Within the article, the BBC also mentions how many will have to think about eating more fruit and veg and less meat.
According to ourworldindata.com, livestock takes up around 80% of global agricultural land, and as humans, we consume around 300 million tonnes of meat a year. Unsurprisingly, this is causing a lot of strain on the environment.
Livestock produce 18% of greenhouse gasses, which is more than all emissions from ships, planes, trucks and other transport put together. Farming animals are also a cause of deforestation and degeneration.
Lifestyles like Veganism have taken off in the past 10 years, with it being held as the biggest trend in 2018. Many praise the lifestyle for its health benefits and its impact on the earth. BBC Good Food says that if everyone in the world went vegan, the worlds food-related emissions would drop by 70%.
Vegan lifestyles boast to help you lose excess weight, lower blood sugar, improve the functioning of the body and even protect you against cancer.
It was also revealed within the article that in order to save the planet, people may have to begin consuming less meat and leading a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. It was revealed by fact.org that 2-3% of the UK is vegetarian, and meat consumption has actually fallen in recent years.
Many are jumping on the bandwagons of ‘no meat Monday’ and ‘veganuary’ to push themselves to try the lifestyle.
Studies show that most vegans are aged 16-24, with now half a million vegans on the streets of the UK. No longer is it dedicated to the hippies; even bodybuilders are getting in on it, supplying evidence to the myth that they need animal protein to gain muscle.
Food, in general, is responsible for over one-quarter of all greenhouse gasses, with dairy and meat being the biggest culprits for the carbon footprint.
Of course, older generations are not as forthcoming with their diets, with many luxuriating in their now rationales world. but more and more people are choosing the no-meat life, which is another thing that can be done to help the environment thrive.
When you are a baby, you are given 4 injections to kickstart your immunity against the big bad world. At one year old, you are given more. When you go away to anywhere tropical, you get more shots.
Vaccines are one of the many things that can divide a community. With the anti-vaxxers and the pro-vaccine groups at each other’s throats, it seems like neither will find common ground. When my sister nearly died from a bad reaction to her baby vaccines, my mother and I found that no-mans land between the two groups.
We knew the benefits of vaccines, but a close brush with death had made us ask whether they were truly necessary. My youngest sister doesn’t have any of her top-up vaccines and other than a bit of asthma, she’s incredibly healthy.
I myself don’t have my human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which is now issued to teenage girls to battle cervical cancer. It was a personal choice that I was harassed for in my teenage years. “You’re gonna get cancer,” they’d yell at me and the only other girl who didn’t get it, a Jehovahs Witness, who also didn’t believe in deodorant.
When I arrived at university, vaccines were brought up once more. Meningitis was looming within student halls and wiping out unsuspecting sleepers. A quick Google search will show the case of Lauren Sandell who unfortunately died from the virus in 2016.
Many are now calling for students to have all their shots before beginning their studies. Instead of going to the doctor before a trip to China, you’ll be rolling up for your injections before you head to university. So unbelievable it sounds fake.
When asked, most students are in favour of the idea, but many are also very liberal. and opinionated. We could end up in a dystopian world where there are two schools separating the two groups.
Rather than enforcing that all students should have updated vaccines before uni, we should be teaching students to be clean, eat healthily and look after their bodies. This will easily decline the health issues surrounding students. Vaccines should definitely be offered and made available, but making them compulsory will only cause a harder divide.
So for now, instead of rushing to the doctors when you get a little unwell, build up your immune system by going outside.
Universities are starting to use dogs to de-stress their students around exam time. Therapy dogs are now popping up in university nursing areas around the UK to try to battle the ongoing mental health issues which are slowly rising.
With the rates of student suicides growing, many universities are looking for ways to help students stay calm, especially during the dreaded exam period. Some people disagree with the idea, but Middlesex University has brought in two captivating canines to tackle the issue.
Ice was happy, an ex guide dog, was happy to meet us. He now spends his time giving love back to the students who need him.
“We do drop in sessions and on Mondays we do walk arounds through lectures” Josh, dog carer and nurse, introduces us to Maisie and Ice. The two Labradors are dressed in red sashes and name tags depicting their status within the university.
“We care about not just the students but the dogs as well, we’re always sure to not put them in an unsafe environment.”
Labradors tend to be the chosen dog for therapy, however they also welcomed a boxer, but after an unfortunate incident where Josh’s bag was used as a toilet, he was sent home for bad behaviour.
“The dogs have to be assessed before they can be seen by students.” When they’re not comforting a student, Maisie and Ice can be found with their owners who work at the university. Ice living out the winter of his life after successful years as a guide dog.
Josh, Maisie and Ice all pose for a photo before starting their rounds of Middlesex University.
