Today's News

05 March 2010

Foodie fight: the meat debate:
The Today programme’s Sarah Montague asks Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jonathan Safran Foer whether eating meat can be ethically justified.
BBC Radio 4 (listen again)

Britain's rare butterflies put to flight by rain-soaked summers
The findings, which come from a study of butterflies at more than 1,000 sites, show that the Duke of Burgundy had its worst year in more than 30 years. The orange, brown and white butterfly used to be a common sight in woodland clearings. However, it has been damaged by changes in farming and woodland management over the last half a century, leading numbers to drop by a staggering 60 per cent in the last 20 years...The bad weather over the past few years has compounded long-term problems facing insects. They have suffered from the loss of grasslands rich in wild flowers, while pesticides and intensive farming have also hit their numbers. Conservationists warn that if butterfly numbers are falling, other wildlife will also be in decline. 
Daily Mail (5 March, p.26)
The Guardian (5 March, p.14)
Daily Telegraph (5 March)

Zero-grazing farms and animal health
Richard Mountford from Animal Aid writes in: “The planned giant factory farm would not be the first case of ‘zero grazing’ of dairy cattle in the UK.”
The Guardian (5 March, p.35)

Tesco loses battle for seaside supermarket
Tesco has lost a controversial bid to site a supermarket in the centre of Sheringham in the latest twist in a decade-long battle by campaigners to resist the expansion of Britain’s biggest supermarket into the Norfolk resort.
The Independent (5 March, p.17)

Tesco wouldn’t trick its customers…would it?
Feature looks at supermarket ‘bargains’ that end up costing customers more.
Daily Mail (5 March, p.41)

Farming Today
The French taste for British cheese has boosted exports to 281 million pounds a year. Charlotte Smith talks to the country's biggest exporter. And a trip to the heather moorlands of Scotland reveals that, as freezing temperatures continue, and snow is still waist deep, grouse are dying or fleeing due to lack of food.
BBC Radio 4 (listen again)

And finally…this man’s last client was a fish
Interview with Antoine Goetschel, the world’s top animal lawyer.
Guardian G2 (5 March, p.4)

Quote of the day
“You can eat meat ethically if you buy organic. Whilst it may not be the case in the US, the Soil Association here ensures that the ‘organic' label means something.”
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – The Today Programme – 5 March 2010