An underground trade in shellfish is putting the health of consumers at risk with tonnes of potentially contaminated seafood feared to be entering the food chain, an investigation by The Ecologist and The Independent has revealed. The scale of the illicit – and highly lucrative – trade has alarmed health officials and fisheries protection bodies who say they lack […]
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Revealed: the prescription drugs most likely to harm or kill us
Official data suggests antidepressants, antipsychotics, stop smoking drugs, vaccines against swine flu and even paracetamol cause adverse drug reactions. So just how safe are they? Andrew Wasley & Bethany Hubbard report A drug used to treat schizophrenia and thought disturbances in patients with Parkinson’s disease is the medicine most likely to harm or kill you […]
Blood harvest: the hidden cost of Italy’s soft drinks trade
The Ecologist Film Unit recently travelled to Calabria in Southern Italy to investigate claims that the seasonal orange harvest makes use of African migrants, many of them paid poverty wages and living in squalid conditions. The region’s oranges are frequently bought by multinational food and drink companies for use as juices or concentrates, often ending […]
Coca Cola responds to orange harvest ‘exploitation’ controversy
The soft drinks giant is looking at extending its supply chain audits and facilitating talks on ensuring better standards after Ecologist investigation uncovers squalid conditions and low pay for some migrant workers in Calabria. Gianluca Martelliano & Andrew Wasley report Coca Cola is examining how the company can help facilitate ‘fair’ conditions and wages for […]
Coca Cola challenged over orange harvest linked to ‘exploitation and squalor’
The manufacturer of Fanta is being urged to help address the poor conditions and low wages endured by some African migrant workers harvesting oranges in southern Italy. Andrew Wasley reports from Rosarno It is perhaps the worst address in Western Europe. A ramshackle slum with a noisy road on one side, a railway on another, […]
Bitter harvest: exploitation ‘rife’ on UK farms
Migrant workers are vital for meeting the UK’s demand for year-round fruit and vegetables. But despite improvements since the Morecambe Bay tragedy, allegations of poor conditions and abuse in the horticulture sector persist. Andrew Wasley reports ‘There’s no justice, there’s discrimination… people are treated like cattle, not human beings, I never expected it could be […]
Scandal of Europe’s tomato slaves
Across Italy an invisible army of migrant workers harvests tomatoes destined for our dinner plates. Paid poverty wages and living in squalor, medical charities have described conditions as ‘hell’. Andrew Wasley reports from Basilicata, southern Italy In the parched countryside outside the town of Venosa, in Basilicata, southern Italy, along a rough track fifteen minutes’ […]
How food speculation fuels tortilla crisis
A surge in financial speculation on maize is causing vastly inflated prices for corn tortillas – a sacred staple in Mexico – and threatening the health and livelihoods of the country’s poor.As part of a special report examining food speculation the Ecologist Film Unit travelled to Mexico to investigate. The Ecologist Film Unit (EFU) is jointly […]
Revealed: popular antibiotics linked to UK deaths
Millions of us are successfully treated with ciprofloxacin and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics each year. But for some patients the drugs are linked to severe adverse reactions involving terrifying physical and mental health impacts. Andrew Wasley reports Patients who say they’ve suffered severe adverse reactions to a common antibiotic are calling for action to prevent others […]
Fracking Hell: the untold story
Plans by UK companies to extract gas through a controversial process known as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ could contaminate local water supplies, according to a new report by the Tyndall Centre. The report echoes the findings of a major Ecologist Film Unit investigation and film released late last year which raised the alarm about the process – […]
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