Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
67 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Great Food Gamble
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Great Food Gamble (Paperback)

by John Humphrys (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £7.19 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £0.80 (10%)
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 7? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
27 new from £0.01 39 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £6.50
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (Large Print Ed) £16.99 £16.14 10 used & new from £1.72
Paperback 85 used & new from £0.01

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate by Felicity Lawrence

The Great Food Gamble + Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate
Price For Both: £14.18

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate

Not on the Label: What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate

by Felicity Lawrence
4.6 out of 5 stars (65)  £6.99
We Want Real Food

We Want Real Food

by Graham Harvey
5.0 out of 5 stars (9) 
Devil's Advocate

Devil's Advocate

by John Humphrys
4.0 out of 5 stars (16)  £6.99
Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets

Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets

by Joanna Blythman
4.3 out of 5 stars (26) 
So Shall We Reap: What's Gone Wrong with the World's Food - and How to Fix it

So Shall We Reap: What's Gone Wrong with the World's Food - and How to Fix it

by Colin Tudge
4.0 out of 5 stars (7) 
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 321 pages
  • Publisher: Coronet; New edition edition (3 Jan 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340770465
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340770467
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 44,325 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #3 in  Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Agriculture & Farming > Agricultural Science
    #8 in  Books > Science & Nature > Food & Farming > Agricultural Science
    #16 in  Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Environment > Applied Ecology

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Thousands of Free Recipes
   Recipes.alot.com    Mouthwatering Meals Easy as 1-2-3 Fast & Free With the Recipe Toolbar 
Good Food Channel
   uktv.co.uk/Good_Food_Channel    Find Tasty Recipes As Shown On TV At Good Food Channel Online Today! 
Losing at Roulette again?
   www.Roulette-analysis.org    On-line strategy no downloads, try it now. Reverse the odds 
  
 

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
John Humphrys, broadcaster, writer, farmer and consumer, has written The Great Food Gamble to address the serious questions he and many of his audience have about the food on our tables in the wake of BSE, foot and mouth, and concerns about the effects of factory farming practices on the nation's health and environment. Humphrys knowledgeably traces such intensive agricultural practices to British food policy from the end of the Second World War to ask whether the relentless drive for more and more food has been a mistake and whether the risks we run are worth it to have what may ultimately prove to be an illusion of choice. Are there really no alternatives, he asks? As readers of Devil's Advocate and listeners to Radio 4's Today programme will no doubt expect, Humphrys has a no-nonsense approach. He has little time or patience with mealy-mouthed politicking. Industrial practices, backed up by political will, is costing our health and our environment too dear, he argues. He counts the cost of intensive factory farming, not only in terms of the destruction of our rural heritage, long-term environmental effects and mounting health concerns about the use of antibiotics and pesticides, but the hard cash cost of subsidies and cleaning up pollution that put the lie to the food industry's claim of providing "cheap" food. Humphrys adds his voice to the great food industry debate along with George Monbiot's critique of the supermarket's control of food production in Captive State and Eric Schlosser's stomach-churning analysis of our unfortunate infatuation with fast food in Fast Food Nation. Humphrys' prose is unashamedly popular: evocative and even nostalgic for a fast disappearing experience of the British countryside, even as he stops short of being romantic. If this means that he substitutes rhetoric for detail, he remains bang on target and knows that to engage people in this debate and connect it effectively to their lives is the most effective way to counter the enormous power wielded by the other side. A bitter harvest indeed. --Fiona Buckland --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Sunday Times
'This could be the best diet book ever written'

See all Product Description

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Well argued, shame about the polemics, 3 Jul 2001
By johnppotts@excite.co.uk (Bristol, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Great Food Gamble (Paperback)
There have been plenty of issues that make people concerned over food in the last few years - Salmonella in eggs, BSE in cattle and the introduction of GM foods. John Humphrys gives a brief overview of how farming has changed since the Second World War from a small scale, largely family run business to a (mostly) intensive factory business, and how this has led to our food being increasingly adulterated with fertilisers, pesticides, hormones and anti-biotics.

