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The following – based on a on a lecture I gave in 1999 at the Royal Society no less – is an example of a “paradigm shift”: one that is now taking the science of nutrition into the realms of microbiology and evolutionary biology.
Science is indeed wondrous but it has limitations – which, as Sir Paul Nurse demonstrated in a popular and doubtless influential article published in 2021, are not always recognized by some of its most adept practitioners.
British Science Week is celebrating science – which indeed we ought to do. But, says Colin Tudge, we must discuss the caveats too.
The parlous state of the British food system was laid bare for all to see, or rather not see, from the empty shelves in supermarkets this February. The loudest complaint concerned lack of tomatoes, but other salad ingredients such as cucumbers and peppers were absent. Why were people expecting to find these things in February?
We certainly should behave as if does, says Colin Tudge There are loads of laws around the world including Britain to protect various components of the natural world and this of course is good – but the existing laws are almost entirely for our own, human benefit. The law in general regards our fellow creatures […]
When the UK joined the European Common Market in 1973, the UK’s fishing fleet was vast, and supported numerous coastal towns and cities. During our time in the European Union the size of our fishing fleet dwindled to almost nothing and yet it became a focal point of the Brexit debate. Despite being an island nation, we eat fewer fish than many European countries, and 80% of the fish landed here continues to be exported. How has the place of fish in our food culture changed over the last 50 years and what needs to change in the future?
Colin Tudge on a new report from Green Alliance on the future of UK farming The latest report from Green Alliance — Shaping UK Land Use — has much to commend it. It seeks a new balance between our need to produce more food, to take better care of the natural world, and to mitigate…
This was the discussion that took place during the Oxford Real Farming Conference when a panel, consisting of myself, Mo Wilde and Lynn Cassells, responded to questions posed by Dan Saladino, After an hour, we had barely begun to scratch the surface and a further half hour of questions from the attendees highlighted some other issues. Mo Wilde posseted that perhaps we should adjourn to the pub for the rest of the day, but other sessions beckoned, so this blog aims to summarise key points and provide a forum for further discussion.
And why in particular is the world’s agriculture so off-beam?
Extreme wealth is potentially as dangerous as any weapons of war, says Colin Tudge. So why are we so relaxed about it?