The Human Imprint

365 days to go?

The chairman of Natural England, Sir Martin Doughty remarks on the state of British wildlife has been reported in the Telegraph. There is huge concern over the decline in hegehogs, water voles and harvest mice. The artile suggests that the "numbers of farmland birds have declined by 70 per cent in less than 40 years while house sparrows have declined by a similar amount in just 30 years and bumble bee populations have halved since the 1950s".

"He called for an urgent programme of planting with new tree-lined streets in cities and special wildlife areas on farms to help replace lost habitats - including the disappearance of 97 per cent of flower rich meadows in 60 years".

He commentated that "Populations of hedgehogs, house sparrows and other well-loved British animals could spiral into terminal decline in the next year unless urgent action is taken to preserve them."

Is this a high priority for the UK general public at a time of financial constraint?

A survey conducted by BT found that broadband topped the list of things people would refuse to give up when they considered they needed to tighten their belts. "Some 57 per cent cited their internet connection, with 43 per cent saying they couldn't go without fresh fruit and vegetables.
Alcohol and new clothes came far lower with 17 and 13 per cent respectively". The survey suggests that some people would rather give up fresh fruit and vegetables than their internet connection knowing the health benefits that they afford.

 

Would people want to see more expensive food in return for environmental benefits for wildlife or that environmental benefits are paid for by tax rather than schools or hospitals? We will all have to make decisions regarding budgets over the next few months from policy makers down to individuals .. what will we see as valuable, what will we consider important and the things that we just can't do without?

Ecological footprint of textiles

Fairly recent research looked at the ecological footprint of cotton, hemp and polyester. Whilst polyester has virtually no water footprint it has higher carbon footprint because of the energy required to produce the material. This could be up to ten times the energy requirement of cotton and three times the energy requirement of hemp.  

The Ecological Footprint (EF) of a material is determined in terms of global hectares (gha) to produce one tonne of spun fibre. The figures are much closer for the three textiles with hemp between 1.5 and 2.0, polyester 1.7 and 2.2 and cotton at between 2.2 and 3.6.

Whilst polyester has virtually no water footprint, in this study cotton was identified as having a water footprint of between 9,788 litres and 9,958 litres of water per kg of finished product (less than the 11,000 litres I have quoted before from a different study); hemp as 2,123 litres of water per finished product. It takes about 16,000 litres of water to produce one kg of leather if we use the same figures as those used for the meat and 6,100 litres per kg of finished product for wool if we use the same method.  

As with all ecological questions the answer is not simple - in fact it is rather complex.  

Animal diseases in the news

Five animal diseases that I think will be in the news in 2009

1. Avian influenza
2. Bluetongue
3. African horse sickness
4. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
5. African Swine Fever

Will the ongoing spread of animal disease and the need for biosecurity ultimately affect world trade? Did the midges with Bluetongue really come to The Netherlands on imported flowers from Africa? Will animal vaccine development be able to keep up with gene mutation in the viruses?

Lots of questions that have both animal welfare implications and could have a huge financial impact on the food supply chain.

Water stress in the UK

I have spent the last two years during my Nuffield Scholarship trying to convince people in the UK that we should consider water as a valuable resource and use it more wisely. It has been an uphill struggle especially as we have in the same time span had some of the most devastating floods in living memory. I was pleased to read the report in the Guardian today. The article suggests that nearly half of the population in England and Wales now live in areas described as in "water stress" where supply might not keep up with demand. The Environment Agency report that will be published in the new year suggests that 10.5m households and 24.1m people have less water available per person in the UK than in Morocco and Egypt.Do follow the link and read the fascinating article.

Economic downturn

I haven't written too much about my thoughts on the economic downturn but there have been some alarming articles in the last week or so that have caught my eye that are worthy of note.

The Independent reported that the State of California may run out of money by February.  The article states that "John Chiang, the state controller, admitted ... that a spiralling budget crisis, which has left California spending billions of dollars more each month than it can raise in taxes, will see his coffers run dry some time in mid-February". The adminstration faces a stark choice either to cut spending or to raise taxes. If it can borrow money in the short term this choice still has to be made.

Woolworths stores are starting to close with 27,000 people losing their jobs .. not to mention Zavii, MFI and probably more to follow - a significant human imprint. the first of the stores opened on 5th November 1909 and the store has been part of my life. It will be sad to see Woolworths go. The Telegraph reports that at one point a Woolworths store was opening in the UK every SEVENTEEN DAYS!

