Advantages: Eradicated some disease, some efficiencies
Disadvantages: Use of Fossil Fuels, Pollution, Destruction of the Ecosystem

...considerably firstly since the Industrial Revolution, but mostly since the growth of the supermarket industry in the UK (and other developed nations) After the second world war in Europe, the focus was on the quantity of food grown to feed the population, rather than the quality, and perhaps this is when quality started to decline. Now the world shortage of food is predominantly in the poor countries, but improvements in their basic sanitisation and living conditions and a reduction in the infant mortality rate and a reduction in the death rate mean that the world population is growing quite dramatically, although we might not always realise it as the UK population is not changing so dramatically. If everyone ate as we did in the West, with all the associated production chain, we would need more planets to feed everyone, which links back... Read review

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Advantages: Challenging yet rewarding.
Disadvantages: Money can be poor in the early years.

...Working in Food Ingredient Product Development? Well, the general scope of this seems pretty straightforward wouldn’t you say? On the surface you’d be right, but there lies beneath a huge web of career possibilities! Food Ingredients – for the purpose of the opinion I am talking about seasonings, flavour blends and other similar products – these are products manufactured by a number of companies in the UK and throughout the world and are supplied to almost ALL food producers. Snack food flavours, meat coatings, meat seasonings, burger binders, instant soups and so on. A little bit about myself first really, to set the scene and give examples. I’m employed in the food industry as a ‘savoury flavour technologist’ that is to say I create and develop snack food flavourings and seasonings. The company I work for (in Milton Keynes... Read review

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Advantages: Another challenge met, another op completed
Disadvantages: I cheated

...Caroline Lamb said after he’d given her the chop (“the most unkindest cutlet of all”?). It could make for an unusual approach, or at least medium-rare, but would anyone recognise a spoof of 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'? Not even me, probably. Anyway, I’ve overdone the verse lately. So I decided to opt for the easy, cop-out derivative approach, and asked Google for some quotes that combined Paula's words with foodstuffs, with the results below. For some obscure reason, none of them seemed calculated to whet the appetite, which is why this is posted under 10 Worst Foods. * * * * * * * * * 1. Obscure liquors (bucket) From Observer.guardian.co.uk (The Observer, Sunday August 11, 2002): In every household lurks a potential danger, propped up in the back of our cupboards, untouched, gleaming with menace. Yes, it's that bottle... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of variety of baby foods, my boy loves them!
Disadvantages: Not sold in most supermarkets, a bit more expensive, smaller jars than some brands

...some of the Beechnut range but I found them much more expensive at 69p for 113grams!). I really liked the fact that BeechNut offer some really interesting food combinations and I liked the idea of giving my LO such foods as pineapple, sweet potato, sweet peas, prunes and several other ingredients which I have not found in the HIPP, Cow and Gate baby foods. Perhaps this is because BeechNut is an American brand which has been producing baby food for 75 years and obviously since these foods are produced in the USA, they have different regulations regarding what can be used in baby food, although there are no dangerous ingredients or ingredients that are illegal in the UK, it is probably more a case of the UK based food companies sticking to their safe (but boring) tried and tested baby foods. Anyway, needless to say that my little boy... Read review

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Advantages: Lovely to read, and lovely photographs.
Disadvantages: none

...and you'll feel a genuine excitement when the first asparagus, strawberries, peas or Seville oranges appear. After all there's nothing nicer than rediscovering the flavour of food s you love and haven't eaten for a while.' Where can you buy it? One place is at www.amazon.co.uk, you can buy it in hardback for £14.99 and it's delivered free in the UK. This book would make a great gift for someone who is passionate about cooking, or even someone who is new to cooking. It's an easy read, with lots of simple recipes. www.waitrose.com I was just browsing through this site when I came across a Season to Taste section which is quite relevant to this topic. To read the whole section go to: http://www.waitrose.com/food/celebritiesandarticles/cookingandrecipeideas/0 206036.aspx Otherwise, here is the opening... Read review

