Counting On … – The Green Tau

Counting on … day 114

28th October 2026

What to do about soy and palm oil?

You well be surprised to learn that soy and palm oil are by far the biggest sources of vegetable oil in our diets: 76 million tonnes of palm oil and 59 million tonnes of soy are harvested every year. The next most co:mon vegetable oil is rape seed coming in at 25 million tonnes, whilst olive oil measures a mere 3 million tonnes. (P100 Eat the Planet Well).

Most of the soy oil is used to manufacture high protein animal feed. Soy that is used to create protein rich tofu, soya milk, soy sauce etc uses but a fraction.

Palm oil is widely used in food processing. Palm oil yields are high, making it a cheap oil. It is versatile, stable during cooking and semi solid at room temperature. It can be found in products as diverse as bread, icecream, biscuits, breakfast cereals, chocolate and even baby food. It is also widely used in products such as shampoo, toothpaste and cosmetics. A wonder ingredient! But the problem lies in where and how oil palms are grown. They grow best in hot humid conditions with plenty of rainfall such as occurs in rainforest habitats. Vast tracts of rainforest have been cleared to make way for mono crop oil palm plantations, causing ecological and climatic devastation.

Another downside of palm oil is that it is higher than other plant oils in saturated fats – 52% (NB Coconut oil is even higher at 89%).*

“So” asks Goulson, “should we boycott palm oil? There is no clear answer, so I can only tell you my decision. If palm oil were a healthy ingredient used in nutritious foods, I might reluctantly recommend that we consume it, choosing products certified by RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and pushing RSPO standards to be improved to prevent further deforestation. In reality, palm oil offers little nutrition beyond raw calories, is probably bday for our hearts, and is largely only available in ultra-processed foods that are almost universally awful for our health…. I for one will not consume the oil.” (P108 Eat the Planet Well)

*Butter contains about 70% saturated fatty acids.

NB vegan butters tend to contain either palm or coconut oil to gain their semi solid consistency. For more information visit https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/is-vegan-butter-healthy

Counting on … day 113

27th October 2026

Is organic food healthier?

One view is that being free of pesticides etc organic food is healthier; it is also felt that such food may also be fresher (less dependent on chemical sprays to prolong its shelf-life), to be more nutritious, containing more antioxidants and being free of GM ingredients. Another plus view is that organic farming ensures better animal welfare and better welfare for the environment.

On the other hand organic food can be seen as expensive and overhyped.

Either way organic food has to be produced in accordance with a strict set of regulations that encompass how the soil is farmed and how livestock are raised and their access to open air and grazing.

Goulson reviews various research projects that aim to quantify the benefits or not of organic food. Two areas where there does seem to be clear evidence is that organically reared cows, wing fed more on grass, hay and silage, produce milk and meat that is higher in omega-3 fatty acids. The other clear benefit of organically raised livestock is that they are not routinely treated with antibiotics as a prophylactic meaning that less of these antibiotics in the environment and therefore less of a build up of antibiotic resistance.

He concludes “Overall, it is clear that those who eat organic food as part of various positive lifestyle choices will be exposed to fewer pesticides, consume more antioxidants and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and they and their children will be less likely to develop various ailments, from eczema to lymphoma. They can also feel relieved to know they are not funding the cruel industry of intensive animal husbandry and its associated ills, including the spread of MRSA. It seems like a no-brained to me: so far as you can afford it, eat organic.” (P90 Eat the Planet Well)

It strikes me that governments intent of benefiting their citizens – and reducing health costs – should be proactively encouraging organic food production AND ensuring that everyone can afford a healthy diet.

As regards GM crops, which Goulson also covers, he concludes “If the development of GM crops were funded by charitable bodies of governments with the goal of growing food more sustainably, their safety was carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis, the seeds were given to farmers for free, and farmers were allowed to gather their own seed for future use, then I think GM technology has a place. When used to lock farmers into an intensive, high-in out farming system, it can be actively harmful. The value of GM technology depends on who is wielding it and where their motivation lies.” (P99 Eat the Planet Well)

Counting on … day 112

26th October 2026

Poisoning ourselves

“In Europe, about 500 different pesticides are licensed for use on our crops, with almost twice as many available in the US. These are all poisons, intended to kill insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), fungi (fungicides), or slugs and snails (molluscides). Some are naturally occurring compounds extracted from plants, and a few are simple inorganic compounds such as copper salts. Most, however, are complex organic compounds synthesised in a lab – chemical structures that never previously existed. They vary hugely in how much of them is used, how and when they are sprayed, and their chemical and physical properties, all of which affects the likelihood of them ending up in the food on your fork. They also vary greatly on how harmful they might be to us as humans.” (P74 Eat the Planet Well)

Goulson notes that many chemicals band in Europe still enter our food supplies via imported produce. Worryingly he also points out the difficulty of determining the impact of a combination of pesticides etc on our health – for few crops receive only one dose and more typically a raft of different chemicals will be used at different stage of the the growth of the crop, in,causing just before and after harvesting.

