Achieving sustainable development economy means producing affordable and good quality food and drink in accordance with high environmental and animal welfare standards. In the UK the Food Standards Agency aims to safeguard the protection of public health in relation to food. The Agency, which has powers to take action across the whole food chain, is …

The United Nations claims that current patterns of consumption are unsustainable. Consumption places a strain on natural resources and can lead to increased waste production. Consumption can involve anything from packaged foods to transport, leisure and tourism, and as we increase our demand for these products and services, we are using up valuable resources. Developed …

Soil is an integral part of the environment. It is essential for the production of food and other crops, for maintaining biodiversity, for the landscape. It contains much archaeological evidence of our history. Soil quality is not a major problem in the UK, although there are localised problems of erosion, acidification and other contamination. But …

Biodiversity can be defined as the richness and variety of living organisms and their habitats. Not only do we have a responsibility to protect the diversity of life on Earth, but we also rely on species diversity for essential goods and services. In the UK the main sustainability objectives are to conserve the wide variety …

Most of us would accept that it is wise to prevent potential adversity, even if we are not yet sure how serious (or benign) such adversity may turn out to be. This is the essence of the Precautionary Principle, and defines much of the way we are beginning to respond to the challenges of sustainable …

Health has improved enormously this century, particularly amongst sustainable development economy like the UK. Live expectancy in England and Wales is now in the mid-1970s, 30 years more than at the beginning of the 20th century. This vast improvement is largely the result of significantly reduced infant mortality rates. But the health of many populations …