It’s not only for comfort, many come to overcome a fear. Through regular visits with the two dogs, both 8 years old, Josh confirmed many students had overcome their fear of dogs.
“Sometimes they’re not stressed out, we get a lot of students who are just homesick and miss their pets”. The canine duo give them the love that many crave when they’re away from home. Homesickness is one of the leading reasons of depression within students, a study by Huffpost.
Nevertheless, Josh thinks it has benefited the students very well. “I think everyone should do it. It’s such an easy thing to achieve, you’ve just got to find the right dog.”
There is only one problem with dogs in university. Hair Everywhere.
In an age where we have a thorough understanding of our bodies and knowing that exercise is a crucial part to leading a healthy lifestyle, there are those who take it to the extreme. Running for pleasure has risen in popularity, and is now one of the most practiced and most popular sports in the world, with over 60 million people engaging themselves in the sport regularly across the world.
I’m sure you will have already heard a lot of the amazing things that running can do for your body and mind, such as strengthening the heart, boosting energy levels, better sleep and the benefit of burning serious calories.
When you run, your heart beat faster and harder, pumping blood around your body faster; running consistently means your body can do this naturally more efficient. Another thing your body would learn to do better is burning calories, as running boosts your metabolism, which means you burn calories at a higher rate when you consistently exercise.
Another benefit to running is the endorphin high many people call a ‘runners high’ which is a boost in serotonin levels which is an instant mood booster. This healthier brain improves your memory, which leads to protection against dementia.
All in all it sounds like a super-drug, but with all these benefits, surely there has to be things that go wrong?
Those who enjoy running might aim higher than your average 5km, and try to tackle the beast of the running world. Marathons.
The first marathon race was created in 1896 to honour the legendary run of the Greek messenger Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens. There is no way of knowing if this was myth or fact, but Marathons have become more and more popular, with only around 500,000 completing one in the US in 2014.
Marathons are 26.2 miles long (42km), with the average time being around four and a half hours. What sort of pressure does it have on your body? And does extreme running actually cause any harm to your system?
Marathon runners have spoken before on feeling sore, achey and run down for days after they’ve completed it. Your body would be experiencing inflammation and swelling around your knees, as they take most of the impact, and a lower immune system means you have a higher chance of getting a cold afterwards.
This doesn’t stop people from going out and completing these marathons every year. “Before I took up running I had real problems with my knees. Not any more, a couple years of running and i am leaner, stronger, my resting heart rate is massively reduced and my knees don’t hurt anymore” says Steven James from Manchester.
There has been a new trend forming within the running community of ‘ultra-marathons’ which is considered as anything over the 42 kilometres of a marathon, with the average being around 50km. For an average person, these miles could seem crazy, as this is around the distance between London and Bedford.
“I have run an ultra and felt it at mile 25, however the cross training (swimming and biking) really made a difference, I felt good!” Says Linda Ross from Stevenage.
This increase in milage can take months to train for, however if not done safely or consistently, could lead to fatal injuries. Across last decade, 42 people died whilst running due to cardiac events, with your chance of a heart attack heightened 24 hours after intense exercise.
Marathons can literally destroy your body, with many runners experiencing acute kidney injuries, a compromised immune system, temporary loss of fluid in the spine and a huge break down in muscles.
However, overall, there are no long term effects of harm to the body when running long distance, with many people preferring it to shorter distances. However, with regular training, extensive build ups and cross training, your body will benefit more from your mission to beat 26.2 miles than cause injury.
With a rise in demand for organic produce, a boom in lifestyles such as Veganism and the want for pesticide and chemical free produce, there have been a huge increase in people attending markets across the nation for their produce. The Veganism society claims that it was the biggest food trend in 2018, and many people are lookingthwards a healthier lifestyle with an array of fresh fruit and vegetables. With more and more farmers markets popping up every day, let’s look at some of London’s most famous market place and discover why they’re having such a powerful comeback.
The oldest surviving market in London and arguably the whole of Britain was first mentioned in historical texts in 1276, but is thought to have been around from as early as 1014. We are talking about the famous borough market which sits in Southwark under the London Bridge stretching down the side of the Thames. In the 19th century it became one of Londons most important food markets.
The market first established itself on the London Bridge and acted as a hub to sell to travellers who crossed the bridge from the city of London to Southwark town. A larger market was then set up which sold a wider range of produce near the foot of the bridge which was known as Guildable Manor. In the 1270’s, the City of London forbade its citizens to go to the markets as they began to undercut the cities traders by buying produce and reselling it for their own value.
As the time passed into the 16th and 17th century, Southwark was absorbed into the city of London and the authorities did it’s best to maintain order around the markets. They were supervised to maintain price control and inspected goods and were also required to set up fixed stalls as unlicensed trading was a big problem of the era.
