Archive of all comment and opinion articles – Page 500
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Comment & Opinion
"The message is clear: let the market be policed by consumers. They can think for themselves, you know"
At last a bit of sense in the pre-watershed 'junk food' advertising row. Ofcom asked consumers what they thought about the mooted ban on HFSS foods. Their response can be summed up in three words: DON'T PATRONISE US. Consumers, even the...
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Comment & Opinion
Get busy growing or get busy dying. There's no in-between
In my job as a life coach I am lucky enough to meet some very remarkable people. But one thing that is a universal constant is that no matter who you are, rich or poor, young or old, you have the same 24 hours in a day. In Scotland...
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Comment & Opinion
Ask not why some food is so dear - ask why it is so cheap
A few years ago we bought a house with a bit of land to try our hand at smallholding. In the preceding few years I had become so distrustful of the food production system that I wanted to have a go at doing it myself. At the time I was ...
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Comment & Opinion
Inside track
The festive season is no time for promising new bands, critically acclaimed singer-songwriters or artists of a more esoteric bent to be releasing records. Christmas means a flood of blockbuster idols and stocking-filler...
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Comment & Opinion
Work as one for all of us to make a sustainable return
In Tim Lang's column the problems of farming, or more correctly food production, were well explained. Policy makers no longer consider that farming matters. As an industry going back hundreds of years, our...
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Comment & Opinion
My Favourite Things Barry Chevallier of Aspall Cyder
Favourite restaurant? The Chateau de Montreuil Hotel near Boulogne, in its own walled garden. The staff are friendly and the food is, without fail, a gastronomic delight. Healthy food or junk food? Healthy, but with the occasional junk...
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Comment & Opinion
Personal coach Ali Campbell On controlling your state of mind
The right state of mind? There's a question to ask yourself, have you got it or do you only think you have? Is your state of mind responsible for those bad times as well as the good? Those who follow this column will be familiar with...
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Comment & Opinion
Personal coach philip hesketh You're more likely to find success if don't dilute your offering
No. One word, two letters, yet incredibly difficult to say in front of a customer. 'Just say no' may work as a slogan for America's anti-drugs campaign, but it's rarely adopted by businessmen eager to make a sale. After all, the customer is...
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Comment & Opinion
Retailers are boosting Scottish rural economy
With retailers, and especially large food retailers, increasingly under attack, well done to The Grocer for highlighting the very positive role they are playing in boosting the rural economy of Scotland ('Taking to the high ground', 2 September,...
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Comment & Opinion
Second opinion Thriving small stores and markets across the Channel highlight the blandness of Britain's supermarkets, says Joanna Blythman
I can't help feeling depressed at the prospect of returning to the prevailing monotony of British food shopping. On holiday in Normandy, we settled in the port of Honfleur which, like every small French town, bristles with...
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Comment & Opinion
Personal coach steve crabb British employees have a better deal than their American counterparts
I've just returned from a holiday in Italy, where they really do understand the concept of work-life balance. The average Italian gets 7.9 weeks off each year, including bank holidays and other statutory leave, compared with 6.6 weeks in the UK....
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Comment & Opinion
Local produce must be part of Alnwick solution
It is extremely interesting to note that it is one of our more attractive towns that is the scene of the latest battle for market share between three of the large supermarket companies Alnwick is already...
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Comment & Opinion
Jason Coyle Inflexible category structures make it hard for innovative products to get on shelves, says a director of stuffing supplier Mr Crumb
At conferences across the land, chief executives of multiple retailers regularly bemoan the lack of new innovative products. But is it just this need to innovate that blocks a small supplier's efforts to actually get on shelf, or are there other...
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Comment & Opinion
The crucial role of skills in business success
Your leader discussing business failures, the Hot Topic warning of the impact of wage increases and comments from Duncan Swift, head of food and agri-business at Grant Thornton (The Grocer, 19 August) could well lead readers to believe that our...
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Comment & Opinion
ANDREW LOFTus
Just over a year ago, Weeton's in Harrogate opened its doors for the first time. Although entirely urban in location and appearance, British food is at the heart of our philosophy. Early results are encouraging and British food certainly looks...
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Comment & Opinion
Conning people into doing things doesn't work for long
What is the difference between motivation and manipulation? Generally speaking, if you've been motivated you normally feel satisfied afterwards, while if you've been manipulated you may feel conned. For instance, you may consider saving up...
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Comment & Opinion
What happened to the best policy?
I'm sure that I wasn't the only person to be distinctly unimpressed when Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer offered what passed for an apology for the recent outbreak of the potentially deadly pathogen, salmonella montevideo. The Health Protection Agency...
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Comment & Opinion
This week's hot topic by Julian Hunt
It's somewhat ironic that as I prepare to leave journalism, the hottest topic of the moment is the one that I was covering at the start of my career. Way back in 1990, when I was a cub reporter on Packaging Week, waste was the issue that was...
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Comment & Opinion
Health still needs a sensible policy
I want to believe the food industry realises a proper health policy means more than just food safety, I really do. Last week, Prince Charles' International Business Leaders Forum and HBOS's Insight Investment announced a draft set of guidelines...
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Comment & Opinion
All can help to ensure the future of British farming
It was a bold step for the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) to ask the head of a supermarket chain to be its president. True, Lord Sieff and Alastair Grant had held this post before me - but not at a time when there was so much...