Just Finished Reading: Ultra-Processed People – Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food... and Why Can't We Stop? By Chris van Tulleken (FP: 2023) 

Growing up my mother cooked most of our meals from scratch (wonderful substance and SO versatile). She'd be in the kitchen chopping, mixing, heating and produce decent filling meals. She was never a great cook – except maybe for her scones which I miss to this day – but we never went hungry no matter the circumstance. Of course, some of the food was more processed, coming in tins (how could we possibly live without Heinz baked beans?) and sometimes packets (when ready meals started coming out in the later 70's and mother & I started experimenting with curries (which my older brother called 'foreign muck'!) and chillies. But it was only later, when I went to university in the early 80's that I started having what would probably be called ULTRA processed food - essentially 'food' that had more contact with a factory than it did with a farm. After we moved off campus in our 2nd year we ate some very questionable food essentially because it was dirt cheap. After reading this book I now understand more just why it was so cheap and exactly why we kept going back for more. 

In essence I am a lazy eater. Some of my friends are (or have been) very food focused and enjoy both preparing and eating food of a wide variety. Food, apart from the basic need of consuming it or dying, has never really interested me. Naturally there are foods I like to eat and some that I still miss after becoming a vegetarian 25+ years ago, but I don't obsess over it. My brother often said that if he could take a pill each day and didn't need to eat anything else he would do so. I'm not QUITE that bad but I appreciate where he's coming from. Although I do get some pleasure from food that pleasure is not my primary motivation for eating it. In essence, at least to me, food is mostly about fuelling the body. Anything else is, all joking aside, garnish. 

With that out of the way [grin] what has that got to do with this interesting and alarming book? I think that's there's two ways of looking at it – personal and global. From a global point of view, we've seen a significant increase in obesity just about everywhere as well as an increase in the number and severity of numerous other diet related health issues. At the same time (surely not coincidental) is the creation and explosive growth of 'food' that wouldn't be recognised as such by previous generations. Although it might be difficult to PROVE that one actually CAUSES the other – not unlike smoking despite the fact that the link between it and cancer has been clear for some time now – it's not too difficult to show the likelihood of a link. So, there's that... 

On a more personal level I don't think that my eating habits are producing any obvious health related issues. I've had eczema (for example) all of my life – it runs in the family – and these days any flare up is a rare occurrence and (normally) quickly relents. Nothing else comes to mind. I did gain weight from my 40's onwards – after being the same weight for decades no matter what I ate – but that's likely to be metabolism/age related rather than diet. I've gained some more weight since retiring but, again, I think that's mostly activity rather than diet related. Like most people I do eat 'junk' from time to time knowing that it's not 'real' food. I used to be a great fan of Pringles – which, interestingly, gets its own CHAPTER in this book – but haven't indulged in a while (and probably never will again after reading this!). I still eat crisps (or 'chips' to my American readers) probably more than I should but I think I need to odd 'vice' to tide me over. It's not like I'm living off them. So, although I do periodically indulge in UPF (Ultra-Processed Food) I think I do so in moderation. [Side note: despite knowing the chemical concoction that is the MacDonalds 'strawberry' milkshake I still low-level crave it every time I pass a MaccyD's....] 

One of the things I will be doing going forward is spending more time READING ingredients lists on the things I buy (or am thinking of buying). The author gives some rule-of-thumb ways (some I'm sure are a little tongue in cheek) for spotting UPF: It comes in a plastic bag; it has more than 5 ingredients [Side note: My local supermarket sells its own brand Tortilla chips that has 3 – Maize flour, Rapeseed oil & Salt... and they're SUPER cheap too!], it has a LONG shelf life, it contains flavours, colours or both. It's not hard and fast that its UPF if it has one or two of these but if it has more than two... it's probably not real food. 

