Blog

A list of all the articles published on this site

  • Why don’t Starmer and Reeves try Socialism?

    The labour party as it stands means Tory with a more benign exterior – and it has rapidly become deeply unpopular. colin tudge suggests that it would serve the country and the world far better – and attract far more support – if it returned to its socialist, moral roots The word “Socialism” seems to…

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  • Soup of the Day

    Soup is one of our most primordial foods, cooked since whenever a pot was first hung over a fire, a source of nourishment and warmth – the attributes that make winter the prime soup making season.

  • Why is the ORFC so successful?

    One of the co-founders of the annual Oxford Real Farming Conference, Colin Tudge, reflects on its phenomenal growth and impact since its tentative launch in January 2010. Does the obvious success of the ORFC reflect a global mindshift? Is this a much-needed “green shoot”? Even if the ORFC folded tomorrow (which heaven forfend!) it will…

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  • Dorothy Hartley’s Food in England

    The post-Christmas period is one in which I used to enjoy reading the latest new cookery publications, but there have been very few of quality in recent years.  So, I was more than happy when Colin suggested I devote an entire blog to one of our enduring favourites – Dorothy Hartley’s Food in England.

  • What is “biodiversity? – and what price BNG, aka “biodiversity net gain”?

    The launch of a new series to explore the ramifications of a huge and very tricky concept that has become a buzz word and is the subject of new laws.  By Colin Tudge  Developers or anyone else who aspires to change Britain’s landscape significantly is required these days to demonstrate that their project will achieve…

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  • 1. Biodiversity: a necessary concept but not sufficient

    An introduction to the first of four sections of an intended series on the infinitely complex issue of biodiversity. By Colin Tudge What, first of all, do we mean by “biodiversity”? Most obviously it is taken to mean the number of species in a given habitat. But this immediately raises a whole raft of issues.…

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  • The fork in the road

    We could still aspire to the Sunlit Uplands, says Colin Tudge – but the world’s leaders are taking us and our fellow creatures in the opposite direction. The “People-led Renaissance” is necessary and urgent  Truly, humanity has reached a fork in the road; and, influential creatures that we are, whichever way we go we will…

  • The Home Orchard

    A People’s Takeover might sound very revolutionary but growing your own orchard fruit is an easy step to take.

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  • The real cost of junk food: why we need to re-think food strategy from first principles

    A new report from economist Tim Jackson at the University of Surrey tells us that our “addiction” to junk food is costing Britain £268 billion per year —  which far exceeds the total budget of the NHS. Professor Jackson calls for “bold, ambitious leadership aligned across government” to provide a more propitious “legal, fiscal and…

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  • Donald Trump, Elon Musk, God, and the American Declaration of Independence

    Colin Tudge questions the wisdom of one of America’s seminal texts How can we explain the rise and now the resurrection of Donald Trump – who didn’t simply seize power in some coup as so many autocrats have, but was actually chosen by the people in an apparently unrigged election?  The commonest explanation is that…

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