn approximately 118 calories in 20 minutes of gardening i.e. moderate digging (calorie counter 2009)? In addition growing your own may help improve mental health and relieve stress (NHS 2011). Certainly preliminary findings from research that I have undertaken suggest that females cite mental health benefits as one of the main advantages of growing your own. So what are you waiting for? Grab a spade and get growing!
3.5.11
Why Breast is Best
Claire Everett
I read this week that Elton John and David Furnish are having breast milk for their son Zachary flown into the UK from his US-based surrogate mother. Whilst this may obliterate the pro-breastmilk point of view that breastmilk is the cheaper option compared to formula milk (their FedEx bill must be through the roof!), I’m impressed that for once the media portrayal is positive and pro-breast-feeding.
Infant feeding is something that appears intermittently in the news, often as a short piece on the ‘breast vs. bottle’ debate. The formula milk companies heavily promote their products through TV advertising and other media. But the benefits of breast feeding are generally not as publicly promoted. The Bringing Up Britain series on BBC3 recently aired a programme on breast feeding which is being repeated until 6th May. So what are the advantages of breast-feeding and why have Messrs John & Furnish gone to such lengths to ensure their baby benefits from them, when in the UK over half of babies are fed exclusively on formula milk by 4-10 weeks of age (Mesure, 2011)?
Advantages
Although formula milks have advanced greatly since they were first developed, the nutritional content of breast milk is still optimum, containing the perfect balance of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and hormones - in a form babies are fully able to digest. Formula milks have been based upon cows’ milk which cannot be digested until the baby is around 1-year old and therefore even if they contain a good balance of nutrients, the child may not be able to absorb them.
The health of the child can benefit from breast-feeding, for example breast milk contains antibodies that can help the baby resist infection both physically (Leung & Sauve, 2005). The mother’s health may also benefit through protection against ovarian and breast cancer (Lancet, 2002). The bond between child and mother develops more through the natural process.
Economically and practically, it makes sense for a mother to breastfeed her child, particularly when the health and nutrition advantages are considered. Breast milk is free and with no bottles to sterilise it is in this respect the easier option.
Disadvantages
With all the above considered, the disadvantages come down to situational factors that are individual to each mother and child. Whilst I have every intention of breastfeeding if and when the opportunity arises for me, I have close friends who have had the same intention but have experienced completely unforeseen difficulties after giving birth and been unable to do so. However, what I do believe is important is that mothers are given every opportunity to do the best they can for their child and there are many support groups to help with this:
NHS
Breast Feeding Network
National Childcare Trust
La Leche
Current Issues
A report from the Caroline Walker Trust (Crawley & Westland, 2011) highlights the need for medically valid information to be available on the composition of formula milks and commercial advertising of these products to be more closely regulated. I also think breastmilk should get equal promotion against the pro-formula campaign but with no obvious financial beneficiary in the breastmilk campaign it’s difficult to see how this will happen. In America and Australia however, there have been a number of TV adverts - they might not be the most high-budget commercials, but they definitely put a message out there!
Australian Breastfeeding Association #1
Australian Breastfeeding Association #2
American Breastfeeding Commercial
I read this week that Elton John and David Furnish are having breast milk for their son Zachary flown into the UK from his US-based surrogate mother. Whilst this may obliterate the pro-breastmilk point of view that breastmilk is the cheaper option compared to formula milk (their FedEx bill must be through the roof!), I’m impressed that for once the media portrayal is positive and pro-breast-feeding.
Infant feeding is something that appears intermittently in the news, often as a short piece on the ‘breast vs. bottle’ debate. The formula milk companies heavily promote their products through TV advertising and other media. But the benefits of breast feeding are generally not as publicly promoted. The Bringing Up Britain series on BBC3 recently aired a programme on breast feeding which is being repeated until 6th May. So what are the advantages of breast-feeding and why have Messrs John & Furnish gone to such lengths to ensure their baby benefits from them, when in the UK over half of babies are fed exclusively on formula milk by 4-10 weeks of age (Mesure, 2011)?
Advantages
Although formula milks have advanced greatly since they were first developed, the nutritional content of breast milk is still optimum, containing the perfect balance of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and hormones - in a form babies are fully able to digest. Formula milks have been based upon cows’ milk which cannot be digested until the baby is around 1-year old and therefore even if they contain a good balance of nutrients, the child may not be able to absorb them.
The health of the child can benefit from breast-feeding, for example breast milk contains antibodies that can help the baby resist infection both physically (Leung & Sauve, 2005). The mother’s health may also benefit through protection against ovarian and breast cancer (Lancet, 2002). The bond between child and mother develops more through the natural process.
Economically and practically, it makes sense for a mother to breastfeed her child, particularly when the health and nutrition advantages are considered. Breast milk is free and with no bottles to sterilise it is in this respect the easier option.
Disadvantages
With all the above considered, the disadvantages come down to situational factors that are individual to each mother and child. Whilst I have every intention of breastfeeding if and when the opportunity arises for me, I have close friends who have had the same intention but have experienced completely unforeseen difficulties after giving birth and been unable to do so. However, what I do believe is important is that mothers are given every opportunity to do the best they can for their child and there are many support groups to help with this:
NHS
Breast Feeding Network
National Childcare Trust
La Leche
Current Issues
A report from the Caroline Walker Trust (Crawley & Westland, 2011) highlights the need for medically valid information to be available on the composition of formula milks and commercial advertising of these products to be more closely regulated. I also think breastmilk should get equal promotion against the pro-formula campaign but with no obvious financial beneficiary in the breastmilk campaign it’s difficult to see how this will happen. In America and Australia however, there have been a number of TV adverts - they might not be the most high-budget commercials, but they definitely put a message out there!
Australian Breastfeeding Association #1
Australian Breastfeeding Association #2
American Breastfeeding Commercial
1.5.11
Would you riot over a supermarket?
Nova Corcoran
Bristol riots
Last week there were riots in Stokes Croft over a Tesco store opening. Thousands have been campaigning for more than a year to stop it opening in a town The Mirror dub ‘Tesco Town’ for its sheer volume of TESCO stores (15+). The rioters say damage to TESCO was the result of a community not being heard. Objections include the impact on local shops and farmers as well as the supermarket dominant model which may prove problematic if oil prices start to soar (No Tesco in Stokes Croft).
Why supermarkets?
Around 60% of us buy all our groceries in a supermarket (FOE 2006). Many small business go out of business on a weekly basis as a result of our changing spending patterns, traffic congestion around out of town supermarket areas has increased and farmers and food processers are subject to the mercy of the supermarket. Currently, supermarkets are only accountable to their shareholders. They are not obliged to consider impacts on communities and the environment.
Did you know?
About 80% of all supermarket supplies of carrots now come from just 10 major packers in East Anglia
Around 60% of our fresh milk travels from farms around the country to six locations for processing before being trucked back hundreds of miles up and down motorways to customers? (Lawrence 2010)
Profits in a recession?
