At last, some good news: last week the governments comprising the European Union (EU) voted to ban the agrochemical thiacloprid, which is produced and marketed by the global chemical company Bayer. Thiacloprid is one of a group of neonicotinoid pesticides, all of which are strongly linked to the collapse in worldwide bee populations. In reaching its decision the EU stated that it was also concerned that thiacloprid had now found […]
Happy new year! More people than ever have chosen to give Veganuary a try this year. Others, who perhaps aren’t quite ready to take that step, will at least have resolved to reduce their meat intake. It’s encouraging to see so many people willing to challenge and change their food consumption habits, whether it be for health, environmental or ethical reasons, or all three. Sadly, world governments continue to show […]
Monsanto, the US multinational chemical corporation once voted “the most evil corporation in the world” no longer exists, as a result of its acquisition by the German chemical giant Bayer. However, Monsanto’s legacy lives on. One of the corporations most successful products is glyphosate, a key component in weedkillers. It was described by the World Health Organisation in 2015 as “probably carcinogenic to human beings”. Since then, a growing number […]
This recipe for vegan stuffed butternut squash with cranberry sauce is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in association 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 gluten-free, vegan dish would be a deliciously tasty alternative Christmas dinner. It […]
During the 1970s and 1980s, Costa Rica was being cynically exploited by multinational burger companies. These companies, most prominently Burger King and Wendy’s, incentivised native farmers to burn down rainforest in order to create grazing land for beef cattle destined to end up in fast food burgers. Similar exploitative forces are continuously at play elsewhere across the world, most recently in the Brazilian rainforest, as the rapacious beef industry continues […]
This recipe for poached pears with pecan granola and miso ice cream is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in association 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. I first encountered miso ice cream just a couple of months […]
This recipe for aubergine fritters with pomegranate salad and labneh is the latest in a monthly series of recipes I have created in association 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. I love aubergines (eggplants) in all forms, but this Middle Eastern influenced variation […]
Like many others I have been horrified by the fires that have raging in the Amazon rainforest and utterly appalled by the deliberate inaction of the Brazilian government under President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, a populist neo fascist, came to power in January this year. Backed heavily by agribusiness and the mining industry, he has already gained the nicknames “Captain Chainsaw” and “Trump of the Tropics”. Like Trump, one of the […]
US President Donald Trump often uses the phrase “fake news” to undermine truthful reporting that threatens to expose his own lies. It may be brazen and shocking to many of us, but it is not a new deceit. The food and agriculture industries have been using similar, if more sophisticated, tactics for decades to undermine critics. A wide range of underhand methods are deployed, not only to disguise indefensible practices […]
Earth Overshoot Day is the day in the calendar when humankind has used up the equivalent of a whole year’s worth of the Earth’s natural resources. When I began this blog in 2013, Earth Overshoot day fell on 20 August. This year it fell on 29 July. Each year the date gets earlier, solemnly marking our continuing failure to adapt towards a more sustainable pattern of existence. To understand how […]