Why wasn’t the science followed during Covid-19 (Editorial)? For the same reason we aren’t following the science to tackle the existential crises we are facing – short-term economic and political considerations. We are literally destroying our home, yet industrial farming – a leading driver of both climate and biodiversity crises – is being ignored.
We’ve had flailing attempts to address these challenges, with a timid attempt at reforming farming subsidies, a disowned national food strategy, and trade agreements that are willing to sell out our own farmers for low-welfare, climate-wrecking imports. At international summits, the role of industrial farming in the climate crisis has been given woefully limited attention.
In the runup to Cop28 we need this government to acknowledge the destructive role played by factory farming. The next government must give meaningful efforts to spark a genuine food system transformation. This requires real leadership, difficult decisions to make the changes necessary and preparing our society to achieve it.
Tricia Croasdell, Country Director
World Animal Protection UK
London
Is vaping a gateway drug?
The article about targeting “teens” reflects poor ministerial judgment over vaping products, but also a decade of neglect in this area of public health and a rise in the familiar methods of marketing companies (“Anger erupts over ministers’ praise for vape firm that ‘targeted teens’ ”, News).
Reminiscent of the alcohol industry’s marketing of products aimed at young people, which resulted in an expansion in sweet-flavoured and brightly coloured alcoholic drinks, the vaping sales opportunity has exploded over the last few years.
Vapes in primary schools and a bewildering choice of exotic-sounding flavours and packaging have emerged as supermarkets and corner shops openly display nicotine products (when cigarettes must remain partially hidden) and online availability is easy to access.
Is this a gateway drug to smoking cigarettes? Are there toxic chemicals in vaping solutions? Is the academic establishment engaging and funded adequately to answer important questions? Should pre-emptive measures be taken to slow down the predatory industry marketing these products?
Even if the answer to all these questions is not yes, and I suspect it is, some energy needs to be directed towards ministers and policy makers to examine the problem with urgency. For all drugs and medicines, we need the evidence before the product is introduced and marketing is tightly regulated. We are likely to regret waiting too long for the evidence to show the damage.
Roy Robertson, Professor of Addiction Medicine, Usher Institute,
University of Edinburgh
Unwanted unions
Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB, has little chance of securing an honest debate about Brexit damage from the Labour leadership (“Labour needs an ‘honest debate’ about Brexit damage, union warns”, News).
The demands of electioneering and overcoming the Tory right wing have prioritised “red wall” seats over the realities of economic disaster. The strategy of 1997 of taking Labour seats for granted while prioritising Tory seats may have produced significant collapse in 2019, but short-term gain has again become dominant over long-term pain.
Unions are again seen as the unwanted members of the family. Years after Tony Blair’s landslide, the dream of repeating the prescription overrides economic reality.
Trevor Fisher
Stafford
Unconstrained police
Rowan Moore is right about the dangers of unconstrained police power (“Why was it so hard for our judiciary to admit they’d jailed an innocent man for 16 long years?”, Comment).
As the Casey report on the Met police put it, all too often the police have been unaccountable to the public and their representatives. Accountability depends on effective, independent means of regulation. There is no regulation of how the police treat detainees in custody except self-regulation, where the police mark their own homework.
There continues to be an annual average of 20 deaths in custody. The independent custody visiting scheme has the remit to provide this regulation. However, the scheme is completely ineffective and lacks independence. The system should be radically reformed, as argued in my book Regulating Police Detention, (Policy Press).
John Kendall, External Associate, Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing
University of Birmingham
Denmark Street blues
In response to the profile of Philip Bourchier O’Ferrall (“Sex Pistols, screens and big brands…”, News, 28 May), my business, Regent Sounds, is a historically important music destination, as an instrument retailer and former recording studio for the Rolling Stones and other well-known artists, in the heart of London’s “Tin Pan Alley”.
A developer called Consolidated has removed our recording studio space. It has remained empty and unavailable to us for over five years, forcing us to close our guitar repair business and eliminating most of the showroom space.
The article said Consolidated had supported us with “discounted rent” and the “costs of refurbishing the building”. This is incorrect. We have continued to pay rent proportionate to the small part of the premises available to us, and the near-catastrophic impact of construction work on our ability to trade has dwarfed the reduction in rent.
Without the intervention of a generous benefactor, we would have been forced to close our doors long ago.
Crispin Weir, owner, Regent Sounds
London
Blighted by ADHD
Andrew Anthony’s article was of personal interest to me (“We need to talk about ADHD”, New Review). My concentration, similar to the “span of a flea”, has always been a family joke. I’ve lightheartedly mentioned that I might have been diagnosed with ADHD if such a thing had existed in my childhood in the 1950s.
Last week, I came across my school reports. I’d seen the terrible reports before, but had never read them with the eyes of someone who had just read the ADHD article. Year after year, the reports were like reading a list of symptoms of ADHD. I was quite shocked. I’m in two minds as to whether I would have wanted a diagnosis and possible medication. The consequences of my problem behaviour led me to becoming resilient, question authority, think for myself and be adaptable, among other benefits. Were my childhood behaviour problems due to ADHD? That will always remain unanswered.
Rita Leaman
Scalby, Scarborough
Beware of the child
Jay Rayner complains that he encountered a dog in a restaurant whose USP is that it is dog friendly (“The live-fire grilling at Parakeet is really exciting, but their dog-friendly policy is barking mad”, Observer Magazine. He’d better steer clear of parent-and-baby cinema screenings – there could be infants in the same row.
Paul Colbeck
Hackney, London