Last week Tesco reported full-year profits before tax of £3.54bn, up 11.3% from a year ago. Although much of this growth is down to expansion into Asia, Tesco have plans to increase UK profits by offering mortgages and developing Tesco online (BBC News 2011) meaning presumably that soon you will not even have to step outside your front door (owned by Tesco!) to get anything you need. In the last two years 577 Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons stores have been approved. That’s nearly one a day so clearly these are corporations that use money, power and influence and get what they want.
The future?
Supermarkets now offer non-food related products such as credit cards, insurance and mobile phones which are all set to expand. In addition we may see a move towards mega-farms i.e. pigs in “sty-scrapers”. Food may become more expensive with rises in oil prices, if we are relying on supermarkets to produce all our food then we will end up paying the extra and we’ll have no choice as the local shops will have all disappeared.
If a supermarket corporation wants to build in your area be prepared – there is still little that you can do as a community as the Bristol riots show. Expect increases in traffic, loss of local businesses and loss of your community as you know it.
A few things you can do
• Check out websites such as tescopoly which gives details of local campaign groups and supermarket news.
• Shop local for certain things where you can. Vegetables in particular can often be found locally at a cheaper price and you will be supporting local farmers.
• Grow your own – even if it’s just salad leaves and a tomato plant in an old boot.
• Make your own. I.e. if you invest in a bread maker you can make bread, rolls, specialist breads, pizza bases, jam, marmalade etc.
Panorama BBC i-player documentary on supermarkets is available on i player. click here
Bristol riots
Last week there were riots in Stokes Croft over a Tesco store opening. Thousands have been campaigning for more than a year to stop it opening in a town The Mirror dub ‘Tesco Town’ for its sheer volume of TESCO stores (15+). The rioters say damage to TESCO was the result of a community not being heard. Objections include the impact on local shops and farmers as well as the supermarket dominant model which may prove problematic if oil prices start to soar (No Tesco in Stokes Croft).
Why supermarkets?
Around 60% of us buy all our groceries in a supermarket (FOE 2006). Many small business go out of business on a weekly basis as a result of our changing spending patterns, traffic congestion around out of town supermarket areas has increased and farmers and food processers are subject to the mercy of the supermarket. Currently, supermarkets are only accountable to their shareholders. They are not obliged to consider impacts on communities and the environment.
Did you know?
About 80% of all supermarket supplies of carrots now come from just 10 major packers in East Anglia
Around 60% of our fresh milk travels from farms around the country to six locations for processing before being trucked back hundreds of miles up and down motorways to customers? (Lawrence 2010)
Profits in a recession?
Last week Tesco reported full-year profits before tax of £3.54bn, up 11.3% from a year ago. Although much of this growth is down to expansion into Asia, Tesco have plans to increase UK profits by offering mortgages and developing Tesco online (BBC News 2011) meaning presumably that soon you will not even have to step outside your front door (owned by Tesco!) to get anything you need. In the last two years 577 Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons stores have been approved. That’s nearly one a day so clearly these are corporations that use money, power and influence and get what they want.
The future?
Supermarkets now offer non-food related products such as credit cards, insurance and mobile phones which are all set to expand. In addition we may see a move towards mega-farms i.e. pigs in “sty-scrapers”. Food may become more expensive with rises in oil prices, if we are relying on supermarkets to produce all our food then we will end up paying the extra and we’ll have no choice as the local shops will have all disappeared.
If a supermarket corporation wants to build in your area be prepared – there is still little that you can do as a community as the Bristol riots show. Expect increases in traffic, loss of local businesses and loss of your community as you know it.
A few things you can do
• Check out websites such as tescopoly which gives details of local campaign groups and supermarket news.
• Shop local for certain things where you can. Vegetables in particular can often be found locally at a cheaper price and you will be supporting local farmers.
• Grow your own – even if it’s just salad leaves and a tomato plant in an old boot.
• Make your own. I.e. if you invest in a bread maker you can make bread, rolls, specialist breads, pizza bases, jam, marmalade etc.
Panorama BBC i-player documentary on supermarkets is available on i player. click here
Smoking and Obesity are more harmful than radiation
An addition to the blog on food and radiation in the wake of Japan's nuclear disaster
is an article by Thomas (2011) Smoking and obesity are more harmful than radiation.
Plus some pictures by Igor Kostin for those of you who do not know much about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster - 26 April 1986.
is an article by Thomas (2011) Smoking and obesity are more harmful than radiation.
Plus some pictures by Igor Kostin for those of you who do not know much about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster - 26 April 1986.
25.4.11
Tomates, pepinos y pimientos (Part 1)
Claire Everett
Last week I was in Spain on a roadtrip inspired by a need to get away from London for a while, catch up with friends, practise my “evening-class-level” Spanish, and enjoy some good food and sunshine. Before I left, I had an idea that my next blog would be about Mediterranean diets and how the warm climate, fresh seafood, grazing-style tapas and perfect conditions for growing fruit and vegetables make it so easy to be healthy. But during part of our journey heading west from Mojacar along the coast, I changed my mind.
I like to think I have a pretty good idea about where the food I eat comes from, the conditions in which it’s produced and how it reaches me. It’s clear when we buy things like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in UK supermarkets that, outside the comparatively short UK growing season, much of this produce is imported from Spain. What I’d not realised is the extent to which our need for these salad vegetables impacts upon the Spanish landscape. The first 150km we travelled after we set off from Mojacar was covered, as far as the eye could see, in white plastic “greenhouses” within which salad vegetables grow. “So what?” you might say, “it has to be grown somewhere and somehow, right?”. To a certain extent this is what I said as we drove, telling myself I was simply disappointed that the view wasn’t the scenic coastal drive I’d imagined. But it kept bugging me and when I got back I looked up a report I had seen the header for on the Guardian website a couple of months ago (Lawrence, 2011).
The report describes the modern day slavery occurring in the Spanish hothouses, with farmers using migrant workers to provide cheap labour in order to keep the price we pay for salad vegetables low. The farmers however are caught in a vicious circle where retail buyers dictate their profit margins so they can’t afford to pay workers the minimum wage. Throughout this, the supermarkets’ own profits remain high. If we consider the environmental impact, this kind of intensive farming leads to the spread of pests and disease, to which the response is the use of pesticides thus increasing the cost to the farmer and again lining the pockets of the global companies, this time in the agrochemical sector.
It’s not something that can be easily tackled by the consumer. If a Fairtrade style policy was put into place and the workers paid more, it is unlikely the supermarkets would absorb this cost and it would therefore be passed to us to stretch our already tight budgets. If we stop buying this imported produce we would potentially put the migrants out of work altogether and it’s highly unlikely they could find a means of returning to their families in Africa. And of course many of us enjoy the year-round supply of ‘summer’ vegetables. Even if we don’t eat as many salads in winter, we still expect lettuce in our sandwiches and a salad garnish with our restaurant meal. But what if we didn’t have this option..? (To be continued)
Last week I was in Spain on a roadtrip inspired by a need to get away from London for a while, catch up with friends, practise my “evening-class-level” Spanish, and enjoy some good food and sunshine. Before I left, I had an idea that my next blog would be about Mediterranean diets and how the warm climate, fresh seafood, grazing-style tapas and perfect conditions for growing fruit and vegetables make it so easy to be healthy. But during part of our journey heading west from Mojacar along the coast, I changed my mind.
