Food & Drink

‘Eat the fridge’ suppers are quite common in our house – it’s one of my ways of minimising food waste. Another challenge is knowing too much about the sustainability impacts of food – it makes food shopping a minefield.

I describe myself as a foodie and do a lot of home cooking. One of the key challenges with this is minimising food waste. But it also means there are lots of things to consider when food shopping: organics, packaging, sourcing, sustainability…..

Menus for the Wilding Weekend (Jun22)

Refreshments and cakes all day – we’re serving homemade iced nettle tea, elderflower cordial,[...]

09
Jun

Rubbish Cups for the Wilding Weekend (Jun22)

[...]

08
Jun

My Manifesto for COP26 and beyond(Oct21)

I’m delighted that Cop26 is getting a lot of attention. I think it’s great[...]

25
Oct

TV Clip from ‘Kilroy’ with recognisable faces! (1989)

I was amazed to discover this edition of Kilroy in my archives. I remember[...]

01
Dec

The Green Consumer Guide & Week Green Consumer Week TV Clips with Julia Hailes 1988

Published in 1989 ‘Green Consumer’s Supermarket Shopping Guide’ was written by John Elkington and[...]

02
Nov

1989 Video of Julia Hailes on BBC Nine O’Clock News launching ‘Green Shopping Day”.

Green Shopping Day was organised by Julia Hailes and John Elkington from SustainAbility, to[...]

01
Nov

Julia Hailes talking about organic produce (1989 Approx)

Organic produce was quite a niche market in the 1980s. I remember talking to[...]

01
Nov

Clip from TV-AM with Anne Diamond 1989 – Julia Hailes interviewed about green supermarket products

Anne Diamond was very enthusiastic about green consumerism. On her programme again, I’m talking[...]

01
Nov

McDonalds are wrong to switch to paper straws (Aug19)

I can’t count the number of times when I’ve said I don’t want a[...]

09
Aug

I’m feeding my dog insects! (Apr19)

The brilliant thing about this is that it’s better for the planet – and[...]

06
Apr

Converting people to Sodastream (Nov18)

Many of us remember having a Sodastream in our childhood. Then it seemed to[...]

11
Nov

Packaging & Organic Event – Soil Association(Sep18)

“Thank you so much for coming today to the packaging and organic event[...]

18
Sep

Moshi Moshi support sustainable fishing (Jun18)

I first came across Moshi Moshi over a decade ago. A Japanese restaurant run[...]

04
Jul

How good is my re-usable bamboo cup? (Jun18)

I’ve found a re-usable cup I really like. It’s made from bamboo, is quite[...]

26
Jun

Future of Food Ethics (Jun18)

It’s eight years ago since I stepped down from the Food Ethics Council, but[...]

20
Jun

Feeling guilty about Lidl lobsters (Nov14)

We bought a couple of lobsters from Lidl for £5.99 each and had them[...]

13
Nov

Radio 5 Live – Appeared on multiple programmes (Feb12)

I’ve been on a number of Radio 5 Live Programmes including: Anita Anand Show[...]

22
Feb

Why aren’t restaurants more sustainable? (Oct11)

Bluefin tuna is one of the most endangered species on the planet but it’s[...]

25
Oct

Incredible Edible was amazing (May11)

They’ve planted corn on the cob outside the police station. They’re lettuces in rose[...]

14
May

Innocent Drinks – Taking my son to Fruit Towers (Oct10)

He was particularly impressed with the fact that they’ve got a kitchen to test[...]

26
Oct

Organix Baby Food (May10-Sept10)

I’ve carried out an environmental review of Organix Baby Food. Based in Bournemouth, Organix[...]

01
Sep

Behind the scenes at McDonalds (Jun10)

It wasn’t ‘Old McDonald had a farm’. Actually, the farm belonged to the Duchy[...]

06
Jun

Expert Panel on Packaging (2008-2010)

Between 2008 and 2010 I sat on a expert advisory panel on packaging at[...]

01
May

Food Inc film is worth seeing (Feb10)

I was really impressed with Food Inc – it was powerful and compelling –[...]

16
Feb

M&S Food (Feb10)

“Thank you for all of your challenges and great ideas that have helped us[...]

01
Feb

Is Rick Stein’s fish sustainably sourced? (Sep09)

Last weekend I went to Padstow. This fishing port is best known for its[...]

22
Sep

CAOBISCO Sustainability Round Table (Sept09)

“Julia Hailes ignited the CAOBISCO Sustainability Round Table with her incisive observations and commentary.[...]

01
Sep

Food Innovation (Sep09)

The Food Ethics Council Business Forum meeting focussed on radical innovation. I was chairing[...]

01
Sep

Bottled water – Eau de Vie or ‘Eau de tap’ (Jul09)

I was invited to eat a ‘Water-Rich Menu’ at Quo Vadis in Soho. The[...]

28
Jul

Food waste for fuel in London and beyond… (May09)

I had an early start to get to London for the start of a[...]

13
May

Radio 2 – Jeremy Vine show (May09)

Fierce debate about food waste and the merits of ‘slop bins’ or garbage pages[...]

01
May

Rant about disposable napkins (Apr09)

“Do you ever find it annoying when you’re given wads of napkins and bags[...]

28
Apr

Plugs, insurance, credit crunch, beetles and lunch (Jan09)

Last week was busy. I flew from meeting to meeting. Not literally I[...]

28
Jan

Yo Sushi is Wasteful (Dec08)

It’s a shame there’s not a Yo Sushi at Waterloo because that’s my regular[...]

20
Dec

Eat Dorset Food Fair (Oct08)

Another sunny weekend for the Eat Dorset Food Fair. Set in the magnificent park[...]

24
Oct

Supermarkets vs french markets…. (Sept08)

Even with the wind and rain lashing around our beach hut on the Dorset[...]

20
Sep

Summer produce (Jul08)

The weekend wasn’t glorious – certainly not the weather anyway. But I’ve been really[...]

07
Jul

Food ethics, tomatoes and feeding the world (May08)

I’ve been to a lot of food ethics events recently – being a member[...]

06
May

Bottled Water – Eau No! (Feb08)

“I’ve been drinking bottled water for 30 years and I’ll go on doing it[...]

19
Feb

Whole foods (Oct07)

A few years ago I went to a Whole Foods store in New York.[...]

05
Oct

Food Advice (Oct07)

In 2007 I was asked by M&S to help them in developing their food[...]

01
Oct

Happy as a pig in mud (Jul07)

The bacon tasted really good. The superior rashers accompanied seared scallops – a first[...]

28
Jul

McDonalds Testimonial (May07)

“Julia participated in a panel discussion that explored our CSR past, present and future.[...]

01
May

Food Ethics in practice! (Apr07)

Was rather flustered arriving at my first Food Ethics Council (www.foodethicscouncil.org) meeting and finding[...]

30
Apr

A McDonald’s experience (Apr07)

I thought I’d do a bit of comparison on fuel efficiency between the UK[...]

29
Apr

Supper Party (Apr07)

Eighteen people to supper last Saturday night. Arranged it ages ago because I wanted[...]

19
Apr

A few hours in Naples (Mar07)

Should I even admit to flying to Naples for a stint of no more[...]

05
Apr

A week away (Mar07)

When I say I’m going to be out of the office this week, people[...]

24
Mar

McDonalds responds well to Greenpeace (Mar07)

I haven’t been the greatest fan of McDonalds in the past but was impressed[...]

20
Mar

Report on sustainability issues in the food sector (Jan02)

I first started working with Marks & Spencer in 2002 when I was[...]

01
Jan