Equally the impact of these chemicals on our health may vary depending on how long we are exposed to them and whether the residues accumulate in our bodies.

He concludes “All things considered, it would seem wise to avoid consuming pesticides and feeding the, to our children so far as possible. This can be challenging, as most of the cheap and readily available food in supermarkets and fast-food outlets comes from intensive farming and is likely to be contaminated one way or another. Avoiding pesticides is inconvenient, and sometimes more expensive, but it is not impossible. The most obvious strategy is to buy organic, which we will explore next.” (P83 Eat the Planet Well)

Counting on … day 111

23rd October 2026

Poisoning our planet

In this chapter Goulson reflects on the impacts of pesticides – including herbicides, fungicides etc – on the environment. These do not just target the pest the farmer has in mind but anything and everything else they come into contact with, both directly and via the food chain. Based on the work of extensive research, Goulson tells us that the conclusion is that ‘applying about 4 million tonnes of over 1000 different pesticides to our planet every year … is poisoning everything.’ (P68 Eat the Planet Well)

One example he quotes is research that explores how fipronil and imidiacloprid which are banned for use on crops but is used in flea treatments for cats and dogs, passes via pet hairs used to build nests into the chicks of bluetits and other small birds leading to death and deformities.

Goulson also draws our attention to a yet other consequences of pesticide use. When pesticides are used to kill weeds in arable fields there success has the unintended consequence of removing the essential food supply for moths, butterflies, their caterpillars etc, diminishing their numbers and the biodiversity dependant upon them.

Counting on … day 110

22nd October 2026

The Impact of fertilisers

Having explored agriculture in terms of carbon, land-use and water, Goulson next turns to fertilisers and pesticides and their effect on our food and our environment. Fertilisers are used to improve crop yields by improving nutrient levels in the soil. Wood ash, guano and other manures, blood, ground up bones, etc have been used to increase levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil. Organic farming uses techniques such as growing nitrogen fixing crops – clovers, beans and peas – well as adding animal manure, plant compost and sea weed, and ploughing in sacrificial green cover crops.

Non-organic farms now use primarily synthetic fertilisers made from fossil fuels (which is why the price of fertilisers is currently rising as fuel prices rise because of the conflict in the Middle East).

Synthetic fertilisers have certainly contributed to a significant rise in crop yields but they have also caused pollution. In their production and use they release substantial greenhouse gases. They cause poisonous algal blooms as they leach into water ways, killing of aquatic plants and creatures. These consequences of fertiliser use are known as eutrophying emissions.

As with other issues, some foods are more reliant on fertilisers than others. When it comes to meat and animal products – which again are at the top end of the table – much of that fertiliser is uses to produce animal fodder).

Counting on … day 109

21st October 2026

Limited water and land

“Aside from contributing to climate change, food production has substantial environmental impacts that tend to receive a lot less attention. Most obviously, it takes up an awful lot of land, and its extent continues to grow. Pristine, biodiverse habitats such as rain forests continue to be converted into dull, pesticide-soaked monocultures of soy beans or oil palms, or overgrazed, arid pastures.”

But “One way to reduce our global footprint is by consuming foods that require less land….vegetables, most fruits and wine….”(P47 Eat the Planet Well)

However it is not just land that crops need but water too. How much crops need varies across the range whilst the availability of water across the globe also varies. Sensibly one wouldn’t grow thirsty crops in areas of low rainfall or where there isn’t a guarantee of sufficient water from rivers or aquifers. (These latter cannot supply infinite amounts of water). And climate change is rapidly changing how much water might be available and when.

Agriculture may not be an issue in taking too much water from limited supplies, it may also have a detrimental effect on those very water supplies as the run off from the land can carry with it pollutants from pesticides and herbicides, from fertilisers and from slurry.

Again it is meat and dairy that are the main large consumers of water with fruit, vegetables and pulses being much less needy. However olive oil and nuts – together with cheese – can use even more water per kg of food produced. Some olive and nut orchards rely heavily on irrigation and their produce is best avoided, whilst others are grown in regions where farmers can simply rely on rainwater – Goulson recommends rain fed olives from Portugal and southern Spain, as well as walnuts (they need no irrigations) and Brazil nuts – ditto as they grow in rainforests. W

Climate change may yet require further shifts in where such foods are grown. But eating more plants and less meat and dairy is a good move.