I like to think I have a pretty good idea about where the food I eat comes from, the conditions in which it’s produced and how it reaches me. It’s clear when we buy things like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in UK supermarkets that, outside the comparatively short UK growing season, much of this produce is imported from Spain. What I’d not realised is the extent to which our need for these salad vegetables impacts upon the Spanish landscape. The first 150km we travelled after we set off from Mojacar was covered, as far as the eye could see, in white plastic “greenhouses” within which salad vegetables grow. “So what?” you might say, “it has to be grown somewhere and somehow, right?”. To a certain extent this is what I said as we drove, telling myself I was simply disappointed that the view wasn’t the scenic coastal drive I’d imagined. But it kept bugging me and when I got back I looked up a report I had seen the header for on the Guardian website a couple of months ago (Lawrence, 2011).
The report describes the modern day slavery occurring in the Spanish hothouses, with farmers using migrant workers to provide cheap labour in order to keep the price we pay for salad vegetables low. The farmers however are caught in a vicious circle where retail buyers dictate their profit margins so they can’t afford to pay workers the minimum wage. Throughout this, the supermarkets’ own profits remain high. If we consider the environmental impact, this kind of intensive farming leads to the spread of pests and disease, to which the response is the use of pesticides thus increasing the cost to the farmer and again lining the pockets of the global companies, this time in the agrochemical sector.
It’s not something that can be easily tackled by the consumer. If a Fairtrade style policy was put into place and the workers paid more, it is unlikely the supermarkets would absorb this cost and it would therefore be passed to us to stretch our already tight budgets. If we stop buying this imported produce we would potentially put the migrants out of work altogether and it’s highly unlikely they could find a means of returning to their families in Africa. And of course many of us enjoy the year-round supply of ‘summer’ vegetables. Even if we don’t eat as many salads in winter, we still expect lettuce in our sandwiches and a salad garnish with our restaurant meal. But what if we didn’t have this option..? (To be continued)
18.4.11
Barbeques – good for your health?
Nova Corcoran
With a sunny bank holiday predicted it’s time to get the Barbie out (if you haven’t done it already). So what goes on your standard barbeque? Burgers, sausages, chicken, veggie burgers, kebabs, crisps, rolls and sauces and a bag of charcoal? And is any of this good for your health?
Meat Meat Meat
Meat is the biggest problem on a barbeque. From an environmental perspective it has a large carbon footprint. Worldwide it accounts for around 1/5th of greenhouse gas emissions (Silver 2007). Economy and value meat is filled with low grade factory farmed style meat and contains little lean meat and much of this might be connective tissues and fat. Livestock reared to provide cheaper meat is usually soy bean fed which destroys rainforests (FOE 2004; The Independent 2006).
Sauces and marinades
Most sauces are a mix of sugar, vinegar, water, artificial flavours. Although this week the Daily Telegraph tells us barbeques sauces contain natural antioxidants (The Telegraph 2011) most of these will be reduced by cooking. If you are buying sauces find one that uses no artificial flavours and is low in artificial sweeteners.
Health risks of barbeque cooking
The biggest health risks from a barbeque come from the cooking (or undercooking) of the food itself. Practice good food hygiene and your risks will be reduced. For example keep raw and cooked meats separate and ensure food is cooked through before serving. Some media reports have suggested a link between between burnt or charred meat and cancer, but this has only been shown in laboratories and is not a proven link in humans (Cancer Research UK 2007). Marinating meat helps to reduce the chances it will char or burn.
Gas or charcoal?
From a carbon standpoint, gas wins because natural gas and propane burn cleaner and leave behind less waste than charcoal grills but you are burning a non renewable fossil fuel. Proper charcoal is actually carbon neutral (Shephard 2008).
Start small – 5 things you can do to make your Barbie healthier
• Make a plan of who is coming to your barbeque and what you want to eat so you only buy what you need.
• Think what can be bought locally and in season. Some local fruit and veg shops or markets work out cheaper than supermarkets, use less packaging and produce is more likely to be locally sourced. It’s not just about distance but supporting local business which in turn builds stronger communities.
• Invite friends and neighbours. If a few of you eat together you save energy on cooking, money and time plus socializing with friends makes us happier.
• If you can, serve less meat (not no meat, just less meat). Add jacket potatoes, corn on the cob, vegetable kebabs, pasta or rice salads etc. This also increases the health benefits of your barbeque by adding fresh fruit and veg. If you can choose meat that is grass fed and organic.
• Buy charcoal that has a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and is UK produced. One of the best known is BioRegional and is sold in most supermarkets.
With a sunny bank holiday predicted it’s time to get the Barbie out (if you haven’t done it already). So what goes on your standard barbeque? Burgers, sausages, chicken, veggie burgers, kebabs, crisps, rolls and sauces and a bag of charcoal? And is any of this good for your health?
Meat Meat Meat
Meat is the biggest problem on a barbeque. From an environmental perspective it has a large carbon footprint. Worldwide it accounts for around 1/5th of greenhouse gas emissions (Silver 2007). Economy and value meat is filled with low grade factory farmed style meat and contains little lean meat and much of this might be connective tissues and fat. Livestock reared to provide cheaper meat is usually soy bean fed which destroys rainforests (FOE 2004; The Independent 2006).
Sauces and marinades
Most sauces are a mix of sugar, vinegar, water, artificial flavours. Although this week the Daily Telegraph tells us barbeques sauces contain natural antioxidants (The Telegraph 2011) most of these will be reduced by cooking. If you are buying sauces find one that uses no artificial flavours and is low in artificial sweeteners.
Health risks of barbeque cooking
The biggest health risks from a barbeque come from the cooking (or undercooking) of the food itself. Practice good food hygiene and your risks will be reduced. For example keep raw and cooked meats separate and ensure food is cooked through before serving. Some media reports have suggested a link between between burnt or charred meat and cancer, but this has only been shown in laboratories and is not a proven link in humans (Cancer Research UK 2007). Marinating meat helps to reduce the chances it will char or burn.
Gas or charcoal?
From a carbon standpoint, gas wins because natural gas and propane burn cleaner and leave behind less waste than charcoal grills but you are burning a non renewable fossil fuel. Proper charcoal is actually carbon neutral (Shephard 2008).
Start small – 5 things you can do to make your Barbie healthier
• Make a plan of who is coming to your barbeque and what you want to eat so you only buy what you need.
• Think what can be bought locally and in season. Some local fruit and veg shops or markets work out cheaper than supermarkets, use less packaging and produce is more likely to be locally sourced. It’s not just about distance but supporting local business which in turn builds stronger communities.
• Invite friends and neighbours. If a few of you eat together you save energy on cooking, money and time plus socializing with friends makes us happier.
• If you can, serve less meat (not no meat, just less meat). Add jacket potatoes, corn on the cob, vegetable kebabs, pasta or rice salads etc. This also increases the health benefits of your barbeque by adding fresh fruit and veg. If you can choose meat that is grass fed and organic.
• Buy charcoal that has a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and is UK produced. One of the best known is BioRegional and is sold in most supermarkets.
