At the outset of Covid, panic food buying saw our vegetable shelves emptied sending many of us to our local garden centres to buy seed. A combination of ‘Digging for Britain’ and the Good life. The lockdown then closed our garden centres and seed, as with all things, mostly became available to the public via the internet. Overnight, as UK garden centres and supply chains endeavoured to make themselves accessible to their customers online, the UK public awoke to the fact that they could browse and purchase online seed, even plants, from a myriad of alternative suppliers across the world. Read more

When consumers are asked about contaminant risks in food, the usual concerns focus on microbes, pesticides or heavy metals such as lead. Plant toxins would probably not feature. After all, plant products are natural, so they must be healthy, right? Read more