Mix flour, water and yeast and you’ve got a tasty loaf of bread. But make your bread the industrial way and you’ll end up eating more than you bargained for.
Metrosexual man cares about his appearance. He uses body sprays, hair gel, and fragrances. He maybe even eats salads. Does he give any thought as to what social norms have forced onto his skin?
In this special online collection of Pat Thomas' acclaimed 'Behind the Label' series, we bring you five food products that shouldn't be on your kitchen shelves...
Ethical consumerism in the UK is currently worth £29.3 billion, yet 60 per cent of us feel we don't have enough information to make an ethical decision. There is an ever-growing array of eco labels, but what do they tell us? Or fail to tell us? Pat Thomas explains
It has spawned a dozen urban legends. It gets praised and reviled by bloggers. And it tastes like carbonated cough syrup. But does Red Bull do you any good? Pat Thomas reports
Food is supposed to be good for you, which is why many people believe that functional foods such as cholesterol-lowering spreads are a ‘good thing’. But are they? Pat Thomas reports
Obesity is a problem that is chronic, stigmatised, costly to treat and rarely curable. Why? Because we are looking in the wrong places for a solution. Pat Thomas reports
The human gut is a unique ecosystem and the hallmark of any healthy ecosystem is the presence of a diversity of micro-organisms. If you are a slave to probiotic drinks you could be encouraging an unhealthy imbalance. Pat Thomas reports.
The exuberance of childhood celebrated in books such as Just William is now frowned upon as inappropriate behaviour, resulting in more and more children being prescribed behavioural drugs. Rachel Ragg investigates
A 1971 editorial from the ecologist founding editor Edward Goldsmith on how our society is becoming ever more addicted to gimmicks intended to ensure our survival in ever less favourable conditions
Over 1,000 juvenile delinquents showed a 44 per cent drop in antisocial behaviour when put on a low sugar diet. So why is the government completely ignoring what we are feeding our children, and yet is happy to spend £2,500 on administering each ASBO?
If you 'deskfast' with sugary, fat-filled cereal bars instead of eating a good breakfast you could be doing untold damage to your body and mind. By Pat Thomas
Fear of traffic risks and ‘stranger danger’ are holding our children captive indoors. For the sake of their health and development, and for the environment they will one day need to protect, we have to find ways of getting them into the wild.
The huge popularity of antibacterial household cleaners is encouraging superbugs,
allergies, immune-system failure and dangerous environmental pollution. It’s time to
stop cleaning ourselves to death.
Action and Information on Sugars (AIS) was created by public health dentists and dietitians in the mid-1980s to dispel the myths about sugars and health propagated by the sweet foods industries. One of our greatest successes was a campaign to stop GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) claiming that its Ribena ToothKind drink ‘did not encourage tooth decay’. The claim was endorsed by the British Dental Association (BDA).
Have you ever heard of – let alone tasted – the Rats Tail radish, the Crookneck squash or the Prince of Prussia pea? We report on what’s being done to save Britain’s rich agricultural heritage.