15.4.11
Food for thought: 2: The Cornish Pasty
Nova Corcoran
Pasty facts
Did you know traditional Cornish pasties used to be known as oggies or tiddy oggies? Or that Cornish pasties remain one of Cornwall’s most successful exports (Shackle 2001). The origin of the humble pasty is unclear, but records show they were eaten as far back as 1300. It gained popularity in the 18th century where miners, fisherman and farm workers took them for their lunches. Emigrating Cornish miners took pasties with them overseas and pasties are found in different places around the world (Devlin 2008). Origins of the distinct D shape are still debated, but it was probably helpful in re-heating pasties and may have been a way for miners to eat the pasty without handling the contents but allowed them to hold and then discard the crust.
Is that pasty good for you?
Pasties provide good sustenance as they contain root vegetables most commonly onion, swede and potato and the contents inside the pastry are pretty interesting on the health front. Onions have a natural antibiotic action and boast a number of health related properties including some documented evidence that they have preventive stomach cancer and cardiovascular health protection properties as they diminish the risk of blood clots (Craig 2011). Swedes have cancer protecting properties, vitamin C and beta carotene (Lutton 2007). Potatoes don’t offer too much nutritionally, but they will help fill you up!
On the down side pasties comes in high on the calorie count (usually between 500 to 1000) depending on if it is home made or shop bought. The shortcrust pastry (also high in saturated fat) puts the calories up a fair bit. So enjoy a good pasty just don’t eat them everyday!
Pasty facts
Did you know traditional Cornish pasties used to be known as oggies or tiddy oggies? Or that Cornish pasties remain one of Cornwall’s most successful exports (Shackle 2001). The origin of the humble pasty is unclear, but records show they were eaten as far back as 1300. It gained popularity in the 18th century where miners, fisherman and farm workers took them for their lunches. Emigrating Cornish miners took pasties with them overseas and pasties are found in different places around the world (Devlin 2008). Origins of the distinct D shape are still debated, but it was probably helpful in re-heating pasties and may have been a way for miners to eat the pasty without handling the contents but allowed them to hold and then discard the crust.
Is that pasty good for you?
Pasties provide good sustenance as they contain root vegetables most commonly onion, swede and potato and the contents inside the pastry are pretty interesting on the health front. Onions have a natural antibiotic action and boast a number of health related properties including some documented evidence that they have preventive stomach cancer and cardiovascular health protection properties as they diminish the risk of blood clots (Craig 2011). Swedes have cancer protecting properties, vitamin C and beta carotene (Lutton 2007). Potatoes don’t offer too much nutritionally, but they will help fill you up!
On the down side pasties comes in high on the calorie count (usually between 500 to 1000) depending on if it is home made or shop bought. The shortcrust pastry (also high in saturated fat) puts the calories up a fair bit. So enjoy a good pasty just don’t eat them everyday!
13.4.11
War and food
Nova Corcoran
War in Libya? Uprising in the Ivory Coast? Think it’s got nothing to do with you? It might have more of an impact on your food than you think.
Food in times of crisis
In times of crisis food, water and fuel run in short supply. Food supplies are cut off, shops shut, fresh food cannot be stored without power (i.e. refrigerators) and heating food may be impossible. Gathering food and water can be dangerous in the presence of looting, landmines, vigilantes, violence and other hostilities (FAO 2008).
In the Ivory Coast there are reports of meat, fish, petrol and cooking gas running short, with many warehouses closed because of security fears. The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest cocoa producer and prices have hit a four month high this week (BBC News 2011). Threats of a ban on exports for a month in an unstable country added to the rising cost of oil means a rise in cocoa bean prices rise and a rise in the price of your chocolate.
Food in war
Food is one reason that starts and ends wars. As Gian Carol Cirri notes “When people don't have food, they have three options - revolt, migrate, or starve” (Popham 2011). Fires, heavy rains, floods, droughts, tsunamis, cyclones, volcanic ash etc can all impact on food production and distribution as well as man made events such as war and economic or political instability.
What does oil have to do with it?
Expansion of war into oil producing countries means a rise in the cost of oil. The rising price of oil invariably increases food costs. This ranges from the production of fertilizer (you need oil to make it), to transportation costs, to agriculture machinery that needs fuel, to supermarket electric bills (Walsh 2009). War fuels inflation and increases food prices so add this to rising costs of oil and increases go even higher.
What does war mean for our food?
The UK relies heavily on imported foods – just take a look at the destination food labels on food in your shopping basket. If trade routes alter or closes we may find we are without essential foods. Rising food costs may mean some foods become too expensive for us to be able to buy. Just think about chocolate from the cocoa bean for example – if cocoa costs rise in the Ivory Coast how much money are you prepared to pay for a bar of chocolate?
War in Libya? Uprising in the Ivory Coast? Think it’s got nothing to do with you? It might have more of an impact on your food than you think.
Food in times of crisis
In times of crisis food, water and fuel run in short supply. Food supplies are cut off, shops shut, fresh food cannot be stored without power (i.e. refrigerators) and heating food may be impossible. Gathering food and water can be dangerous in the presence of looting, landmines, vigilantes, violence and other hostilities (FAO 2008).
In the Ivory Coast there are reports of meat, fish, petrol and cooking gas running short, with many warehouses closed because of security fears. The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest cocoa producer and prices have hit a four month high this week (BBC News 2011). Threats of a ban on exports for a month in an unstable country added to the rising cost of oil means a rise in cocoa bean prices rise and a rise in the price of your chocolate.
Food in war
Food is one reason that starts and ends wars. As Gian Carol Cirri notes “When people don't have food, they have three options - revolt, migrate, or starve” (Popham 2011). Fires, heavy rains, floods, droughts, tsunamis, cyclones, volcanic ash etc can all impact on food production and distribution as well as man made events such as war and economic or political instability.
What does oil have to do with it?
Expansion of war into oil producing countries means a rise in the cost of oil. The rising price of oil invariably increases food costs. This ranges from the production of fertilizer (you need oil to make it), to transportation costs, to agriculture machinery that needs fuel, to supermarket electric bills (Walsh 2009). War fuels inflation and increases food prices so add this to rising costs of oil and increases go even higher.
What does war mean for our food?
The UK relies heavily on imported foods – just take a look at the destination food labels on food in your shopping basket. If trade routes alter or closes we may find we are without essential foods. Rising food costs may mean some foods become too expensive for us to be able to buy. Just think about chocolate from the cocoa bean for example – if cocoa costs rise in the Ivory Coast how much money are you prepared to pay for a bar of chocolate?
6.4.11
Coffee – the global bean
Nova Corcoran
World Coffee Week
This week is UK Coffee week and coffee shops in the UK are inviting you to add 5p to the cost of your coffee. All proceeds go towards project waterfall, an initiative that delivers clear water to impoverished communities in coffee producing African countries. What strikes me as interesting is that most people probably can’t tell you which African countries produce coffee. Just so you know the most major are Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania (FAO 2000). Ethiopia is Africa’s largest coffee producer and it is also the main exported product. Makes you wonder though, given how much coffee we drink, if Ethiopian coffee sells at a premium price, why do the farmers still live in poverty?* We are a nation that is seemingly addicted to coffee but we are also pretty clueless as to where our coffee even comes from. Coffee is a global phenomenon of extravagant proportions. Most of the 50 exporting countries rely upon coffee as a major source of foreign exchange, and in 1999 it was estimated that around 25 million people relied on coffee as their main income (Starbird 1999).