My father worked for FW Woolworths as it was in the 1960s - starting at the bottom (in the storeroom in his late teens) and working his way up to store manager. He saw the writing on the wall though twenty-five years ago. In 1982 the UK retail operation came under British ownership for the first time and this provided the incentive for him to start his own business and leave the organisation.  It is sad to see the 807 stores closing and I feel will have more of an impact in rural areas where there is little alternative to the diverse Woolworths stores.

The Independent carried a worrying article that suggested that the UK economy in 2009 may "contract at its fastest pace since the 1940s."  The report states that "The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) expects the UK’s gross domestic product to decline by 2.9 per cent in real terms over the next year, the biggest annual fall since 1946, when the country faced mass de-mobilisation after the Second World War. Business investment – forecast to collapse by more than 15 per cent in 2009 – is pegged to pose the biggest risk to the economy while household expenditure is expected to fall by 1.8 per cent in the New Year.

The government’s statisticians publish a consistent series of gross domestic product estimates back only to 1948. The worst year on these records was 1980, where output was 2.1 per cent lower than the preceding year.”

The Independent also reports that after the £65 billion given to banks in the UK this year will need to be followed by a further £60 billion in 2009.

This all makes quite sobering reading, on topics that I will continue to follow in 2009.

Top five food safety stories for me in 2008

Key food safety stories for me in 2008 were:

1. Melamine contamination of foods and foodstuffs in China with four fatalities and 300,000 illnesses connected to melamine contamination of milk.

2. Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak and contamination of peppers in the US with over 1400 confirmed cases

3. Listeria and Maple Leaf products in Canada

4. Irish pork and dioxin contamination

5.  Ongoing issues across the world with incorrect allergen labelling

For more details go to Food Safety Chat.

Broadband access in rural areas

Access to the internet, especially broadband links are a major limiting factor to rural business development and expansion and also access at home to a range of information.  It was therefore interesting to read about the Welsh Assembly's intervention in making sure that areas currently underserved can access high-speed broadband services.

The Telegraph reported that residents in Gwytherin in Conwy, had threatened legal action against BT because of the lack of broadband. The Welsh Assembly had subsequently confirmed that Gwytherin, along with Reynoldston, Saundersfoot, Llanpumsaint and Bronwydd Arms, and Cilcennin will all be receiving broadband internet services. Follow the link to read the whole article

Thoughts on family

Some thoughts about family at Christmas time

Other things may change us but we start and end with family. Anthony Brandt

No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? Elbert Hubbard

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Theodore Hesburgh

The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family. Lee Iacocca

In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry. Margaret Laurence

The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman. Mexican proverb

A tree is known by its fruit. Proverb

Agreement on EU pesticide controls edges closer

BBC News have carried an article on the actions being taken within the EU to reduce the number of chemicals that have been used to improve disease control, weed control and insect control in food production. The actions have been negotiated within the 27 EU member states and legislation is being drawn up which will be voted upon early in 2009 by the European Parliament. Twenty-two chemicals are likely to be banned and whilst there are concerns over the impact of their use there are also concerns that when they are withdrawn the impact will be reduced yields and resultant higher food prices.

The BBC report that "If adopted, the legislation will let member states license pesticides at national level or through mutual recognition. The new rules are meant to replace the EU's 1991 pesticides legislation.

The EU is to be divided into three zones - north, centre and south - with compulsory mutual recognition within each zone as the basic rule. Currently pesticide approvals are handled by each individual country.

Individual countries will still be able to ban a pesticide because of specific environmental or agricultural circumstances".

Will this mean that there are different standards within the EU? UK farmers are always concerned about an unlevel playing field in Europe where legislation is adopted independently within member states with different requirements being set by each country and then all product is seen as equivalent when marketed.

How will consumers know which products have been grown with what chemicals from these different zones at the point of purchase?  Lots of questions to answer and a range of potential consequences some forseen and some unforseen.

MRSA cases in the UK show fall

The Telegraph reports that data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed there were 725 cases of MRSA in July to September - down 13% on the previous quarter, when there were 837 reports.  The data also reveals a 33% drop on the same quarter in 2007, when there were 1,082 cases. Follow the link to find out more.