TUNA - Aug02

Stocks of most tuna varieties are threatened by over-fishing.   Although tuna is a healthy fish to eat because it has high levels of Omega 3 the Food Standards Agency has recently issued advice about limiting the amount we eat – along with swordfish – because of concerns over mercury contamination. One of the most successful consumer campaigns has been to promote ‘dolphin-friendly’ tuna.  This month, I will be looking at what is currently happening with this issue, as well as over-fishing of tuna and how a London sushi bar owner might be helping the Japanese source fish more responsibly......

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RICE - Jul02

Rice is a staple food for over half of the world’s population.  As populations increase so does the demand for rice.  This means that more land is being cleared of rainforests and other rich habitats to make way for rice cultivation.  And water consumption is huge - it takes 5,000 litres of water to produce just one kilo of rice. Although rice cultivation has major environmental impacts, there are measures that can be taken to reduce them.   We should be asking retailers to tell us more about what they are doing to minimise the impacts of rice growing, so that we can support good practices, rather than encourage bad......

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CHEESE - Jun02

I can't remember what prompted my original visit to Coombe Farm, in Somerset, 30 years.  But I do remember that it was a very different place to Coombe Farm today.  Then, there were few outbuildings and I remember long lines of large Cheddar truckles wrapped in linen.  Now Coombe Farm is a modern food processing company, making organic block cheddar amongst other things.  Everything is sparkling clean stainless steel, with pipes and dials and conveyor belts.  Each of us had to don disposable white coats, hats and shoe coverings before we were able to enter the food areas.  We then waved at an electronic eye, which started the hot water jets, so we could wash our hands.

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PRAWNS - May02

I love eating prawns but they are one of the very few foods that I have chosen to boycott.  Whether farmed or trawled they are one of the most environmentally destructive foods that we eat. The thing that makes me really mad is that it is quite easy to find really low quality junk food, which includes prawns.  Ready made, pre-prepared plastic sandwiches full of prawns and ‘mayo’ - most of us would be none the wiser if it was prawn-flavoured paper.  Prawns in convenience foods and at motorway cafes sitting on stale lettuce leaves with globs of pink mayonnaise.  If we are going to eat them, we should make sure we are really appreciating them and dish them up as the luxury they are...

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EGGS - Apr02

To provide for our massive consumption of eggs and for our desire for cheaper and cheaper food, egg-laying chickens have become little more than machines.  They are not even the same breed of bird as they were 20 years ago, as they have been selectively bred to maximise egg production – an average of 6 a week is the industry requirement.  Home-kept chickens, by contrast, lay very little during the winter months, when there is less light. This month I am going to look at what’s behind egg labelling and why some chickens are de-beaked and others not, as well as interview a large scale organic egg producer.

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ORANGES - Jan02

 To get one glass of orange juice it takes 1,000 glasses of water for irrigation, 22 glasses for processing and 2 glasses of diesel fuel.  Surprisingly organic oranges require less irrigation than non-organic ones.  This is because organic orange growers have grasses, herbs and plants growing between the trees, which not only protects the soil from erosion but also helps conserve the moisture.....

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TURKEY - Dec01

In America, where turkeys apparently originate, it is traditional to serve them at Thanksgiving.  But the UK is alone in making it a Christmas tradition, with about 10 million turkeys sold for the seasonal market.  This month I’m going to look at when turkeys got to Britain, how fresh turkeys can be sold by supermarkets, the problems associated with intensively reared birds, why white turkeys are more common than coloured ones and the growing interest in pure breed turkeys......

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PHEASANT - Nov01

The British Trust for Ornithology and the Game Conservancy Trust have done a survey to see what sort of land management suits songbirds, such as yellow hammer, sky larks and tree sparrows, best.  They have found the game cover is not only good for pheasants and partridge, but for these other birds too. Land-owners who rear pheasant will generally be doing other things with their land as well.  They help preserve hedgerows, moorland, ponds and rough habitat for the game birds to live in, as well as plant crops like kale, canary grass and millet for the birds to use as cover and for food.

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APPLES - Oct01

For a long time I have been wanting to visit Brogdale Horticultural Trust – the home of the National Fruit Collection, where they grow over 2,300 apple varieties.  This column gave me a good excuse to make the effort – it is based in Kent and quite a long way from Somerset. This month I am going to look at growing apples, why there are so few apple varieties for sale, why we import vast quantities of apples, even during the season and look into the issue of pesticide residues.  And I will also be telling you more about Apple Day, initiated by Common Ground. .....

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TOMATOES - Sep01

This month I am going to look at why most tomatoes we buy look the same and don’t really taste of much, as well as why blight is a problem for home growers, why some tomatoes we grow could be illegal and what GM tomatoes we might be buying in the future. One dramatic change in commercial tomato growing in the last ten years is that there has been a major reduction in the amount of chemicals applied.   All UK growers now use biological controls to combat pests – this means introducing predators for insects such as whitefly and aphids, rather than chemical sprays.....  

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ICE-CREAM - Aug01

I think that when you are out and about, nothing tastes as good as ice cream in a cornet.  But watch out because some tourist venues are reverting back to packaged products to avoid ‘health and safety’ issues and because scooping out ice creams is more labour-intensive.  If you go on holiday in Britain, look out for locally made, high quality ice creams and support those offering them.

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LETTUCE - Jul01

Last year I was seriously wondering about setting up a ‘Mr McGregor fan club’, as the rabbits ate most of my lettuces (as well as my carrots and beans).  But this year, so far, I’ve been more successful and I’m waiting to crop the healthy red tinged leaves that are sitting alongside my nasturtium edging.  One of the things that has happened to lettuces in the last 10 years or so, is that there are far more varieties on offer.  This month, I am going to look at the lettuce and salad choices we have, as well has how they are grown and of course what chemicals are used....

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STRAWBERRIES - Jun01

Modern day strawberries can be traced back to hybrids between two wild American species, that were developed in Europe in the late 18th century.  But most of the strawberries that were grown in the UK at the beginning of the 20th century are no longer available.  There are probably only four varieties over 40 years old that are available to gardeners today. This month I am going to look at how strawberries can be grown organically, what chemicals are used on conventional crops and the difference between strawberries imported all year round and locally grown crops in season.....

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SALMON - May01

This month Planet Food is focusing on salmon.  We will be looking at some of the health issues, the impacts of fish farming, the status of organic standards and why wild salmon is no longer on the menu.  Whether we are in France, Britain or elsewhere, salmon – almost certainly farmed salmon – is going to continue to be prominent.   But it is clear that there are lots of improvements to be made in this industry.  And we, as consumers, need to push for these to happen. ....

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LAMB - Apr01

The speed at which the foot and mouth epidemic has spread around the country has lead quite a few commentators picking up on the distances animals are transported.   This is, in part, because small local abattoirs have been closing in droves.  One of the biggest pressures they faced was stringent EU health and safety legislation, which was not adapted for small operators. Perhaps the most positive thing to come out of it all will be a serious review of the intensive and global approach to agriculture and greater support for local producers and suppliers.

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BANANAS - Mar01

How do you like your banana?  Apparently most of us prefer a spotless, yellow fruit of uniform shape and taste, and we want it to be available all year round.  These seemingly simple tastes and priorities have impacts, which are felt around the world.  The number of bananas consumed in the UK has doubled in 10 years – the average Briton eats 11kg (25lbs) a year.  As a result of increased demand, forests have been felled to make way for plantations and soil erosion has increased, causing pesticides to run off the land and poison the rivers and seas.  In Costa Rica, the country’s coral reefs have been irreparably damaged.

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