Trying to soften people up for the introduction of GM modified foods

Owen Patterson was all over the place in his interview with the Today programme this morning.

He was trying to soften people up for the introduction of GM modified foods (Frankenstein Foods as they are popularly known).

His main argument (in so far as I could follow it) was that the United Kingdom population should be eating these foods because it will help feed the starving in the third world. 

How?

If the third world wants this technology why don't they go ahead and develop it?  Why are we involved?  In any case there is no shortage of food in the world there is only a problem with food distribution.

I do not want this stuff unlabelled on the shelves in British supermarkets.

Mad Cow Disease was a warning that we should not trust bland assurances from "experts" that unnatural food is safe to eat.

And I think we need to be looking very closely at the behaviour of the civil servants in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and using freedom of information requests to see what sort of conversations are going on between civil servants and the companies that are active in the area of GM modified food.

Otherwise we may be seeing civil servants retiring from their posts (with gold plated pensions) and "popping up" on the boards of GM companies - as a reward for helping to get GM food into the United Kingdom food chain.

Update:  Kevin Maguire (Daily Mirror) has just pointed out on his Twitter site: "Horror fact of the day: 6 Walmart heirs together possess same wealth as bottom 42% of Americans (George Packer's The Unwinding in Guardian)".  We want more small scale food production and retailing in the United Kingdom, not the sort of giant farms and giant supermakets that we see elsewhere.  And I would like to see the whole of the British Isles adopt organic farming as a USP we can sell to the rest of the world.

The food chain has become corrupted and adulterated

I'm afraid I am rather cynical about all the protestations of astonishment that the food chain has become corrupted and adulterated.

Fox News warned about "pink slime" back in March 2012:  http://afroml.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/report-by-rick-folbaum-on-fox-news.html

The Environment Secretary Owen Paterson told us back in December 2012 that GM ingredients had entered the food chain and yet were not being listed on labels:  http://afroml.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/highly-controversial-policy.html

The industrialisation of food production has been both mad and cruel.

We need to see heavy prison sentences both for fraud and negligence where labelling is concerned.

We also need to have legal restrictions on the length of the food supply chains:  http://afroml.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/farm-shops.html

Tightening up the labelling on processed food

On Sunday Politics earlier today Owen Patterson (Environment Secretary) said that the horsemeat scandal was an issue of labelling.

While he is (finally) getting round to tightening up the labelling on processed food can we please also have GM ingredients clearly listed and identified as GM.

The erosion of trust

Very perceptive article by Gary Younge in today's Guardian about the erosion of trust vis-a-vis the elite vs the rest of us:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/we-ought-to-care-beyonce-faked-it

The old-fashioned term for this is corruption.  Everything has been corrupted and degraded, so that authenticity and honestly are now remarkable.  This is not, however, the first society that has become rotten (rotten from within like a very beautiful piece of ripe fruit that preserves intact a brittle outer skin of glossy perfection but inside has degraded into a corrupt sweet mush that is being devoured by parasites).

Talking about the corruption of the foodchain with horsemeat Gary Younge says:  "British consumers were given contaminated meat courtesy of foreign farmers, pliant retailers and lax regulations."

And as I read this I thought of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson telling us we may as well get used to eating GM food as it is already in the food chain (and his department has done nothing about it and, it would seem, does not intend to do anything about it apart from lecture us on how wrong we are to choose what we will eat and what we will not eat).

Farm shops

Very interesting discussion on the Today programme this morning about childhood obesity.

I think one initiative that would help would be to give farm shops (genuine farm shops, supplied by collectives of local farms and producers) incentives to open on High Streets - low rents, no taxes, refunded VAT.

Even the most urban areas are less than twenty miles from the countryside where food is produced.

This would help farmers by-pass the supermarkets; deliver low-cost fresh unprocessed food into High Street locations (helping to revive the High Street); and also re-establish the social connection between the food we eat and the farmers who produce it.

Note:  it is not really acceptable for Diane Abbott to disassociate herself from the inadequacies of the last Labour government as if it were all nothing to do with her.  She campaigned to elect that government, supported it with her votes through thirteen dreadful years, and in 2010 was STILL wanting that administration and those people to be sustained in power.  She could has resigned from the Labour whip and sat as an independent, but as she choose to stay with the Labour party she must answer questions about what Labour did in office.

Highly controversial policy

I'm not at all happy about the unilateral decision to introduce genetically modified food into the United Kingdom.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson says that people are already "unwittingly" eating GM food, and that therefore the the status of the food needs to be legitimised.

Mr Peterson seems to think that simply because he and his government colleagues have been incompetent over the policing of food safety he is then justified in assuming he has agreement in going ahead with this highly controversial policy.

