When considering what we can do to promote ethical food-sourcing, the latest buzz words have been 'food miles' and the 'carbon footprint'. However, a new measure of sustainability has been dreamt up called the 'water foot print'.

Water Deficit
Driven by increasing world population and therefore water deficits in key regions, the water foot print was designed to bring into sharp relief the amounts of water consumed in basic food production..

Courting controversy is what the food-retail industry does very well: from genetically modified food to cloning we are constantly faced with new technologies which may benefit the industry but will stretch our morals. Now there is a new technology on the horizon which is set to revolutionise the journey our food makes from farm to fork. It is called nanotechnology – the science involved in changing the core molecular structure of substances or objects – in short, it can alter almost anything. When applied to food, this technology could render what we eat more healthy, less chemically toxic, and provide a range of other benefits to the consumer and producer alike..

If you go to any restaurant in Europe it's likely that you'll be asked to choose from still or sparkling water. So why are we not given the choice of bottled or tap? The bottled water industry has attracted growing criticism in recent years over its detrimental impact on the environment, so why have we stopped using our clean, safe tap water in favour of the stuff in plastic bottles?

e market in organic produce is now, officially, huge. The organic industry in Europe is currently worth 66m euros and is expected to grow by 10 to 50 % in the coming years. So why is there doubt about it's true quality? To date, no substantial or rigorous evidence has been supplied to prove that organic produce is nutritionally more..

Given the choice, would you eat dairy or meat produce from an animal that had been cloned? It's an ethical question that we consumers will face in the coming years, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has now approved the production of food derived from cloned animals. Under the new ruling, meat and other produce from..

ke sure you eat only well ripened fruit if you want the full antioxidant effect. Antioxidants become unlocked the more the fruit ripens, and more stilll as the fruit eventually turns towards going bad, claim researchers at the Uni of Innsbruck in Austria. Looking closely at Pear and Apple fruits, the research team found that as the skin changed colour during the ripening process as they underwent a decomposition similar to..

The heat of the 'Bhut Jolokia' pepper is so hot it is almost twice as fiery as the previous title holder 'Red Savina'. Dr. P. Bosland, of Chile Pepper Institute, aptly situated in New Mexico, stumbled across the red hot chile in India back in 2001. He collected some seeds and has nurtured the plants for several..

Research shows that eating garlic regularly can reduce blood pressure and allow the blood to carry more oxygen to vital organs says Dr Kraus of University of Alabama. "Certainly in areas where garlic consumption is high, such as the Mediterranean and the Far East, there is a low incidence of cardiovascular disease..

How can food claim to be produced as 'Organic' if it then burns large amounts of carbon via expensive air freight transport ? That is the question the UK Soil Association, which certifies most of the countrys' organic produce, is considering. It may recommend that produce that has been air freighted goes against the green principles of organic food production and cannot be certified as organic..

National Geographic have an interesting new site: www.thegreenguide.com with some thought provoking articles based around the green issues we all face. An organic food quiz caught my attention as fun, although i got only half of the answers correct !