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Organic
Food Fraud in Britain
A recent Observer investigation has discovered fraud
in Britain's organic food industry, raising the concern
that consumers paying high premiums for organic food
are being ripped off.
The investigation has found that producers are falsely passing
off food as organic and retailers are failing to get accreditation
from independent inspectors - even going so far as to change
labels.
Figures from market research agency Mintel suggest three
out of four households now buy some organic food and environmental
groups said fraudulent activity within the industry must be
stamped out for the sake of customers and legitimate farmers.
"As organic food increases in popularity, more people
are going to take advantage," David Pickering of the
Trading Standards Institute told the Observer.
Paternity
Leave Laws Changing Societies
Paternity leave laws in Denmark and Iceland are
among the most generous in the world, with new
statistics proving the benefits to society in terms
of decreasing divorce rates and birthrate increases.
Last year, nearly all Icelandic fathers used their entitlement
to three months off work on 80% of their salary.
The new paternity law, which came into effect in 2002, gives
Icelandic parents up to nine months of paid leave for childcare
- three for the mother, three for the father and the rest
shared by couples as they see fit.
In Denmark, new parents can share a year of paid leave. In
2004, Danish fathers spent an average of 3.6 weeks off work
with their babies, compared with the mothers' average of 42.3
weeks.
"Danish men are saying they want to change the agenda
from their own fathers' agenda," Svend Aage Madsen, head
of psychology at Copenhagen University Hospital, told BBC
World Service radio.
Queen
Drills Holes to Heat Palace
The Queen is planning to create an underground
network to extract heat from the earth and cut
energy bills at Buckingham Palace. While wind farms
are still face planning battles, boreholes are
regarded as an uncontroversial form of renewable
energy. Once implemented, they also supply secure,
free and inexhaustible energy.
Costing approximately £50,000 to install,
this venture is the most radical of a wide range
of environmentally conscious schemes adopted by
the royal household in recent years.
Last winter, for example, two hydroelectric schemes
were announced for Balmoral and Windsor Castle.
With this plan, Balmoral is likely to become the
first royal residence to be self-sufficient in
energy, and will also provide power for up to 1,000
local homes.
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The Queen's latest venture has inspired a fashion
among the super-rich for drilling boreholes at
their properties, with Sir Elton John, entrepreneur
Sir Richard Branson and Paul Allen, the billionaire
co-founder of Microsoft, following suit.
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