In 1666, the Great fire of London burned down the main market house and a large portion of the bridge and it’s markets, and in 1756, nearly 100 year later, the government ceased trading on the market as it was taking away from the high street shops which were part of Londons growing economy. Outraged, the residents began petitioning to be allowed to begin a new market, independent to the city, away from the high street in order to not interfere with their business.
They quickly raised £6,000 (£1mil) and bought an area called the triangle and within two years the place was enlarged and a market house was built. The modern borough market was born.
Over the years, with the rise of national supermarkets which killed off the small grocery and market business, the market developed a niche for speciality meat and cheese. It has becomegreat tourist attraction, with around 16 million people visiting Londons oldest fruit and veg market every year.
The rise in demand for vegetable produce is doing wonders for markets across Britain.
Camden
Camden
Another famous market which is sometimes forgotten, is the beauty and uniqueness of Columbia Road Flower Market. Named in honour of the heiress and philanthropist Angela Burnett Couts who built the Original Columbia Market in the 19th century. It was her aim to bring cheap and good quality produce to the poorest of East London, so in 1868, she built a huge market building with over 400 stalls and apartments for the traders built above.
Unfortunately, due to limited transport connections and with big markets such as borough and convent garden which were closer to the centre of the city, the market couldn’t thrive. So, in 1871, the market hall was gifted to the city of London and was used for workshops and workhouses for 80 years till it was demolished in the 1950’s to make way for new housing opportunities. You can still see the gates and lion statues which sit outside a local primary school. The market continued on Columbia Road but with a swift change in produce from food to mostly bright, beautiful flowers helped the market survive.
The market suffered in WW2 due to rules regarding food rationing and part of the market received significant damage during the blitz, but in the 1960’s new rules meant traders had to attend regularly and with a resurgence in gardening, the market gained popularity. The changing of opening days to a Sunday instead of a Saturday also meant local jewish traders could bulk up numbers. Traders from other markets began flocking to the market selling left overs from the week, such as convent garden, but over time the market specialised in flowers.
Columbia Road Flower Market sound clip
One of the youngest but possibly one of the most globally famous markets is Camden Market. Although time wise, Camden market is only 50 years old, it remains one of the busiest, well known and popular destinations for tourists and residents of London.
Camden Market officially begun on the 30th March 1974, with a brand new Saturday market which housed a total of 16 stalls which sold antiques, jewellery and arts and crafts. However, previous to this the history of the famous Camden Locks has been slowly forgotten.
Famous scenes from the early 20th Century are recreated in TV productions such as ‘Peaky Blinders’ which shows the locks being a big import and export place for beverages such as whiskey and gin. Distilleries and warehouses would sit along the locks, all dedicated to the booze.
As the towns market developed, this art slowly depleted, lost and forgotten until 2014, when the tradition was reborn when Mark Holdsworth created ‘Half Hitch Gin’ which is distilled in Camden Town. The alcoholic drink can now be found in prestigious London hotels like the Hilton, St James and in establishments like The Shard and Selfridges.
It’s fame can be reflected in the numbers – over 28 million people visit the markets every year. In 1973 a wine merchant called John Armit and his business partner Tony Mackintosh were responsible for turning the ‘run-down packaging warehouse’ beside the canal into Dingwalls Dance Hall and the venue was soon a notorious place for punk-rockers. There have also been many famous faces walking the streets such as David Bowie, Lady Gaga, and is also where Amy Winehouse worked pre-fame as a teenager.
Nowadays, even though some of it’s traditional areas have been lost (the old lock keepers cottage is now a Starbucks) and the authorities have had a major push to eradicate the drug culture that had remained since the 80’s, the general vibe of the market makes it unique. It feels stuck in a period of punk rock with a tad of ibiza markets with the rage of counterfeit products making their name on the market alongside niche food products such as halloumi fries, vegan burgers and the infamous Cereal Killer cafe, which offers the widest range of breakfast cereals from across the globe, with an amazing collection of memorabilia.
Markets once were the entire economy in the UK, but with a rise in convenience stores and the demand for fresh, high quality produce, people are now looking for more substantial, economic sources. This has meant the market world which was once in a crippling decline, is being resurrected to supply those who are wishing to live a healthier lifestyle. In the future we could g straight back to markets and our local supermarket could be a desolate wasteland.
Jo Nava moved to London from Denmark with her family 3 years ago. Since then, she has made her space on the corner of Tottenham court road, where she wows passers-by with her new style of busking. Using a loop machine and her laptop she is able to create new unique songs you usually only hear on the radio right in front of you. With this she plays her own music only, introducing us to a mixture of song and rap with lyrics that tug at your heartstrings and lift your soul as she inspires you to live a positive lifestyle.
WNOL 