I'm only really scratching the surface of what this book covers and I'm missing out evidence of environmental damage, transportation costs, pollution, unknown or long-term health risks, damage to existing local or indigenous food supplies, control of what we eat by a handful of GIANT corporations... and so it goes. I think that the fact we call it a food INDUSTRY kind of gives the game away. Although I don't think that this is as life changing or impactful as some of the blurb comments make out, I think it'll encourage people (including me) to ask many more questions about what we eat and what it's doing to us and our world. More on Food and Health to come (as they're two subjects I know FAR too little about). Recommended unless it might tip you into paranoia!  

Welcome to September. We Made It! I hope that you enjoyed my Summer of Pop Culture. As the kids go back to school here this week I'm dedicating (as usual) the month to all things School, Education, Learning & Teaching related. Lets go LEARN something!

Just Finished Reading: Till September Petronella by Jean Rhys [53pp] 

This was a small collection of four short stories dominated very much by the titled work which ran to 35 pages. Although well written and very 'visual' I did struggle with it more than a little. Essentially (without given too much away) it revolved around the eponymous Petronella who had just arrived at a cottage 'in the country' - AKA outside London – at the invitation of a male friend presumably with the intention of 'having a good time'. Another couple was already there but Petronella quickly soured of the idea and managed to get a life from a local farmer to the railway station and went back to the city - with the farmer hoping to meet up with her next time he was 'in town' presumably for a 'good time'. That was essentially it... Which I thought was more than a little flat! 

Other stories – all well written – revolved around a wife getting revenge on her recently departed husband by destroying his beloved library on a bonfire in the garden and an old woman who is deprived of her LONG hair (which she loves) during a stay in hospital. Again, these stories fell rather flat as they all seemed to lack a recognisable narrative 'flow' despite, I'll say again, being well written. 

The only story I really liked was the last one – a mere TWO pages long – called 'I Used to Live Here Once', where the main character returns to a childhood home in the West Indies and is presented with an unexpected revelation. The 'twist' at the end caught me completely by surprise which I liked!  

Will I be looking out for any more of her work? Possibly not... but its always good to dip a toe to see if a new author will appeal. Reasonable. 

A day late and an EMP grenade short..... 

The Last 10 Books (I added to my Wish List) - August 2026 

It's been quite a busy month for my Wish List with additions from Booktube as well as a packed bibliography from a recent eye-opening read. It's quite a mix of old/new and near/far this month. As usual I have zero idea when (or if) I'll get around to them, but where's the fun in actually KNOWING what you're going to read next, right? 

How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict by Nina Jankowicz 

KLEPTOPIA: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World by Tom Burgis 

The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West by David Kilcullen 

The Art of War and Peace: The Changing Face of 21st Century Warfare by David Kilcullen and Greg Mills 

China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower by Frank Dikötter 

Fortune's Bazaar: The Making of Hong Kong by Vaudine England 

Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict by John Man 

Empires of the Steppes: The Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilisation by Kenneth W. Harl 

The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic by Robert L O'Connell 

Humanise: A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World by Thomas Heatherwick 

Funnily (I've just remembered), I saw 'Humanise' on the bookshelf of a YouTuber who was using it as a backdrop... The things you notice! 

Happy Birthday: John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". His important works include A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), Two Treatises of Government (1689/90), both published anonymously, and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689/90). His writing on toleration contends that religion is a matter for the individual and that the churches are voluntary associations, ruling out religious coercion and uniformity; these lead to the idea of separation of church and state. His Two Treatises on Government argues for government based on the consent of the governed and the right to revolt against tyrannous government which has lost consent. The Two Treatises are believed to have influenced the language that Thomas Jefferson chose in his drafting the July 1776 Declaration of Independence during the War of American Independence.

Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. Internationally, Locke's political-legal principles continue to have a profound influence on the theory and practice of limited representative government and the protection of basic rights and freedoms under the rule of law.

Locke's philosophy of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of personal identity and the psychology of self, figuring prominently in the work of later philosophers, such as Rousseau, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. He postulated that, at birth, the mind is a blank slate, or tabula rasa. Contrary to Cartesian philosophy based on preexisting concepts, he maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception, a concept now known as empiricism. Locke is often credited for describing private property as a natural right, arguing that when a person—metaphorically—mixes their labour with nature, resources can be removed from the common state of nature.