Charlie Alford

Young campaigners urge incoming PM to act on outdoor junk food ads

Post author:The Canary
Post published:15 July 2026
Post last modified:15 July 2026

The Health and Social Care Committee has just delivered one of parliament’s strongest calls yet for action to protect children from junk food marketing. And Bite Back’s young campaigners are urging the incoming government to seize the moment. After a year-long inquiry, MPs have concluded that children’s health has been undermined by unhealthy food environments and decades of industry influence. They’re recommending stronger protections including action on outdoor junk food advertising. The report echoes the evidence given directly to the Committee by Bite Back campaigners Jayda and Alice. They told MPs how children and young people are surrounded by junk food…

The psychology behind giving food as a gift

Post author:Nathan Spears
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

There’s something quietly profound about handing someone a gift they can eat. Unlike a gadget that might gather dust or a candle that gets forgotten on a shelf, food gifts carry a kind of warmth that few other gestures can match. They say: I thought about what you’d enjoy. I wanted you to savour something. And nowhere is that sentiment more beautifully expressed than in a thoughtfully curated wine and cheese hamper, a gift that turns an ordinary moment into a little occasion worth lingering over. But why does giving food feel so personal? And why do we reach for edible…

The Whole Plate: a quiet rebellion against the ultra-processed food machine

Post author:Nathan Spears
Post published:22 June 2026
Post last modified:22 June 2026

More than half of what British adults eat is no longer really food. It’s product — engineered, emulsified, and sold back to us at a profit. One UK movement thinks the way out is gloriously simple. Let’s start with a number that should stop you mid-bite. 54% of the calories UK adults consume now come from ultra-processed food (UPF). For our children, it’s worse: 66% — the highest share in Europe. Two-thirds of what we feed the next generation isn’t grown, picked, or cooked. It’s manufactured. That isn’t an accident. It’s a business model. The system isn’t broken — it’s working…

Council admits guga hunt ‘not in full compliance’ with food safety laws

Post author:The Canary
Post published:18 June 2026
Post last modified:18 June 2026

Officials say they are aware the traditional guga hunt operates outside current food safety regulations. But they claim that enforcing the law is impractical. The guga hunt is the UK’s last legal seabird hunt. Every year, the “Men of Ness” travel to the remote island of Sula Sgeir to kill up to 2,000 flightless gannet chicks, which locals call guga. The birds are slaughtered and butchered on the island before being transported back to the Isle of Lewis where they are sold and consumed. Historically, the hunt provided an important source of food for isolated island communities. Today, however, it continues…

Polanski warns UK food system is close to collapse

Post author:The Canary
Post published:8 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has warned that food insecurity is not a distant threat. He says it’s already impacting customers, farmers and workers in the food industry. In a speech to the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union on 8 June, Polanski warned that the UK’s food system is close to collapse. He spoke of pressures from rising temperatures and global instability and called for urgent action to support the UK’s food resilience. The speech comes as figures from the Autonomy Institute show that UK fruit and veg prices could rise 170% by 2050. And the climate crisis is likely…

Nearly half of parents are struggling to afford food for their children more now than five years ago

Post author:The Canary
Post published:1 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

New research warns that family hardship has deepened despite years of post-pandemic support measures, worsening child food hunger. The survey of 2,500 UK parents, which Opinium carried out for the Social Market Foundation, found that nearly half (44%) were struggling more today to afford food than five years ago. In addition, 1 in 5 (21%) parents reported their children regularly experiencing some form of food insecurity. This included being unable to access balanced meals, or relying heavily on cheap foods. The Social Market Foundation report comes at a time when the cost of living remains among the top issues for the…