Overview

John Humphrys is passionate about the state of British food, farming, fishing and agriculture. Here, he looks back to the days of organic farming in England when people shared and swapped food and considered the wildlife as well as the farmed animals, crops and fruits. He examines today's travesties: factory farming, pouring chemicals into the land, the scandal of the supermarket wars and cheap imported goods. He then turns to the future and asks: Can we save this ravaged earth and rebuild our community values Most of all, can we reverse the damage to ourselves and our long-term health that may result from what we eat John Humphrys' book requires the full attention of anyone who cares about themselves or the future.

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9780340770467

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Reviews

1 'Compelling' Observer 2 'Thought-provoking, well-researched' Fordyce Maxwell, Scotsman 3 'Incisive and readable' Mick Hume, The Times 4 'Humphrys's level-headedness makes the arguments all the more powerful' Paul Heiney, The Sunday Times 5 'This could be the best diet book ever written' The Sunday Times 6 'Without being sentimental, it is a passionate discourse... well-written and accessible. My only concern is that its message is likely to be ignored where it matters most.' Tim Lang, Independent

The press and media in Britian have indulged themselves in so much sensational reporting during recent food crises that when one is presented with a book subtitled 'What we are doing to our food and how it affects our health' written by a prominent broadcaster preconceptions are almost inevitable. However, this book turns out to be neither scaremongering nor timid, and manages to be even-handed and informative while remaining an enjoyable and witty read throughout. Humphrys covers all aspects of our relationship with the food we eat - a relationship so close that we barely even consider it - from the natural diets of our early human ancestors to the way we think - or don't think - about food today. He documents the massive post-war revolutions of intensive farming and of pesticides and antibiotics and their short-term benefits, and also their long term ramifications of present-day food production methods, and their involvement in the foot-and-mouth and BSE disasters; and investigates world-changing issues such as genetic engineering which we face in the future. This is not a book which seeks to point the finger; rather, a pragmatic tone runs through the text, looking for solutions rather than scapegoats. The position of the farming community is put sympathetically for once; the villains of this piece tend to have initials rather than names: CAP, MAFF, DDT. Once you've read this book you will never eat farmed salmon again. Important stuff. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

In a broadcasting career spanning forty years John Humphrys has reported from all over the world for the BBC and presented its frontline news programmes on both radio and television. He has won a string of national awards and been described as a 'national treasure'. He owned a dairy farm for ten years and has homes in Wales and London.

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