Food Workers Are at Risk in Today's Changing Economy
‘The gig
economy is less likely to provide workers with salaries, benefits, or a
consistent schedule. And it also often frees employers from any obligation to
provide year-round income for their employees, and leaves workers’ livelihood
in the hands of the customer.’
I am no Luddite, but I am a passionate supporter of fair wage and
working conditions for all. This article echoes the concerns I and others of my
cabal - oh, okay, comrades – no, okay
friends have of the ‘sharing economy’ which bares not a lot of resemblance to
what we meant back in the day. I am not sure that the five solutions given in
the article will work in Australia. It would be great to see what proposals
there are for addressing the problems in situ.
http://bit.ly/2eNh1yJ
Michael
Gove asked me to a meeting to share my expertise. I declined. Instead, I’ve
given him a piece of my mind.
' If, as many fear, a bad deal is done for Britain resulting in
huge tariffs and penalties on trade, food price inflation is going to be in
double digits for years to come. That’s if we can get hold of food at all. The
people who will suffer the most, of course, are those who already have the
least. For them the buying of food will use up a massive proportion of their
expendable income.
There are major implications for the nation’s health and therefore,
over the long term, for educational attainment and class division. The state of
our food supply post Brexit has within it the great potential to make Britain
an even more unequal society than it already is.
I make no apologies for being a Remainer. The implications for this
country of leaving the EU are appalling. It is a project which should be
abandoned.’
Thanks to Helen Greenwood for forwarding this to Diggings. Jay Rayner
pulls apart the impact of Brexit on food in the UK, offering some strategies
for mitigation but remaining a staucnh Remianer. It’s an excellent follow on to
the post in the last edition from Fiona Harvey, Andrew Wasley, Madlen Davies and David Child on the Rise
of mega farms in the UK.
http://www.jayrayner.co.uk/news/
Chlorinated chicken?
Yes, we really can have too much trade
‘It is true to
say that rates of foodborne illness are similar between the EU and North
America. Remarkably, however, chlorine-washed chicken could be the least
offensive of the US meat regulations a trade deal might force us to adopt. It
has been pushed to the fore because it is less politically toxic than the
issues hiding behind it. The European Union rules, which currently prevail in
the UK, take a precautionary approach to food regulation, permitting only
products and processes proved to be safe. In contrast, the US government uses
a providential approach,
permitting anything not yet proved to be dangerous. By limiting the budgets and
powers of its regulators, it ensures that proof of danger is difficult
to establish.’
George Monbiot
segues from chickens to a game of chicken in trade agreements.
http://bit.ly/2v7BnIO
A
Sandwich Shop’s Fake ‘Bullet Holes’ Cause Controversy in Brooklyn
‘But when Brennan admitted to Gothamist that the bullet holes
were actually just cosmetic damage, and that she fabricated the location’s
history as an illegal gun shop from an anonymous comment left on a community
blog, the situation exploded. Anger and action were almost immediate, with
Brennan and her restaurant called out online for “slum cosplay,” “tragedy porn,”
and “faux-ghetto schtick.
I doubt this is the first time someone has fabricated a history for
their restaurant, but this example is particularly reprehensible. But then,
it’s the market stupid, and whatever will sell will.
Want to be happier, healthier, save
money? It’s time to get cooking
‘In
an Irish survey, over 1,000 adults were asked about their cooking skills,
including cooking measures such as chopping, food skills like budgeting,
cooking practices including food safety, cooking attitudes, diet quality and
health. They were also asked when they learnt to cook and who taught them. Results
showed adults who had learnt to cook as children or teenagers were
significantly more confident, had a greater number of cooking skills and
practices and mostly had better overall diet quality and health. Mothers had
been the main person who taught them how to cook. Learning to cook from an
early age is important. This means the health of the whole family could potentially
be improved by helping the main carers to improve their cooking skills.’
So I guess
Ireland doesn’t have Masterchef or any of the other cooking comp shows that are
supposed to be leading to so many leanbh cooking.
The Toxic Saga of the World’s Greatest Fish Market
‘After an
extended period of construction bidding, work began on the new space in 2012.
Located in the ward of Koto, about a 20-minute train ride from Tsukiji, the
initial renderings of the Toyosu site reflected an Epcot-like, futuristic vibe.
It was to be a surgically sterile place for handling precious edible cargo,
coupled with a distinctly separate area for tourists where the hungry and
shutter-happy could enjoy snacks in a contained environment and soak in hot
mineral baths. On a chilly autumn afternoon when I toured the site, the
overcast sky and sprawling, boxy complex seemed to fuse together into one
indistinguishable landscape that was 180 degrees of difference from Tsukiji.
Grey and lifeless, the Toyosu market has an exterior — huge, polished and shiny
— that could just as easily be found in Austin, Texas, as in Tokyo. Scraggly
trees had been planted to give it some semblance of vibrancy, but the impact
was minimal.’
Okay not the
same but some resonances for me with the plans to move the Sydney Fish Market
sort of around the side and out of the way of the really good prime harbourside
land. For me, the best fish market I have been to in recent years was that in
Negombo, Sri Lanka – blood and gore everywhere on the wharf where the fish came
in. I also recall the Colomob fish market of my youth where we would go on
Sundays post mass to buy mud crabs, wading through fish guts, scales, and
unmentionable and undefinable fluids – now replaced by, yes, a white tile, neon
light soulless space, but which on my last visit couldn’t contain its viscera
and stench. But then I have never been a sanitised, hygienised approach to food
marketing be it meat or fish or veg. I am one of the few who probably enjoys
the seagulls swooping, the untidiness of the boats, the stench of fish and sea
wrack at the current Syndey site.
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