On the search for what makes junk food bad (1)
One group of ultra-processed foods to which you paid little attention was meat substitutes. Unlike stereotypical junk foods, soya “meats” are typically high in fibre and protein and low in carbohydrates and fat, but are generally higher in salt than meat. As more people move to a vegetarian or low-meat diet, perhaps the environmental benefits of less meat consumption would outweigh the health risks of eating these processed foods.
On the search for what makes junk food bad (2)
You highlighted the debate about the detrimental effects on our health of ultra-processed foods. I wonder whether the extolling of gourmet meals in restaurants and the emphasis on deliciousness promoted in cookery programmes on TV are equally to blame for the rise of obesity and related health issues.
I grew up in the 1950s and 60s with the idea that a “treat” was a Nice biscuit with a cup of tea, or a teaspoon of salad cream on a lettuce and tomato salad.
Maybe the time has come to take food off its pedestal and emphasise that we eat to live, not the other way round.
On the search for what makes junk food bad (3)
You used the phrase “dangerously delicious” to headline your article on junk food. But junk food isn’t particularly delicious, although it does appear to be addictive.
Let’s see what happens when we try to convince people to eat less processed food. The fight put up by the tobacco industry to counter the science on the harms of smoking is nothing compared with what we will see.
On the search for what makes junk food bad (4)
It is time to stop throwing around the term “junk food”. If it is supposed to mean any food that isn’t good for you, then people generally don’t know which foods are good for them and which aren’t. Besides, any food is good for a person who is starving.
If it is supposed to mean “ultra-processed”, then it would include things like bread, soup, cheese, olives, coffee and most haute cuisine. If “junk food” is anything that makes you want to eat more of it, then it would include all the great recipes of the past.
Burning wood isn't the answer to our problems (1)
UK energy firm Drax wants to build the world’s first carbon-negative power station by burning wood and storing the carbon dioxide that is produced (5 June, p 13).
But CO2 isn’t the only byproduct of burning wood, a whole list of carcinogenic and other harmful substances is also produced. Surely it would be better to put the money for this plant into realising the hydrogen economy?
Burning wood isn't the answer to our problems (2)
The proposals proclaiming Drax power station as potentially “carbon negative” seem to fall short in my view.
Even if Drax’s carbon emissions can be tackled using carbon capture and storage (CCS), there is no merit in fuelling the station by chopping down trees in North America and shipping the wood pellets made there to the UK to be burned. Better to leave the trees doing their own carbon sequestration and fuel a CCS Drax with gas instead.
Less urbanisation may help in future pandemics
Your article raises the mantra of a shift to greater urbanisation 12 June, p 42. Yes, greener cities could have huge benefits in a world with increased urbanisation, but covid-19 has highlighted the risks of pandemics spreading rapidly in crowded areas; there will be more to come.
Divestment is still a great way to end fossil fuel use
You raise questions about the effectiveness of the global fossil fuel divestment movement (5 June, p 40). By making a public commitment to divest from fossil fuels, institutions like universities and pension funds can send a powerful signal to the world’s governments, helping to pave the way for the legislation and international agreements that will be needed if the world is going to rapidly phase out these industries and ensure a just transition. This is a strategy with ample historical precedents.
By contrast, years of “engagement” with fossil fuel companies, the approach favoured in your article, have failed to put a single big oil firm on track to align their emissions with a 2掳C pathway by 2050, let alone a 1.5掳C one.
A cause of methane spike may be under our noses
Regarding an unexpected spike in methane emissions, I wanted to add another possibility: small but continuous leaks from domestic gas pipes (22 May, p 16). This could be due to deteriorating seals or pipes in the vast buried network of pipes, maybe due to a network’s age.
It is possible that small leaks all over a city, all over a country, all over the world, every minute of every day could be a significant contributor.
Stigma is a global issue for mental health
You say that in spite of awareness-raising efforts, stigma and mistrust are still key reasons why people don’t seek mental health treatment (12 June, p 25). Sadly, there is almost nowhere in the world one can go to escape such stigma.
For the record
An avalanche of 27 million cubic metres was blamed for the deadly 2021 flood that struck Uttarakhand, India (19 June, p 21).
In our report on the UK’s first long covid clinic (26 June, p 14), we should have said that Rachel Lommerzheim is an occupational therapist and Maddison Rigg is a physiotherapist.