Blog

A list of all the articles published on this site

  • Never mind the evidence – feel the ideology!

    It’s not economic “growth” that matters, says Colin Tudge. It’s equality  Lest we thought the madness of Trussonomics had disappeared with her own assisted abdication a senior Tory MP popped up on Channel 4 News to tell us once more (a) that the only way to solve Britain’s mounting problems is by economic growth, apparently…

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  • The importance of being idle

    In a brief but brilliant soap-box speech (albeit delivered from a Paris balcony), and in the midst of on-going strikes, Jean-Luc Melenchon** argued that the present-day economy and the politics and mindset behind them are, quite simply, mad. We are all of us obliged to work harder and harder in effect to stay in the…

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  • Should we all turn vegetarian?

    Perhaps in a perfect world we should all be vegetarian – or indeed vegan. But, says Colin Tudge, this isn’t a perfect world and a low-meat diet served by agroecological farming is probably the best that we should aim for  Rumour has it that Oxford City Council, following the County Council’s lead of two years…

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  • Easter Spices

    Our homogenized food distribution network shows no respect for our food culture or regional specialities. Throw out your mixed spice and flavour your Easter baking with care.

  • The world beneath our feet

    Colin Tudge reflects upon Bruce Ball’s latest book, Healing Soil Truly the things we take for granted – like the Earth, and indeed life — are the most wondrous. Nothing is more taken for granted — and routinely abused — than soil; and yet, as Bruce Ball illustrates in his latest book, Healing Soil, the…

  • The absolute importance of “Cryptonutrients” and why “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”

    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.

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  • Who are the real friends of science?

    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.

  • What will be the message of British Science Week?

    British Science Week is celebrating science – which indeed we ought to do. But, says Colin Tudge, we must discuss the caveats too.

  • Rotten Tomatoes

    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?

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  • Does nature have rights?

    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…

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