Our addiction
Coffee has been consumed in the UK from about the 16th century with the establishment of coffee houses. Coffee has a darker side though and there are stories throughout history connected to slavery’s inconceivable root in coffee which remains a problem to this day coupled with deforestation, child labour and harsh conditions on plantations. On today’s farms migrant workers can face harsh conditions and abject poverty and all the health complications that are associated with poorer living conditions i.e. lack of access to health services, schools etc.
Does fair trade help?
Most coffee growers are relatively poor small holders, and it is suggested that certificated fair trade coffee is a guarantee that these small farmers, organised into cooperatives (Co-ops) achieve a living wage and fair working conditions, fairly managed credit facilities, and ongoing assistance to develop environmentally sustainable and commercially viable businesses (Davis 2010). Others suggest that even with fair trade coffee co-ops may not be able to afford to pay wages that assist in workers escaping from poverty (Ecopolitics 2011) (this link has a great article on young Nicaraguan male coffee workers)
Should we even drink coffee anyway?
In relation to the health of coffee drinkers, coffee is above all a stimulant therefore it increases heart rate and blood pressure. The upside is that in small doses it may increase mental alertness, reaction times, and concentration along with physical energy and reduction in the effects of fatigue (Davis 2010). The downside is that heavier consumption may in some people lead to increased anxiety, osteoporosis, increased cholesterol, reduced fertility and hypoglycaemia (Copley 2008). Although research is often inconclusive, current research suggests coffee in moderation (a few cups a day) is a safe beverage. Some research shows drinking coffee can lower risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and gallstones (leading to colon cancer) and possible Parkinson’s disease (Copley 2008).
So, the message is not to stop drinking your daily cup, but to get clued up on how your daily coffee gets to you and what impact your drink might have on the health of others. Find out where it came from for a start! Check out these YouTube videos for brief coffee histories
Coffee YouTube 1
Coffee YouTube 2
* There is a well documented debate with Ethiopia and Starbucks over trademark coffee see BBC News article 1 and article 2
World Coffee Week
This week is UK Coffee week and coffee shops in the UK are inviting you to add 5p to the cost of your coffee. All proceeds go towards project waterfall, an initiative that delivers clear water to impoverished communities in coffee producing African countries. What strikes me as interesting is that most people probably can’t tell you which African countries produce coffee. Just so you know the most major are Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania (FAO 2000). Ethiopia is Africa’s largest coffee producer and it is also the main exported product. Makes you wonder though, given how much coffee we drink, if Ethiopian coffee sells at a premium price, why do the farmers still live in poverty?* We are a nation that is seemingly addicted to coffee but we are also pretty clueless as to where our coffee even comes from. Coffee is a global phenomenon of extravagant proportions. Most of the 50 exporting countries rely upon coffee as a major source of foreign exchange, and in 1999 it was estimated that around 25 million people relied on coffee as their main income (Starbird 1999).
Our addiction
Coffee has been consumed in the UK from about the 16th century with the establishment of coffee houses. Coffee has a darker side though and there are stories throughout history connected to slavery’s inconceivable root in coffee which remains a problem to this day coupled with deforestation, child labour and harsh conditions on plantations. On today’s farms migrant workers can face harsh conditions and abject poverty and all the health complications that are associated with poorer living conditions i.e. lack of access to health services, schools etc.
Does fair trade help?
Most coffee growers are relatively poor small holders, and it is suggested that certificated fair trade coffee is a guarantee that these small farmers, organised into cooperatives (Co-ops) achieve a living wage and fair working conditions, fairly managed credit facilities, and ongoing assistance to develop environmentally sustainable and commercially viable businesses (Davis 2010). Others suggest that even with fair trade coffee co-ops may not be able to afford to pay wages that assist in workers escaping from poverty (Ecopolitics 2011) (this link has a great article on young Nicaraguan male coffee workers)
Should we even drink coffee anyway?
In relation to the health of coffee drinkers, coffee is above all a stimulant therefore it increases heart rate and blood pressure. The upside is that in small doses it may increase mental alertness, reaction times, and concentration along with physical energy and reduction in the effects of fatigue (Davis 2010). The downside is that heavier consumption may in some people lead to increased anxiety, osteoporosis, increased cholesterol, reduced fertility and hypoglycaemia (Copley 2008). Although research is often inconclusive, current research suggests coffee in moderation (a few cups a day) is a safe beverage. Some research shows drinking coffee can lower risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and gallstones (leading to colon cancer) and possible Parkinson’s disease (Copley 2008).
So, the message is not to stop drinking your daily cup, but to get clued up on how your daily coffee gets to you and what impact your drink might have on the health of others. Find out where it came from for a start! Check out these YouTube videos for brief coffee histories
Coffee YouTube 1
Coffee YouTube 2
* There is a well documented debate with Ethiopia and Starbucks over trademark coffee see BBC News article 1 and article 2
4.4.11
What’s that got to do with the price of fish?
Claire Everett
Food prices are soaring. That’s the message everywhere at the moment. In a direct sense, the facts have been laid on the table by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation with the Food Price Index having risen for the eighth consecutive month (FAO, 2011). In a less obvious way, the ever-increasing advertising and presence of supermarket deals seems to indicate a certain panic to retain consumer confidence and spending.
There’s no single factor causing the prices rises. It’s a combination of rising oil prices, crop failures, demand for food, and increasing market speculation where investors in financial markets see prices are rising so buy now, which drives the prices up again, and so on (in effect betting on food prices). In addition, all of these causes are themselves subject to a number of influences such as political unrest and natural disasters.
The problem we face, is that while we might be able to tighten our belts when it comes to buying clothes or other non-essential commodities, we need food to live. So what can we do to keep the price of our weekly shop as low as possible?
Grow your own - I know, I know...no garden, no time, no pots or tools etc etc – none of these are valid excuses! Grow what you can, where you can, when you can - using yogurt pots and your hands if that’s all you have! It’s the perfect time of year for planting seeds and when you see how many cherry tomatoes you get from a £2 pack of seeds compared to how many you get in a £2 punnet you’ll be wondering why you’ve not grown your own before! www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_guides/
Don’t waste food – Whether we’re talking getting your portion control under control, using up leftover veg in a soup or stew, or dicing broccoli stalks to put in a curry, make the absolute most of what you pay for. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Batch cook – Cook enough for a few meals, then keep in the fridge or freeze. It could be a whole meal like lasagne, or a part meal like chilli that you can then vary by having with rice or a baked potato. As well as saving time, this is the best way to take advantage of nearly-out-of-date reductions and seasonal offers! www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/favourites/batch-cooking/
Snack pots – Instead of buying snack size things, buy bigger size ones then portion them up yourself. From treats to everyday eats, it almost always works out cheaper to buy in bulk. (I’ll blog some ideas for this soon!)
Come Dine With Me – If your friends are on a budget too, use the extra time you have from not going out as much to cook dinner for a group of you and rotate the host role. Theme it by calendar event (Valentines, Easter, Halloween...), country (Indian, Spanish, Thai...), season (salads, stews, courgettes!...) or random theme (your favourite colour, round foods, finger foods...).
Plan your meals – it helps you budget, buy in bulk and avoid waste. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/save_time_and_money/two_week_menu
No-one can be expected to suddenly do all of these, but even trying one could save you a valued bit of cash. If anyone has any other ideas, please feel free to post!
Food prices are soaring. That’s the message everywhere at the moment. In a direct sense, the facts have been laid on the table by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation with the Food Price Index having risen for the eighth consecutive month (FAO, 2011). In a less obvious way, the ever-increasing advertising and presence of supermarket deals seems to indicate a certain panic to retain consumer confidence and spending.
There’s no single factor causing the prices rises. It’s a combination of rising oil prices, crop failures, demand for food, and increasing market speculation where investors in financial markets see prices are rising so buy now, which drives the prices up again, and so on (in effect betting on food prices). In addition, all of these causes are themselves subject to a number of influences such as political unrest and natural disasters.
The problem we face, is that while we might be able to tighten our belts when it comes to buying clothes or other non-essential commodities, we need food to live. So what can we do to keep the price of our weekly shop as low as possible?
Grow your own - I know, I know...no garden, no time, no pots or tools etc etc – none of these are valid excuses! Grow what you can, where you can, when you can - using yogurt pots and your hands if that’s all you have! It’s the perfect time of year for planting seeds and when you see how many cherry tomatoes you get from a £2 pack of seeds compared to how many you get in a £2 punnet you’ll be wondering why you’ve not grown your own before! www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_guides/
Don’t waste food – Whether we’re talking getting your portion control under control, using up leftover veg in a soup or stew, or dicing broccoli stalks to put in a curry, make the absolute most of what you pay for. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Batch cook – Cook enough for a few meals, then keep in the fridge or freeze. It could be a whole meal like lasagne, or a part meal like chilli that you can then vary by having with rice or a baked potato. As well as saving time, this is the best way to take advantage of nearly-out-of-date reductions and seasonal offers! www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/favourites/batch-cooking/
Snack pots – Instead of buying snack size things, buy bigger size ones then portion them up yourself. From treats to everyday eats, it almost always works out cheaper to buy in bulk. (I’ll blog some ideas for this soon!)
Come Dine With Me – If your friends are on a budget too, use the extra time you have from not going out as much to cook dinner for a group of you and rotate the host role. Theme it by calendar event (Valentines, Easter, Halloween...), country (Indian, Spanish, Thai...), season (salads, stews, courgettes!...) or random theme (your favourite colour, round foods, finger foods...).
Plan your meals – it helps you budget, buy in bulk and avoid waste. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/save_time_and_money/two_week_menu
No-one can be expected to suddenly do all of these, but even trying one could save you a valued bit of cash. If anyone has any other ideas, please feel free to post!
3.4.11
Food for thought: 1 - Chicken Tikka Masala
Nova Corcoran
Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in England by a Bangladeshi chef, and it is claimed that the chicken tikka (“chicken pieces”) part is an Indian dish but the masala (“spice mix”) sauce was added to satisfy the British need to have meat served in gravy (Cook 2001).
Chicken tikka masala is the most popular dish on the Indian restaurant menu (Smith 2010). Around 15% of sales in restaurants are from this dish, and 23 million portions are sold each year in Indian restaurants (Grove & Grove 2008). Although very few recipes appear in Indian cookbooks, ingredients include chicken cooked in a tandoor, and a masala sauce usually including yogurt, tomatoes, cream and spices.
Chicken tikka masala fits the general ‘healthy balanced meal’ profile, with chicken being a good source of protein and low in fat. Making it at home also means you can be generous with the yoghurt and tomatoes and go easy on the cream. Serving it with rice or naan provides carbohydrate. Health benefits also stem from the spices themselves. A number are used in traditional medicine and have medicinal uses. Chilli for example has been used in to relieve pain and cure a variety of ailments. It is also high in beta carotene and vitamin C (H2G2 2010). Other spices such as turmeric have been reputed to fight dementia (BBC news 2009) and arthritis (BBC news 2006) and curry leaves have been cited as helping to control diabetes (Glendenning 2004).
Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in England by a Bangladeshi chef, and it is claimed that the chicken tikka (“chicken pieces”) part is an Indian dish but the masala (“spice mix”) sauce was added to satisfy the British need to have meat served in gravy (Cook 2001).
Chicken tikka masala is the most popular dish on the Indian restaurant menu (Smith 2010). Around 15% of sales in restaurants are from this dish, and 23 million portions are sold each year in Indian restaurants (Grove & Grove 2008). Although very few recipes appear in Indian cookbooks, ingredients include chicken cooked in a tandoor, and a masala sauce usually including yogurt, tomatoes, cream and spices.
Chicken tikka masala fits the general ‘healthy balanced meal’ profile, with chicken being a good source of protein and low in fat. Making it at home also means you can be generous with the yoghurt and tomatoes and go easy on the cream. Serving it with rice or naan provides carbohydrate. Health benefits also stem from the spices themselves. A number are used in traditional medicine and have medicinal uses. Chilli for example has been used in to relieve pain and cure a variety of ailments. It is also high in beta carotene and vitamin C (H2G2 2010). Other spices such as turmeric have been reputed to fight dementia (BBC news 2009) and arthritis (BBC news 2006) and curry leaves have been cited as helping to control diabetes (Glendenning 2004).
1.4.11
Superfoods – not so new, not so super
Nova Corcoran
If you pay even limited attention to the media you will be familiar with the term ‘superfood’. Superfood is a buzz word applied to foods that are rich in nutrients or antioxidants thus helping the bodies’ immune system to fight off illness and disease or to help maintain health.
No one can actually agree on what the main superfoods are. The Superfoodco website identifies 43 different superfoods including alfalfa, kelp and liquorice. Marie Claire lists 10 superfoods; avocado, bananas, broccoli, brown rice, grapes, oats, oily fish, strawberries, watercress and sprouted seeds (Marie Claire 2010). Wolfe, an American nutrition expert, also lists 10 superfoods including Goji Berry, Cacao, Maca, Bee Products, Spirulina, AFA Super Blue-Green Algae, Marine Phytoplankton, Aloe Vera, Hempseed, Coconuts (Gaffney 2011). Given that most of these are not available in your average supermarket Marie Claire’s list is perhaps a little more realistic about our daily diets. When was the last time you ate algae and phytoplankton?
Few, if any, superfoods are newly discovered. Most have been eaten for thousands of years often written about in Egyptian, Greek and Roman history. What is new about superfoods is the scientific research, media reports and marketing strategies. Superfoods are foods that have been re-marketed as ‘super’. If we just look at alfalfa, kelp and liquorice from the superco list, all of these have been eaten for centuries. Kelp was eaten by early civilizations where it often provided a reliable and nutritious food source (mckeller 2011), and liquorice has been reputed to have many health benefits (Ilovelicorice.com 2011).
I am not disputing that some foods have more benefits than others, but whichever food is the most ‘super’ one fact remains, as stand alone foods they cannot do the job by themselves. Superfoods need to be eaten as part of a balanced diet. Eating high fat foods like chips everyday cannot be counterbalanced by eating a superfood each day. One food will not work by itself as you need to eat a variety of different foods to gain the most benefit (Carenevale 2010). Some farming and processing methods can reduce the vitamin or mineral content in food thus reducing benefits and in some cases our daily food intake can actually restrict vitamin uptake. For example caffeine from tea and coffee restricts vitamin C uptake from fruit and vegetables. In addition our bodies only take as many vitamins as we need, so overdosing on a food high in vitamin C just means that we will excrete the excess vitamin C (Saner 2007). Balance is the key and the most health benefits will come from a super diet rather than a superfood. So next time you read about a new superfood remember it may not be as super as it sounds.
If you pay even limited attention to the media you will be familiar with the term ‘superfood’. Superfood is a buzz word applied to foods that are rich in nutrients or antioxidants thus helping the bodies’ immune system to fight off illness and disease or to help maintain health.
No one can actually agree on what the main superfoods are. The Superfoodco website identifies 43 different superfoods including alfalfa, kelp and liquorice. Marie Claire lists 10 superfoods; avocado, bananas, broccoli, brown rice, grapes, oats, oily fish, strawberries, watercress and sprouted seeds (Marie Claire 2010). Wolfe, an American nutrition expert, also lists 10 superfoods including Goji Berry, Cacao, Maca, Bee Products, Spirulina, AFA Super Blue-Green Algae, Marine Phytoplankton, Aloe Vera, Hempseed, Coconuts (Gaffney 2011). Given that most of these are not available in your average supermarket Marie Claire’s list is perhaps a little more realistic about our daily diets. When was the last time you ate algae and phytoplankton?
Few, if any, superfoods are newly discovered. Most have been eaten for thousands of years often written about in Egyptian, Greek and Roman history. What is new about superfoods is the scientific research, media reports and marketing strategies. Superfoods are foods that have been re-marketed as ‘super’. If we just look at alfalfa, kelp and liquorice from the superco list, all of these have been eaten for centuries. Kelp was eaten by early civilizations where it often provided a reliable and nutritious food source (mckeller 2011), and liquorice has been reputed to have many health benefits (Ilovelicorice.com 2011).
I am not disputing that some foods have more benefits than others, but whichever food is the most ‘super’ one fact remains, as stand alone foods they cannot do the job by themselves. Superfoods need to be eaten as part of a balanced diet. Eating high fat foods like chips everyday cannot be counterbalanced by eating a superfood each day. One food will not work by itself as you need to eat a variety of different foods to gain the most benefit (Carenevale 2010). Some farming and processing methods can reduce the vitamin or mineral content in food thus reducing benefits and in some cases our daily food intake can actually restrict vitamin uptake. For example caffeine from tea and coffee restricts vitamin C uptake from fruit and vegetables. In addition our bodies only take as many vitamins as we need, so overdosing on a food high in vitamin C just means that we will excrete the excess vitamin C (Saner 2007). Balance is the key and the most health benefits will come from a super diet rather than a superfood. So next time you read about a new superfood remember it may not be as super as it sounds.
28.3.11
Going Undercounter: How product placement and branding influences our health
Claire Everett
With the news that by 2015 cigarettes and other tobacco products will be forced 'undercounter' in all shops, and branding potentially removed from packaging, it’s interesting to consider how much visual marketing impacts on our health choices.
One in five deaths in England are caused by smoking (Department of Health 2011), whilst one in eleven are attributable to obesity (Banegas 2003). A ban on tobacco advertising on television has been enforced over the past few decades, and in 2007 nutrition began to follow suit with restrictions on the advertising of ‘unhealthy’ food to children. Whilst it’s difficult to envisage junk food ever being relegated to undercounter shelves, exactly how much does its shelf positioning and branding influence us?
If we took away the bright familiar packaging from crisps, biscuits and chocolate, we’d be left with a pretty dull picture. And when these various shades of brown are lined up next to colourful fruit and vegetables, the healthier choice suddenly looks the more appealing – perhaps especially so to children. The debate has raged for years over whether supermarkets should be allowed to position confectionary displays by the checkouts (Derbyshire 2005) and whilst some supermarkets have removed them, it seems they’ve not replaced them with healthy snacks but instead used the space to display magazines and leaflets. It’s probably a bit far-fetched to suggest we should see carrot sticks and hummous in the behind-counter displays once cigarettes disappear from them for good, but it would be interesting to observe the impact on their sales if this happened.
It’s not only the colours and logos, but of course the straplines and health claims, that create the familiarity and appeal of branded snacks. But even when claims of “sugar-free”, “light” and low calorific values appear on branded processed foods, their healthiness is questionable. A food that claims to be “90% fat-free” is thought of as low-fat, but look on a bottle of full fat milk, that we generally consider a high-fat product, and you’ll realise it’s actually 96% fat-free. Many healthier foods like fruit don’t have packaging to make these claims on, and interestingly the advertising on healthier packaged foods like nuts and dried fruit tends to focus things like anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals which don’t contribute to weightloss, and thus for many don’t hold the same association with health.
The big issue from a retail and commercial perspective, is that fresh fruit only generates 3-6% profit, whereas a highly processed biscuit can generate more than 15% profit (Lang et al 2006) - so it makes no sense for food companies to spend vast sums of money advertising these lower profit products. Some will argue that a packaged snack is more convenient, but is it really that tricky to transport and eat an apple? Added value has been introduced to fresh fruit with pots of ready-prepared fresh pineapple etc commonly found. But what is seen as ‘added value’ to the manufacturer, is ‘added cost’ to the consumer - suddenly making fresh fruit seem an expensive option.
Personally, I don’t believe ‘hiding’ food is the answer. Certainly hiding a bar of chocolate from myself in my desk drawer never works, and I’ll have munched my way through it by 11am. But one thing that does work is having an alternative available. If I have a pot of cranberries and macadamias on my desk, I’ll happily snack on these and not even think about chocolate. So perhaps putting healthy snacks by the checkout and in the space left vacant by cigarettes, and giving them a colourful health promoting slogan or two is the way forward after all.
With the news that by 2015 cigarettes and other tobacco products will be forced 'undercounter' in all shops, and branding potentially removed from packaging, it’s interesting to consider how much visual marketing impacts on our health choices.
One in five deaths in England are caused by smoking (Department of Health 2011), whilst one in eleven are attributable to obesity (Banegas 2003). A ban on tobacco advertising on television has been enforced over the past few decades, and in 2007 nutrition began to follow suit with restrictions on the advertising of ‘unhealthy’ food to children. Whilst it’s difficult to envisage junk food ever being relegated to undercounter shelves, exactly how much does its shelf positioning and branding influence us?
