A healthy biodiversity – the assortment of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms that comprise the natural world around us – is vital to humankind’s continued existence on this planet. These various life forms work interactively, in ways we do not yet fully comprehend, to form an ecosystem that supports life whilst also maintaining equilibrium between living species. Biodiversity also provides all the fundamental conditions for human existence – oxygen, food, […]
This recipe for Tunisian-style chickpea soup with harissa oil is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in partnership with Suma Wholefoods. In each recipe, I use products from Suma’s extensive range of organic and ethically sourced products, and the recipes appear both here on my blog and on the Suma website. This month’s dish is based on a traditional Tunisian dish called lablabi, a mildly […]
A quarter of the Earth’s living creatures live within the thin layer of topsoil that sits like a skin on the surface of our planet. That topsoil also stores carbon – at least as much as the trees and other plants above ground – which is critical in tackling the climate emergency. And, of course, we rely upon that fragile layer of topsoil to grow virtually all the food we […]
This recipe for green curry noodles is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in partnership with Suma. In each recipe, I use products from Suma’s extensive range of organic and ethically sourced products, and the recipes appear both here on my blog and on the Suma website. This month’s dish is a hearty and delicious Thai-style noodle broth. You could shorten the cooking time by […]
This is my first post for several weeks because I have been ill with Covid-19. Despite having taken plenty of precautions, I succumbed to Covid just prior to Christmas, becoming sufficiently unwell by the new year to require a few days of hospital treatment. I am now in the process of recovery but I will be posting less frequently until I am fully back to normal. During my period of […]
Long term readers of this blog will know that although I am strongly opposed to the unfolding disaster that is Brexit, I have also been a consistent critic of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Through its complex and costly system of grants the CAP has effectively subsidised intensive farming, exacerbated global food inequality, and favoured large agri-businesses and landowners over small scale and organic farmers. It has also […]
As I write, the UK is less than a month away from leaving the European Union and yet we still have so little certainty about many aspects of our future outside the EU. The “oven ready Brexit” that the Prime Minister promised has – predictably – failed to materialise. Given how dependent we are on other EU countries for the food to feed ourselves, the prospect of crashing out of […]
This recipe is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in partnership with Suma Wholefoods. In these recipes, I use products from Suma’s extensive range of organic and ethically sourced products, and the recipes appear both here on my blog and on the Suma website. This month I have made a delicious vegan Christmas main course using wholesome ingredients from Suma, and it’s packed with great […]
The ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch once explained his reason for not eating meat thus: “but for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy”. In the case of the British intensively reared chicken, that “proportion of life and time” has now been reduced to […]
This recipe for aubergine, butternut and lentil massaman curry is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in partnership with Suma Wholefoods. In these recipes, I use products from Suma’s extensive range of organic and ethically sourced products, and the recipes appear both here on my blog and on the Suma website. Massaman curry is a Thai dish which may well have originated from the Middle […]
Last month, the UK’ Environment Agency published figures which showed that only 14% of rivers, streams and lakes in England can be designated “ecologically healthy”. The remaining 86% fail to meet standards for “pollution safety”. The three main sources of pollution of these waterways are industrial waste, sewage and agrochemicals used in intensive farming. The UK government had previously set a target for all water bodies in England to be […]
Carbohydrates, which now make up the bulk of most of what we eat, only became a significant part of the human diet after we began practising agriculture some 10-12,000 years ago. Before then, our ancestors would have had a much higher protein and much lower carbohydrate intake than we do. They would also have had much more active (if considerably shorter) lives than us. The one thing they did not […]