"You know what this reminds me of, the end of Major's government when they knew they were going to lose and they were just pushing through policies willy-nilly 'cos they could not be sure when they would be back in power again".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20664016
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9734602/Speed-up-relaxing-of-rules-on-GM-crops-says-Downing-Street.html 

Six point plan to improve my health

I have not been feeling well recently.  Especially I have been feeling tired all the time, I keep catching colds, and sometimes I struggle to breath (a horrible experience).  My GP says he can't find anything wrong with me, so I went to see Helen's mother who is a nutritionist (I offered to pay her for the appointment, but she wouldn't accept anything).

She has given me a six point plan to improve my health.  It covers diet, exercise, sleep, stress, food supplements and phyto-nutrition.  I have my doubts but I am going to try it for a month.

Diet

Most GP's have no training in nutrition, and yet it is the single most important factor in maintaining good health.  Poor diet is the cause of most chronic (non-infectious) disease.  Bad diet leads to heart disease, cancers, depression etc.  I am supposed to be giving up bread (which I know is impossible, but rye bread is allowed), red meat, sugar.  No processed food of any kind.  Replace with fruit and vegetables (10 portions, ideally including at least three apples a day), lean meat, occasional good quality dark chocolate (high polyphenol).

No alcohol (I might last a month), no tea or coffee (no chance of this), no fizzy drinks.

Exercise

I'm aiming to run three miles a day.  Because the weather is so cold a wet now I am stopping off at a gym on my way home and using a treadmill.  Walking also counts, so at the weekends I will walk the dogs for three miles.

I also need to increase muscle mass, which helps metabolic rate.

So I am looking to Paul Amos for advice http://www.theactivechannel.com/player/abman-ripped-365

Sleep

My bed from a recent stay in an hotel. Not enough sleep is one of the areas I know I must improve.  Most nights I am lucky to get 5 hours when really I should be aiming for 8 hours.

The trouble is I am usually wide awake at 11pm (Newsnight) when I should be preparing to go to sleep.

Stress

I find the easiest way to relieve stress is to walk the dogs in the countryside.  If I miss this for any reason (overwork, going away, bad weather) I start to feel stressed.  Stress is a big killer, so needs to be addressed.

Food supplements

Your GP will tell you that you can get all the nutrients you need "from a balanced diet".  This overlooks the fact that it is almost impossible to eat an old-style balanced diet without spending lots of time in preparation and cooking and lots of money buying high-quality fresh food.  I have been told to take magnesium and chromium, and I am working my way through these giant tubs of capsules.

Phyto-nutrients - eating the right plants

This is the area that is probably the most controversial part of the advice I was given.  Basically Helen's mother has developed an interpretation of nutrition inspired by Goethe's Urpflanze theory.  Humans evolved from primates over a period of millions of years, and for almost all of that time they ate only plants, wandering in enormous continental circuits and consuming roots, barks, leaves, berries, nuts, flowers etc from a continuous rotation of edible plants.  As the seasons changed different plants came into season, and so the diet was varied on an almost weekly basis.  The evolution of the human body was intimately linked to the consumption of these plants, and without them our bodies are susceptible to disease (this is supposedly because the wet internal surfaces of the body are home to billions of microbes which regulate our health, and over the course of evolution these microbes were modified by the plants eaten by primitive humans). 

Apparently there are 350 different plant parts you need to consume each year to maintain optimum health and keep disease at bay (so roughly one different plant per day).

You don't need much, perhaps only a little of each plant extract, but the important thing is to keep up the variation and rotation.  There is evidence that suggests in the paleolithic period a travelling "stock-pot" of plants was kept on the go, supplemented with new plants on a daily basis and providing a sort of paleolithic superfood.  In the comments section I have listed the majority of plants, many of them have constituents which are anti-inflammatory (the importance of this depends on whether you believe cancer is inflammation that is out of control).

Caveat - I have no idea whether any of this is true, and I record this mainly because Helen's mother is notorious for not writing up her work.  Also some of the plants are poisonous.  I have no intention of trying all of them (you can buy most of the plants extracts from Neals Yard in Covent Garden, but they are not cheap).

Anyway, I freely admit I have my doubts about this theory, and will probably just try one or two and see how it goes.

I am addicted to Asda own-brand diet cherry cola

Went to a talk by a nutritionist, a very inspiring teacher.  Have long suspected my diet is not good.  Among the many things she said was to cut out completely all processed foods.

Especially, no fizzy drinks.

This causes me a problem as I think I am addicted to Asda own-brand diet cherry cola.

I used to drink diet cherry Coke, but gave it up because of the aspartame (after watching David Catudal on diet and exercise).  I switched to the Asda brand as it has sucralose, which is supposed to be safer.  But now even this has to go.