Now while there is plenty to get worried about in all this, and John Humphrys does present the risks well, I would have found it a lot more convincing if he hadn't given the impression that he'd really prefer it if farmers were non profit making, horny handed sons of the soil and that any sniff of profit should be ruthlessly eliminated. In this book, there are clear "goodies" and "baddies" - the goodies being the small organic farmers, the "baddies" being the EU, large pharmaceutical companies, supermarkets and the "barley barons" (a group he neither defines nor interviews).

Now there is plenty of well argued science in here. The Chapter on the history of pesticides, and how new pesticides have been introduced as their predecessors have been banned, is enough to make anyone worry and the description of how the increasing monoculture throughout Britain's arable land is allowing the spread of crop diseases (which leads, in turn, to more spraying) is well argued, as is the Chapter on GM, which is surprisingly neutral (if erring on the side of scepticism) on the subject.

Overall a good guide to the farming is practiced throughout Britain today, and if you don't mind the polemics against big business (agricultural, pharmaceutical or retail) it presents a coherent arguement about the quality of our food.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books written in the last 10 years, 3 Jun 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Great Food Gamble (Paperback)
If you don't read any other book about the food industry, read this one! What John Humphrys has tried to do is assimilate into one very readable (indeed, unputdownable) book the research produced by many, many different people, ranging from eminent scientists across the world, to journalists, farmers and others involved in the food industry. He is careful to show precisely where research is inconclusive, and where there is more than one side to the arguments, and he concentrates as much on the impact of Government ministries and the large biotech and food manufacturing companies as he does on farming itself. This is not just a one-sided 'slagging-off' of farmers but a very fair appraisal of what has happened in the last 50 years and what might happen in the next 50 years if nothing changes.

There are chapters on why farming moved into such an intensive phase in the first place (during and after the war when fears of food blockades and starvation were very real), on chicken farming, fish farming, the effects of current farming practices on the soil, antibiotics, genetic modification, and the impact of consumer choice on the rapid rise in interest in organic food. There are many pages of bibliographical references at the end for those who want to research further.

Buy this book, read it, and give it to your friends. It will open your eyes and give you 'food for thought' for many months to come.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, good balance between fact and opinion, 15 Nov 2001
This review is from: The Great Food Gamble (Paperback)
Clearly written from the heart.
Most of us by now are either extremely concerned about the food we are eating or wearing blinkers and earplugs to shut out the facts.
John Humphreys expands on our fears about the food we eat. If you would rather not know about the damage to yourself and your family and the environment by over use of pesticides, herbicides, hormones, anti-biotics, to name but a few, this book is not for you.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Clear, Readable, Relevant
Very readable and well informed. Becoming truer and more endorsed as the months go by. Highly recommended
Published on 4 Mar 2005 by Tony no baloney

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting subject matter but poor delivery
Although I enjoyed the subject, I found the writing style too populist and repetitive. It felt like reading a longer version of a news article in a tabloid, rather than a serious... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a must for every home and school.
I have recently read this and another book while on holiday and I have become vegan because of it. The book explains the deception of big companies and shows how 'Money talks' and... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2001 by joyce.nigel@tesco.net

1.0 out of 5 stars A frightening book
Others have said it, but that's what it is. A book which aims to frighten rather than inform. This book is sheer scaremongering. Read more
Published on 24 May 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important factual books of 2001
This is an excellent, up-to-the-minute and highly pertinent piece of investigative journalism, presented in a colourful and readable manner by the incisive John Humphreys. Read more
Published on 15 May 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars A frightening book!
This book will give you chills when you read it. There are more scares than a Stephen King novel! It will change your shopping habits virtually overnight, as you read more of it... Read more
Published on 6 May 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Adresses REAL Issues
This book addresses all the thing that are going wrong with our food in this, the 21st century. The book addresses, among other thing, Foot and Mouth, BSE and Intensive Farming... Read more
Published on 6 May 2001

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]

   

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject













i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Beauty without the Beast

Olay Regenerist Daily 3 Point Treatment Cream
From au naturel to party glam, we have all the best names in cosmetics and skincare.

›Discover Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

  

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

›Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates