Search results

This title is stolen from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations because of the subtle significance of the change in seventeen years from the philosophy of their first study on approaches and techniques for teaching better nutrition to that of their second study, also on approaches and techniques, but this time for learning better nutrition. Jean A.S. Ritchie was the author of both studies and the change in title reflects developments in her own thought, and in the thought of others. They have developed from the idea that the teacher knows all there is to know and imparts this to the pupil to the realisation that in a complex subject like nutrition which crosses the boundaries of many other disciplines, it is not possible for any teacher to have complete and up‐to‐date knowledge and that teacher and pupil must learn together.

The new Director of the British Nutrition Foundation is unpretentious, quick witted and academically brilliantnow has a great potential force for the advancement of nutrition at her command. What will she do with it ?

Dorothy Hollingsworth opened the session by inviting the four panel members to give a short talk on their own personal view on the status of food today.

My way of eating is the result of experience in my childhood home, my training as a dietitian and work in the wartime Ministry of Food. Recent advice from NACNE about modification of diet in an age of affluence reinforces my personal practice.

Throughout the world, consumption of the staple cereal has decreased as the standard of living has risen. This is illustrated for the long‐term in Britain from a study of rough estimates for wheat flour and potatoes and firmer data for sugar going back to the eighteenth century. If supplies of foods are converted into their energy or calorie value, the contribution of each group of foods to the total can be calculated. Such a calculation for, Britain for 1880 and some intervening years until 1974 makes very clear that grain products were less than half as important in 1974 as they were in 1880 as a source of energy for the British people. Similar trends can be shown for the USA and other industrialised countries.

In most diets in the world some 10–12% of the energy value is supplied by protein, but there is great variation in the proportions provided by fats and carbohydrates. If alcoholic drinks are excluded from the calculations, in Britain in 1971 42% of the energy value of the total food supply was derived from fat and 47% from carbohydrate: 17% was supplied by sucrose. In the first quarter of the century and in World War II about one‐third came from fat and about 55% from carbohydrate: in the first quarter of the century sucrose provided 14–15% of the total energy value of the food supply and in World War II about 11%.

The emergence of large urban communities associated with modern industrialised societies has imposed enormous demands on supplies of essential foodstuffs. It is clearly quite impractical to provide major conurbations with wholly fresh food. Household expenditure on foods in this country exceeds £10,000 million per annum, and we are obliged to import more than half of our essential food supplies. Even minor changes in our climate, geographically or politically, can precipitate crises as far as supplies of fresh foods are concerned, and apart from the necessity to import food, arrangements must now exist for its long distance transportation and prolonged storage with minimum loss of nutritional value. There has also been an increased demand for high quality foods entailing the minimum of preparation and waste at economical prices.

The Institute of Biology recently held a symposium to assess the value of vegetables for feeding people and livestock in relation to the inputs of energy, labour and money that vegetable production requires, whether the crops are grown on allotments, gardens, small farms overseas or in large scale market gardens. The role of animals, both traditional and unconventional species, which fit well into vegetable growing systems was also discussed.

One of the arguments used against British entry to the EEC was the loss of sovereignty; that Parliament would not be able to fully control all the statutory measures which would be applied to the people. EEC regulations apply without implementation by national governments, but since member‐states, through their representatives on Council and Commission, have participated, it is considered that national governments have in effect enacted them. EEC Directives as the name implies requires national governments to apply the provisions of the EEC measure; transitional exemptions up to five years are usually included for individual provisions, where internal adjustment is required. MAFF food regulations, implementing EEC Directives, have been made after this pattern for a number of food additives. The statutory measures are unlikely to present any greater difficulties than usual, but in interpretation, courts in this country have to consider EEC law above that of English and Scottish courts. The Court at Luxemburg exists mainly for interpretation, but courts and litigants have been advised against reference owing to the lengthy delays and the high court or court of sessions should make is interpretation based on EEC law.

The paper aims to gain a better understanding of how different disciplines work together to develop new technologies.

The study employs qualitative methods in the form of semi‐structured interviews and observations. A socio‐cultural approach is taken and the concept of the activity system is used to examine emerging practices.

In the process of creating common practices the community overcomes some of the challenges normally associated with disciplinary diversity. What develops cannot really be described as a convergence of knowledge, more as an intertwining of work practices.

Although only tentative conclusions can be drawn from a single case study, the findings may have implications for the organisation of multidisciplinary tasks.

The paper suggests a conceptualisation of emerging interdisciplinary practice and provides a descriptive account of knowledge creation in a new field within nanosciences and nanotechnologies.