Rosehips

One of the programmes I am really enjoying at the moment (along with Good Cop, Parades End and The Thick of It) is Wartime Farm on BBC2.

The latest episode told us about the health properties of rosehips, which made me look with new interest at the succulent rosehips on the dogroses along the lane.

I think I will put them in a blender and try a rosehip smoothie (along with some other fruit as I can't imagine they will taste nice).

Sainsbury's

Very impressed by this Sainsbury's mailshot.

Not only money-off vouchers but a compelling list of why you should do your shopping at Sainsbury's:  supporting farmers, Fairtrade products, sustainable fishing, animal welfare, donations to the Woodland Trust.

The ethical case is overwhelming.

Genetically-modified wheat

Listening to the Today programme this morning am I the only person who is disgusted by the idea that genetically-modified wheat will contain cow genes?  Is the resulting wheat a plant or an animal?  And why is taxpayers' money being spent on this project when public opinion is so completely opposed to the idea of GM food?

Also I am not convinced by the assurances of safety by government experts.  These are the same experts who gave us absolute assurances that meat from animals infected with mad cow disease was completely safe.  Look how many people died from that frankenstein episode.

Steve Evans talking about Germany's asparagus harvest

Normally I enjoy From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Radio 4, but the programme earlier today was marred by Steve Evans talking about Germany's asparagus harvest.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17753372

He shouted his piece as if he was standing about five feet away from the microphone, which added a hectoring tone to the broadcast.

He also talked very slightingly about British seasonal food, saying that the tradition of seasonal food had been "lost" in the United Kingdom.  Possibly for urban media luvvies inhabiting a city-based bubble of ignorance and social dislocation this may be true.  But for the majority of people who live outside the city sprawl seasonal food is celebrated just as much as it is in Germany.

Stephen Evans also repeated the urban myth "We know that chicken tikka massala is the British national dish".

How do we know this?

I cannot find any evidence to support this other than a throw-away remark in a speech by Robin Cook.

If there is no evidence about chicken tikka massala being the British national dish perhaps the BBC could stop repeating it.

Or does the BBC no longer care about accuracy?

Stuffed chine

Plate of stuffed chine which is a great delicacy in the county.

Pork shoulder cured, then stuffed with various herbs including onions, parsley, thyme, celery, borage, lemonbalm, applemint, dandelion leaves and whatever other herbs happened to be in season (the taste varying with the seasons).

A famous farmhouse kitchen dish, it is best when freshly made - which is probably why you do not find it in supermarkets.

Usually served as a cold meat with salad and boiled potatos (buttered).

Sustainability policies

Above is a screen print.

I received an e-mail from Sainsbury's on Tuesday about their sustainability policies towards the fish products they sell. This sensitivity to ethical issues is one of the many reasons Sainsbury's has overtaken Asda and is challenging Tescos for the position of leading supermarket in the United Kingdom. I also like the way they label some of their meat "cruelty free" with a blue and white logo - it makes it a lot easier to shop rather than try to work out what a particular label is really saying (for instance, Tescos will have a picture of a farmer and a statement that the meat is produced to the high welfare standards Tescos demands, without saying what those standards are or whether they are independently audited).



Above: I was haunted by this article in the Guardian published February 2010 in which Jonathan Safran Foer talked about the suffering endured by farmed fish. Especially the revelation that sea lice (which thrive in sea farms) eat the faces off sea farmed salmon. Since reading this I have stopped buying farmed salmon.



Above: article in today's Guardian about alternatives to popular fish. He mentions a "sustainable" fish farm in Port Talbot which I might check. Joining "Europe" was a disaster for the British fishing industry - it just meant that non-British people were given a licence to pillage the fishing areas around the British Isles (and for what? what is the point of joining an organisation that behaves so appallingly?).

Foraging

As summer draws to a close the hedgerows are full of wild produce. It is a reminder of how important foraging used to be for the county's population. In the pre-industrial period food came from three distinct sectors - cereal cultivation, livestock husbandry, and hunting.

Each village tended to focus on one of these three activities, combined with subsidiary contributions from the other two (so for instance, the men of one village might be predominently growers of wheat but also carry out occasional hunting expeditions). The social and cultural aspects of food production contributed to the identity of lineage groups (hunters were very different people from livestock keepers in terms of physical characteristics, attitudes to risk, lay-out of settlements etc). All these groups regarded seasonal foraging as important.

"Foraging" tends to imply wandering the countryside helping yourself to the fruits and nuts growing wild. In reality almost every copse, hedgerow, even individual trees would be held in common ownership by a particular village. Pillaging, although widespread, would be punished by retaliatory raids.

