I regret to say that as there are a lot of myths surrounding food the science lessons are often needed. I was involved in trying to undo some of the damage done by “E for Additives”, one of the biggest sources of misinformation in my lifetime. This was my business for 40 years so I am well enough versed in the subject to express an opinion. I am not a food scientist but I employed several and needed to understand the science.

That our diets are very poor is undoubtedly true. Sedentary lifestyles are definitely a big factor as, for some, is the consumption of fast and take away food. It’s more than this though. We are wedded to convenience, even though there has been a big effort to get people cooking again. Food is too cheap and quality not valued by enough people, the primary cause of which is poor education. When people are struggling to just pay the bills and don’t place a high value on a healthy diet, getting them to change is very hard.

When I consider how important eating a healthy and interesting diet is to our continental neighbours and realise the benefits it brings them it makes me ashamed. I don’t know the answer but hope we stop looking at the USA for inspiration and look much closer to home.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

I think that’s very cynical. I have seen some terrific work done locally by selfless people who would be upset for anyone to think their success was very small. They don’t and nor do those they help. The growth of local community groups on social media inspires all kinds of support groups to spring up.

I am perfectly sure that this isn’t just a phenomenon local to me and that good people exist everywhere.

There’s more need these days but I also think there’s more trying to help.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

I don't think it's cynical; I think it's realistic. Yes, good people do exist everywhere but I am equally perfectly sure that society's problems will not be solved by some form of paternalistic benevolence and to think they will be is to misunderstand the situation.
If the will was there to genuinely help people then some of the hundreds of billions spent on the COVID response could have been invested in community projects. But it wasn't and now can't be.

I haven’t suggested it could be solved by such things, only that they exist and do make a difference. Something that you seemed to dismiss out of hand.

To connect the expense of the Covid response to this is disingenuous. There is no connection, and could be none. They are completely separate issues. One was a decision taken by government facing an emergency situation with a new virus spreading out of control and without any preventative medicines available. The outcome was unknown but the worst case scenarios demanded extreme measures be taken. They had no other choice but to spend the money. There were no past lessons to refer to. We are trying to learn them now, just in case a similar situation occurs.

The other is an ongoing problem. Among many ongoing problems.

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There simply is no connection between the need to avoid a potential complete breakdown of our healthcare system, with an incalculable number of deaths and unknown consequences for our country and its future. The cost was certainly unknown but better to bear those costs than not being around to bear them. People forget too easily just what a cliff edge we faced and look back with the benefit of hindsight, the comfort of the vaccines and the knowledge we have now and think they know better. They don’t. They just thought they did at the time.

Crimes of many kinds are a continuous problem. Always have been and probably always will. The cry of it’s getting worse has been heard by me for 70 years in one way or another. Doubtless in some places, for some crimes it is. That’s nothing new though, even if that is little comfort to those impacted.

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Of course it’s not alright!

However, it’s better than those youngsters facing an uncertain future in which they lost their grandparents, and possibly their parents, to Covid in a completely broken economy.

Regrettable though it is it is sometimes necessary to choose between the lesser of two evils.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.