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Advantages: Homemade is best but readymade can be convienient
Disadvantages: Parents can feel under pressure

...With 'Baby Food' being such a huge topic and with much advice being available from health visitors and reference books, I thought in this review I would just take a look at one of my favourite readymade products and then just give some brief advice on foods to concentrate on as you wean your baby over the first 12 months. It is important to remember that breast or formula milk still has a huge part to play in your baby's diet over the first 12 months and that heavily sugared products should be avoided. Extra drinks can be given as cooled boiled water up until the age of 6 months and after that fresh cool tap water is fine. Any bottles and accessories used in feeding milk or dairy products should be sterilised for the first 12 months to avoid the risk of illness or stomach upset. I don't usually purchase too much ready... Read review

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Advantages: Eating stuff that tastes good.
Disadvantages: I can't think of a single one.

..., telephony, internet access - they feel to me like Big Brother. I resent much of the food they sell - it is over-processed, nutritionally poor. I resent the effect their buying practices have had upon UK agriculture. I don't like the idea of eating food produced by abused labourers abroad. I think the "choice" they offer is illusory. Q2: Are you aware of any food produce(s) made in your area specifically? Yes, there's gazillions of it because I live in a rural area! Erm... ok. I buy the vast majority of my meat and poultry from an organic farmer and butcher on a farm about four miles from here. I buy about two thirds of my vegetables and all my eggs from a smallholding about a mile away. I buy trout from an organic farm three or four miles away. We have two brewers within walking distance and their beers are jolly good! Everywhere you look... Read review

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Advantages: Will put you off unhealthy fast food for the rest of your life.
Disadvantages: Maybe a bit one sided.

...the sort of people that are employed at fast food restaurants. Why are they almost always teenagers? You may not know about how they are treated, what training they do or don't get, and what happens if they try to join a union. With so many of our children being employed by these sort of outlets at some point in their life, even if only as a holiday job, there are things in this book that every parent will want to know. McDonalds prides itself in making its food taste the same all over the world. If you eat a BigMac in the UK, it should taste the same as a BigMac in Russia. Ever wondered why the chips that you make at home, or that you buy elsewhere, never have that unique high intensity taste that McDonalds fries do? In the US, up until 1990, the potatoes were fried in 7% cottonseed oil and 90& beef tallow. The fries taste good because... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, some excellent features, great photography.
Disadvantages: It assumes that the reader can't or won't cook.

...more challenging. You might wonder why there's such an emphasis on Orlando Murrin in a review of BBC Good Food magazine. It is because he had (and still has) such a strong influence on it. He significantly changed the content and style of what had previously been a middle-of-the-road food magazine about food. Not particlarly exciting, but useful, dependable, and interesting. Under Murrin it became a lot more gimmicky and more aimed at the person who was reluctant or unable to spend time in the kitchen. Orlando Murrin is still Editorial Consultant to BBC Good Food magazine. I bought the magazine a few times when in the UK last year (current price £2.90 for 180 pages), but nothing much had changed and I wasn't enticed to subscribe again. However, BBC Good Food is no longer the only magazine in its niche. Watch out for a new review... Read review

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Advantages: Yummy.
Disadvantages: Not currently in my tummy.

.... It doesn’t matter if the food’s spicy or not, I love it. It’s a relief being back in the UK because the Chinese food in New Zealand where I’ve been for the last six months just wasn’t up to the same standards. Well, that’s not strictly true, it was sort of, except for the fact they bulked out all their portions with broccoli or cauliflower. You order a portion of chicken fried rice and end up with half a portion of chicken fried rice and half a portion of broccoli. Bah. At least now, I can indulge whole portions! The only downside is that the seafood dishes were better in New Zealand. • My Pasta Salad Yummy. Pasta twirls in a lemon mayonnaise with salmon, cucumber and celery. It's absolutely fantastic, if I do say so myself. Want the recipe? Well, good luck to you if you’re going to follow this, cos I typically “use the Force” when I do... Read review

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