Looking around the countryside I have found the following:



Above: sloes or prunus spinosa. Used for pies, jams and tarts. Also made into an alcoholic drink.



Above: elderberries or sambucus. Used to make cordials and marmalades. Also of value as a primitive treatment for influenza.



Above: dog rose hips or rosa canina. Vaulable source of vitamin C, traditionally made into jelly. Also fed to horses (improves coat condition).



Above: hawthorn berries or crataegus laevigata. Used throughout the county as a flavouring for traditional breads (including St Edith's bread). Also used for centuries as a treatment for heart conditions.



Above: wild apples. Not sure if this is a crab apple tree or a domesticated apple that has grown wild. Apples if stored correctly will last over the winter.



Above: foraging from commonly-owned resources eventually led to the development of micro-environmental specialists who were responsible for little orchards and fruit gardens. This tradition persists to this day in small-scale production of fruits that have no commercial potential. On the local market I saw these blackberries for sale, and also some small plums that are supposed to be specific to the south east of the county.

Barley

Recently I have been thinking about barley.



Above: this is the barley growing in the field just to the north of the house. It is grown in the county as a summer crop. I have watched this field of barley grow from seed and feel very protective towards it. Probably barley was the first grain domesticated by humans about ten thousand years ago. You can buy barley bread in Sainsburys. There are many health benefits to eating barley.



Above: the Barley Mow pub. A very convivial establishment (pubs are important social spaces throughout the county). Note the lucky horseshoe nailed at the side of the door. Drinking barley beer has been a popular occupation since Neolithic times. The mythological figure John Barleycorn is a personification of barley beer. More than any other alcoholic drink, the consumption of barley beer is linked to traditional concepts of "plenty", leisure and festivity.



Above: barley is also made into non-alcoholic barley water. Robinsons Lemon Barley Water is probably the best known brand, and has cliched associations with lawn tennis and Wimbledon Fortnight. This very traditional drink is one of the diet items that contribute to English identity.

Cloned food

On the Today programme this morning there was a discussion about products from cloned animals entering the food chain (milk, beef etc). Two "experts", including one from the recently abolished Food Standards Agency, were blithely assuring us that there was nothing wrong with cloned food. As usual Evan Davis was pathetically ineffectual as an interviewer.

What was missing from the discussion was any acknowledgement that no mandate exists from the people to introduce cloned products into the food chain. All the available evidence tells us that the ordinary people of this country do not want cloned food. There are strict regulations currently in force that prohibit cloning.

And yet this cosy little radio chat end with a general agreement that the regulations against cloned food would be dropped. As if it was a done deal. As if Mad Cow Disease and all the other horrors had never happened.

What is to be done with the arrogant elite in this country that thinks they can do what they like irrespective of public opinion?

The animal rights movement will tell you that the only way to curb these people is through violence.

I do not share this view, but I can see how they have come to that conclusion.

When are the people involved in selling cloned food going to be arrested and put on trial?

PS and I am not happy about the plans to build a "super dairy" on Nocton Heath in Lincolnshire.

Krispy Kreme

Above: Krispy Kreme.

I don't know what made me buy this Krispy Kreme doughnut. I wasn't hungry. The experience wasn't particularly noteworthy (certainly not the catharsis others have claimed to experience when consuming these items).

Was this a waste of money? Was this an indefensible indulgence in the decadant foodstuffs of a dying materialist culture? Or was it consumer choice taken to its logical conclusion?

Delighted

It was good to see that Sainsburys has started selling cottage loaves. The drab experience of going round the store on a Friday evening was suddenly transformed. It was a textbook example of delighting the customer (well, it delighted me).

I suppose it's possible that they have always sold cottage loaves but they run out before I get to the shop.

But this is the first time I have seen a cottage loaf on sale in a supermarket.

Now I want to see a "cottage brick" (a London delicacy) on sale.

Finest in the world

Lots of fresh produce is available at the moment if you only make the effort to drive out into the countryside.



Above: English asparagus is supposed to be the finest in the world. It is to do with the fluctuations in temperature and rainfall at the time it is growing. Imported asparagus tends to be hard and stalky.



Above: these are going to be last season's potatoes, but still good value if you load up with a sack or two.



Above: local honey varies in taste according to where the bees have gathered their pollen (orchards on the great plain, heather on the heaths, clover in the riverside pastures). Supermarket honey has been heat-treated and transported half-way round the world, so should be avoided. The Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf describes warriors drinking mead - honey wine.



Above: many farmhouse kitchens contain recipes collected over the generations. Often (if you ask) you find they have a ledger-book containing hand-written recipes dating back to the late Victorian period. Pies, jams, long-forgotten puddings etc.