If we took away the bright familiar packaging from crisps, biscuits and chocolate, we’d be left with a pretty dull picture. And when these various shades of brown are lined up next to colourful fruit and vegetables, the healthier choice suddenly looks the more appealing – perhaps especially so to children. The debate has raged for years over whether supermarkets should be allowed to position confectionary displays by the checkouts (Derbyshire 2005) and whilst some supermarkets have removed them, it seems they’ve not replaced them with healthy snacks but instead used the space to display magazines and leaflets. It’s probably a bit far-fetched to suggest we should see carrot sticks and hummous in the behind-counter displays once cigarettes disappear from them for good, but it would be interesting to observe the impact on their sales if this happened.
It’s not only the colours and logos, but of course the straplines and health claims, that create the familiarity and appeal of branded snacks. But even when claims of “sugar-free”, “light” and low calorific values appear on branded processed foods, their healthiness is questionable. A food that claims to be “90% fat-free” is thought of as low-fat, but look on a bottle of full fat milk, that we generally consider a high-fat product, and you’ll realise it’s actually 96% fat-free. Many healthier foods like fruit don’t have packaging to make these claims on, and interestingly the advertising on healthier packaged foods like nuts and dried fruit tends to focus things like anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals which don’t contribute to weightloss, and thus for many don’t hold the same association with health.
The big issue from a retail and commercial perspective, is that fresh fruit only generates 3-6% profit, whereas a highly processed biscuit can generate more than 15% profit (Lang et al 2006) - so it makes no sense for food companies to spend vast sums of money advertising these lower profit products. Some will argue that a packaged snack is more convenient, but is it really that tricky to transport and eat an apple? Added value has been introduced to fresh fruit with pots of ready-prepared fresh pineapple etc commonly found. But what is seen as ‘added value’ to the manufacturer, is ‘added cost’ to the consumer - suddenly making fresh fruit seem an expensive option.
Personally, I don’t believe ‘hiding’ food is the answer. Certainly hiding a bar of chocolate from myself in my desk drawer never works, and I’ll have munched my way through it by 11am. But one thing that does work is having an alternative available. If I have a pot of cranberries and macadamias on my desk, I’ll happily snack on these and not even think about chocolate. So perhaps putting healthy snacks by the checkout and in the space left vacant by cigarettes, and giving them a colourful health promoting slogan or two is the way forward after all.
Japan’s nuclear disaster: is our food safe?
Nova Corcoran
Recent news coverage of Japan’s tsunami and the resulting nuclear plant damage has been making the news headlines daily. The main risks to human health from nuclear plant damage aside from the possible effects of radiation sickness and direct exposure is actually from food. There are now reports of Asian eateries refusing to stock some Japanese food products (Balfour 2011) which may encourage sushi lovers to think twice about their lunchtime meal. In truth there is little risk to our health from contaminated food unless you happen to drink milk or tap water from the Fukushima area which for most of us is highly unlikely.
Interestingly food that is exposed to radiation does not always make it harmful to human health. Some foods such as fruit are irradiated* to increase shelf life. There are also sources of naturally occurring radiation in our food transferred from rocks, soil and water. These are very low levels of radiation which pose little risk to human health. Artificial radiation such as that from the Fukushima nuclear plant can enter the food chain in the same way. For example cows eat contaminated grass, and secrete radioactive iodine in their milk. Levels of artificial radiation are considerably higher than those occurring naturally.
Contaminated food is problematic as radioactive particles are more dangerous when digested causing internal irradiation of organs, and damaging our DNA thus increasing cancer risks (Beckett 2011; FSA 2011). The most common of these cancers is thyroid cancer. The link to food consumption becomes clearer with the knowledge that if in the Ukraine, after the Chenobyl nuclear disaster measures were taken to stop people drinking milk exposure to radiation would have been reduced thus lowering thyroid cancer risks (Grady 2011).
In Fukushima milk and spinach have been found to have higher than normal levels of radiation but even these levels are still pose small risk to health (Shears 2011). The New York Times noted that other potential food sources that show signs of contamination include wild berries, mushrooms, animals and freshwater i.e. lakes and these may be contaminated for years to come. However these are contaminated with the particulate cesium rather than iodine which has a shorter life span (around 8 days). Cesium is not stored in any one part of the body and increases the overall cancer risk by a very small amount (Narayan et al 2011).
There is currently little threat to the UK or European food chain from the Fukushima disaster. Radioactive elements are heavy and do not travel far so contamination is likely to be limited to local areas in Japan. In addition seawater contamination is not too problematic for fish or seafood as the sea covers such a large area and radiation is diluted. So for now eat your sushi and enjoy - radiation is likely to have very little effect on your daily lunch.
*The process of exposing food to ionizing radiation. This has a variety of purposes such as to reduce bacteria, microorganisms or delay ripening.
Recent news coverage of Japan’s tsunami and the resulting nuclear plant damage has been making the news headlines daily. The main risks to human health from nuclear plant damage aside from the possible effects of radiation sickness and direct exposure is actually from food. There are now reports of Asian eateries refusing to stock some Japanese food products (Balfour 2011) which may encourage sushi lovers to think twice about their lunchtime meal. In truth there is little risk to our health from contaminated food unless you happen to drink milk or tap water from the Fukushima area which for most of us is highly unlikely.
Interestingly food that is exposed to radiation does not always make it harmful to human health. Some foods such as fruit are irradiated* to increase shelf life. There are also sources of naturally occurring radiation in our food transferred from rocks, soil and water. These are very low levels of radiation which pose little risk to human health. Artificial radiation such as that from the Fukushima nuclear plant can enter the food chain in the same way. For example cows eat contaminated grass, and secrete radioactive iodine in their milk. Levels of artificial radiation are considerably higher than those occurring naturally.
Contaminated food is problematic as radioactive particles are more dangerous when digested causing internal irradiation of organs, and damaging our DNA thus increasing cancer risks (Beckett 2011; FSA 2011). The most common of these cancers is thyroid cancer. The link to food consumption becomes clearer with the knowledge that if in the Ukraine, after the Chenobyl nuclear disaster measures were taken to stop people drinking milk exposure to radiation would have been reduced thus lowering thyroid cancer risks (Grady 2011).
In Fukushima milk and spinach have been found to have higher than normal levels of radiation but even these levels are still pose small risk to health (Shears 2011). The New York Times noted that other potential food sources that show signs of contamination include wild berries, mushrooms, animals and freshwater i.e. lakes and these may be contaminated for years to come. However these are contaminated with the particulate cesium rather than iodine which has a shorter life span (around 8 days). Cesium is not stored in any one part of the body and increases the overall cancer risk by a very small amount (Narayan et al 2011).
There is currently little threat to the UK or European food chain from the Fukushima disaster. Radioactive elements are heavy and do not travel far so contamination is likely to be limited to local areas in Japan. In addition seawater contamination is not too problematic for fish or seafood as the sea covers such a large area and radiation is diluted. So for now eat your sushi and enjoy - radiation is likely to have very little effect on your daily lunch.
*The process of exposing food to ionizing radiation. This has a variety of purposes such as to reduce bacteria, microorganisms or delay ripening.
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