Guest Comment

Why becoming more than a shop could be your biggest opportunity

By turning your store into a real community asset, valued by the local council and consumers alike, you stand to win lots of news...

Embracing sell-o-vision

For fashion and beauty snobs there’s no dirtier acronym than QVC. The original home shopping channel is associated in some people’s imagination with chintzy...

Roll up, get your black candyfloss here

Over the weekend of September 6-8 the Food Organisation of Denmark delivered a first rate consumer show which inspired and delighted visitors to Aarhus ...

If you are testing for vitamin D, don’t forget the calcium!

You name it, vitamin D now appears to fix it! Everything from osteoporosis through to psoriasis and even depression would benefit from a dose...

Three cheers for ethical mob rule

We used to fear mob rule. But if the ‘mob’ is all nice people who you’d be happy to introduce to your mother, well,...

Little supermarkets, big threat?

Having left local high streets for dead the big supermarkets are re-colonising them at a rate of knots with new small-format stores. Big threat...

Stopping the Government from Backtracking on their Herbal Practitioners Promise

You don’t have to work in politics to realise that the Government sometimes promises something with the maximum of fanfare and then, after a...

Drugs, bugs and environment…

It’s always fascinating to see how trends come and go especially in the world of health and medicine. Don’t get me wrong, I love...

Food for (psychiatrists’) thought

In-fighting among psychiatrists over what constitutes mental illness has hit new levels. Craig Sams offers to diagnose their dysfunctional behaviour. Stop the press! The American...

Sugar – are you a user or an abuser?

As experts flail around not solving the global obesity crisis Craig Sams ponders the merits of establishing a new category of crime – Food...

Only organic can rescue our dried out planet

Water trumps everything. Water is food. But the worldwide well is running dry. Only organic can rescue our desiccated planet, says Craig Sams In March...

Serious about sustainability, having fun along the way

Dr Julia Wright reports from the recent Biofach event on why organic organisations make good partners for those serious about sustainability. As mainstream agriculture in...

No place to hide

The internet is the most powerful tool for transparency ever invented. There literally is no place to hide for the perpetrators of food scandals,...

GM – Dream or nightmare?

The American people are going to be very, very angry when the truth about GM food finally comes out, writes Craig Sams When Mark Lynas...

Civilising influences

The ancient Mayan civilisation collapsed over a thousand years ago, but its people lived on and are now part of a new ‘civilisation’ –...

Festishistic? No, just enjoying food and having fun

You Aren’t What You Eat takes pot shots at fetishistic ‘foodists’ while eulogising genetic engineeringists. Craig Sams can only despair at its author’s warped...

It’s independents who are growing organic sales – let’s support them!

Independent retailers are organic's true believers and best promoters. Let's use the powerful 'Organic. Naturally different.' campaign to support them, says Charles Redfern An old...

Do as I say, not as I do

Our democratically elected leaders have a nasty track record of forcing GM food on their citizens while quietly eating organic at home, says Craig...

Who gives a toss about tiny differences in vitamins and minerals?

The fixation with tiny nutritional differences between organic and non-organic is a silly distraction from the real issues, writes Craig Sams. I’m having a bit...

These bio fools are killing us

Bio-fuel subsidies cost the US taxpayer $6 billion – for an end product that uses 70% more energy from fossil fuels to produce than...