Counting on … day 108

20th October 2026

Local foods

Food miles of themselves don’t add that much to the carbon footprint of the food we eat – about 6% on average, notes Goulson. Although this is much larger for foods brought in by air. Whilst only 0.16% of global food miles are by air, this is seldom indicated on food labels but a good guess would be that perishable foods from the southern hemisphere – such as asparagus, strawberries and berries sold out of season – have come this way.

Local as a term is not that precise! Do we mean food grown or produced within say a 5 mile radius, or food that is regionally grown and produced, of food that is grown in the UK?

Goulson highlights – as have many other experts – that the UK is only about 60% self sufficient in food, rising to 75% of we just consider foods that are well suited to our diet (bananas and citrus fruits are best grown in warmer climes). Disappointingly we only grow 50% of the vegetables we eat and a mere 16% of fruit.

Why do we import food that could be easily grown in the UK? Sometimes it is because other countries can benefit from cheaper labour – Spain has many temporary agricultural workers who come from North Africa and are paid a pittance. Other countries may have less restrictive regulations than in the UK around the use of pesticides or animal welfare which again may reduce the price – but at what cost? This is not to say that UK standards are always the highest – the EU has banned the use of neonictinoids but these continue to be used in the UK under repeatedly issued ‘emergency’ permits.

Goulson concludes that ‘the ethics of the shopping decisions you make re fiendishly complicated. Every food item you buy has influence, funding a particular grower or system of production along with its associated chemical inputs, plus all the transport, processing and packaging costs.’ (P46 Eat the Planet Well).

One advantage I can see for buying food that is locally grown and/or produced, is that it can help strengthen the resilience of local farmers and local communities.

Counting on … day 107

19th October 2026

‘Carbon, Cows and Climate Change’

In this chapter Goulson focuses on the carbon footprint of different foods. Research clearly shows that beef has the largest footprint, and that of all the foods we eat, it is almost always those that are plant based that have the lowest. Having explored the whys and wherefore, he concludes “there is no question that livestock farming as practiced up to the present has resulted in vast deforestation, air and water pollution, and soil erosion, and contributed hugely to greenhouse gas emissions…there is no scenario in which livestock are carbon neutral.” Further he notes “More than 75% of the world’s agricultural land is devoted to rearing animals, yet they contribute just 18- of our calories and 37% of our protein intake. Growing crops to feed animals to feed people is a hugely inefficient way of feeding people, and there simply isn’t the space on our planet for us all to have a meat-rich diet.” (P39 Eat the Planet Well Dave Goulson)

His conclusion is that we shouldn’t eat meat from animal that have been mass-reared indoors or in crowded feedlots but rather should choose outdoor reared meat and eat less meat.

There are various ways of eating less meat such as meat-free Mondays, or meat-free weekdays. The former has its own website! https://meatfreemondays.com/calculator/

And enticing looking recipes – https://meatfreemondays.com/our-recipes/

Counting on … day 106

16th October 2026

Having established that the world can produce enough food to feed our current and expected increased population – in 2011 the World Bank, Institute calculated that globally we grew enough food to feed 14 billion people – the real problem is how that food is distributed and whether what is produced is the healthiest option. Goulson puts forward the interesting suggestion that rather than choosing to grow what is good for us, we end up eating what someone else chooses to grow.

“About 300,000 different edible plants are known …. [yet] 50% of our calories come from just three crops: rice, wheat and maize. Together with soya beans, these crops comprise 50% of all arable farmland. And these four crops, plus potatoes, oil palm, cane sugar, beet sugar and cassava make up two thirds of all the food we consume. Carbs and oil. The food industry takes these cheap ingredients and formulates them into ultra processed foods (UPFs) which are highly palatable, highly calorific and of low nutritional value…. Regional cuisines and cooking with fresh ingredients have been displaced by fast foods, sugary drinks and ready meals.” (P19-20 Eat the Planet Well Dave Goulson)

Why not try buying and using different grains? Buckwheat, rye, barley, oats, millet? You might also try using flours made from dried peas, beans and – but more expensive – chestnuts.

Counting on … day 105

15th October 2026

Over the next few weeks, I shall share thoughts from Dave Goulson’s book ‘Eat the Planet Well’.

In his introduction he flags up issues such as the drive to produce cheap food which at the same time degrades the environment and degrades the lives of both domestic and wild animals; issues such as the simultaneous growth in ultra processed foods and obesity; issues around global food waste which is growing and equally shocking levels of starvation; issues around the growth of pesticides, herbicides and forever chemicals and the lobbying power of both chemical and food industries.

“At the heart of it all is food. Everybody eats, everybody needs bees*, everybody is a stake holder. If we want to save the planet, save the bees and save ourselves, then we need to pay more attention to what we eat…” (page 11)

*Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex and his specialism is bumblebees.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/469614/eat-the-planet-well-by-goulson-dave/9781787335622