Julia Hailes - Writing-BBC-PlanetFood

JULIA HAILES MBE

BBC - PLANET FOOD


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Between March 2001 and October 2002 I wrote a regular monthly column for BBC Online initially on their 'Nature' site and then on their 'Food' site. Below is a summary of the articles with links to the original and the edited version, where possible, as well as recipes written by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. These include: squashes, mushrooms, tuna, rice, cheese, prawns, eggs, pork, potatoes, oranges, turkey, pheasant, apples, tomatoes, ice-cream, lettuce, strawberries, salmon, lamb, bananas.
Squashes - Oct 02
	As a child we often ate marrow and courgettes but only recently have I discovered the joys, both in taste and visual appearance of a vast array of other squashes. This month I have interviewed a number of people who are pumpkin or squash enthusiasts to hear why and how they grow them, as well as what they like about them.........	Original squash Article BBC Online Article - squash Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Squash recipes
Mushrooms - Sep 02
	Commercial mushroom growing is a huge industry in the UK and Ireland. One of the major issues for this industry is the vast amount of peat they use. In this month’s article, I will be looking at the impacts of peat extraction, why peat is used, whether there are alternatives for mushroom growers and what organic mushroom producers do.	Original Mushroom Article BBC Online Article - Mushrooms Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Mushroom Recipes
Tuna - Aug 02
	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......	Original Tuna Article BBC Online Article - Tuna Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Tuna Recipes
Rice - Jul 02
	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......	Original Rice Article BBC Online Article - Rice Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Rice Recipes
Cheese - Jun 02
	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.	Original Cheese Article BBC Online Article - Cheese Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Cheese Recipes
Prawns - May 02
	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...	Original Prawns Article BBC Online Article - Prawns Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Prawn Recipes
Eggs - Apr 02
	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.	BBC Online Article - Eggs Original Eggs Article Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Egg Recipes
Pork - Mar 02
	Interestingly home-reared pork is very rarely organic. If you feed the pigs kitchen waste (this may not be legal any more), which does not come from organic produce, it would not fit the criteria. For most other animals you need to buy bought in food, so this is not an issue. But in February 2002 I went to see how commercial pigs are reared and visited Cranswick in Yorkshire. They showed me what they did and told me all about the complexities of pig feed in today’s world......	Original Pork Article BBC Online Article - Pork Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Pork Recipes
Potatoes - Feb 02
	A number of years ago I was lucky enough to go to Ecuador, en route to the Galapagos Islands. I can still conjure up the images of the Ecuadorian market stalls laid out with lots of different potato varieties. They were different colours, different shapes and different sizes – a visual treat. This month I will be looking at chemicals used to surpress sprouting and the use of copper sulphate in potato growing.....	Original Potatoes Article BBC Online Article - Potatoes Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Potato Recipes
Oranges - Jan 02
	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.....	Original Oranges Article BBC Online Article - Oranges Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Oranges Recipes
Turkey - Dec 01
	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......	Original Turkey Article BBC Online Article - Turkey Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Turkey Recipes
Pheasant - Nov 01
	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.	Original Game Article BBC Online Article - Game Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Game Recipes
Apples - Oct 01
	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. .....	Original Apple Article BBC Online Article - Apples Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Apple Recipes
Tomatoes Sep 01
<Photo credit: Heirloom Tomatoes>	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.....	BBC Online Article - Tomatoes Original Tomatoes Article Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Tomato Recipes
Ice-cream Aug 01
	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.	Original Ice-cream Article BBC Online Article - Ice-cream Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Ice-cream Recipes
Lettuce - Jul 01
	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....	Original Lettuce Article BBC Online Article - Lettuce Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Lettuce Recipes
Strawberries - Jun 01
	Modern day strawberries can be traced back to hybrids between two wild American species, that were developed in Europe in the late 18^th century. But most of the strawberries that were grown in the UK at the beginning of the 20^th 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......	Original Strawberries Article Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Strawberry Recipes
Salmon - May 01
	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. ....	Original Salmon Article Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Salmon Recipes
Lamb - Apr 01
	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.	Original Lamb Article (and Food Miles) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Lamb Recipes
Bananas - Mar 01 - First Article
<Photo credit: Banana Link>	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.	Original Bananas Article, which includes the introduction to Planet Food, an article about fair trade and a recipe for banana smoothie., which includes the introduction to Planet Food, an article about fair trade and a recipe for banana smoothie.

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Last Updated:01 May, 2008