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A strategy document which reflects many of the most prominent food issues of recent years has been published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Many of its aims are discussed including research and programme management and also the protection of the public by ensuring food safety within an efficient industry.

Whilst reports linking diet and health have been available for a number of years, it is only in the last couple of years that the subject has received significant coverage in the popular media of TV, radio, magazines and newspapers. Today, however, hardly a week passes without such coverage. This media attention is paralleled by unprecedented use of nutritional themes in the marketing of foodstuffs. A wide variety of products are sold on the basis of claims that they are:

There is clear evidence linking diet and health. In Britain conditions associated with the over‐consumption of food are common. Dietary change has been recommended as part of programmes to reduce the incidence of the so‐called ‘diseases of affluence’. One dietary modification which is widely recommended is ‘Eat less fat’. Close examination of this particular recommendation and the actions needed to make this suggested change1 provide insights of value in the formulation of strategies necessary for the achievement of all the other dietary goals.

Identifies the products which may be considered as diet integrators/dietary supplements. Outlines the complex issues which need to be considered before the EC can draw up a proposal to control them. Questions to be considered come under the following headings: one directive or several?; consumer concerns; product purity; use of nutrients and other specified ingredients; addition of nutrients to food; labelling; and packaging.

Many housewives these days keep powdered milk in the store cupboard to use as a standby when no fresh milk is available or in the attempt to cut down on calories or animal fat. A number of powdered milk products are available, but do housewives always know what they are buying?

The EC has declared its intention to complete the Single Internal Market by the end of 1992. This will have an impact throughout European industry. The food industry was highlighted as subject to profound changes in legislative control over the next few years.

Describes the establishment of a computer‐based database on UK and European policy and describes the structure and the mechanisms through which information is added to the database. Outlines information sources and discusses the likely uses of the database.

AS we march towards the brave new world of computers and automation, the suzerainty of science and conforming communities, literature descends upon editorial desks in a flood. Every day brings its cascade of information, exhortation, instruction and advice. Much of it is useful, despite the otiose percentage which spins cocoons of words about a tiny larva of fact. The general effect of this daily conditioning is to suggest a future quite unlike the sort of world we have hitherto known, a mechanistic era emptied of normal human qualities.

Today’s challenging economic situation means that it is no longer sufficient for a new graduate to have knowledge of an academic subject; increasingly it is necessary for students to gain those skills which will enhance their prospects of employment. Employability skills include the following abilities: the retrieval and handling of information; communication and presentation; planning and problem solving; and social development and interaction. The University of Luton has established an initiative to ensure that each of its students engages with these skills and has embedded this within the academic curriculum for all disciplines. Central to the initiative has been the creation of detailed templates that describe the University’s expectations for each undergraduate level. The article describes the Luton initiative and includes some initial comments on its impact.

As the social scientists of modern society, sociologists find themselves in a peculiar situation. Human civilization appears on the brink of collapse; the ravages of global capitalism are turning natural and social orders upside down. Some theorists are declaring the “end of history,” while others wonder if humans will soon become extinct. People find themselves increasingly shouldering burdens on their own, strangers to themselves and others. Struggles for recognition and identity are forged in harsh landscapes of social dislocation and inequality. The relationship of the individual to the state atrophies as governmental power becomes at once more remote and absolutely terrifying. How are we as sociologists expected to theorize under such circumstances?  What implications result for the mission of sociology as a discipline and area of study? What political initiatives, if any, can counter these trends?

This chapter provides an immanent critique of sociology as a profession, vocation, and critical practice. Sociology today (in the US and around the globe) faces fierce social, economic, and political headwinds. The discipline continues to be a perilous choice as a vocation for independent researchers as much as the shrinking professoriate. Yet while the traditional functions of sociology are thrown into doubt, there has been an increase in critical practices on the part of some sociologists. As institutional norms, values, and traditions continue to be challenged, there will be passionate debates about the production of social worlds and the validity claims involved in such creation. Sociologists must play an active role in such discourse. Sociology is needed today as a mode of intervention as much as occupational status system or method of inquiry.