Last updated at 12:31 PM on 3rd November 2011
Scotland's generally appalling diet is one of life's great oddities. This is a nation blessed with the finest natural produce in the world – rivers teeming with wild salmon, seas full of the freshest fishes, glens home to a million venison steaks. The most succulent beef, the juiciest lobsters, the fattest mussels, the sweetest berries are all to be found in this culinary cornucopia. And yet far too many of its inhabitants choose to ignore all this and subsist on salt, sugar, lard and vegetables that are boiled for a month.
No surprise then that scientists have concluded this week that were Scotland to adopt an 'English' diet several thousand avoidable early deaths from cancer and heart disease could be avoided.
The researchers, from Oxford, found that the Scots (along with the Welsh and Northern Irish) eat more salt, more fat, fewer vegetables and less fruit than the Sassenachs. Cue a lot of Caledonian outrage I imagine, but as anyone who has lived in Scotland will attest there is little to argue with in this report.
Home to a million venison steaks: Far too many of Scotland's inhabitants choose to ignore the country's natural produce
I was at University in Scotland in the mid-1980s and remember the canteen food, dominated by deep-fried meat, overcooked vegetables and far, far too much salt. It was all very odd because it was clear from the off that Scotland was awash with great food, from the berries of Strathmore, the wonderful Arbroath smokies (the best cured fish in the world) even haggis, a wonderful dish.
The problem is, the Scots themselves didn't seem to be eating this stuff, not regularly anyway. I remember on a trip to Ullapool, on the magnificent northwest coast, seeing the fish being unloaded at the docks. Crates of haddock and cod, coley and spider crabs, eels and flatfish and a dozen more species. And all packed into lorries with French and Spanish numberplates.
Scotland produces the finest whiskies in the world and a handful of first-class ales and yet these are not the drinks you will see locals drinking in Glasgow's bars, preferring as they do tasteless gassy lagers and cheap blends.
The question is, why? Britain in general has a debased food culture and it is clear from the report that although better, England's diet is no great shakes either. The reason must lie, at least partly, in the fact that Britain was the first country in the world to industrialise. We saw a mass-migration from the countryside to the cities in the early 19th century, severing a link with the land that remained in place well into the 20th Century in most of Europe. This must explain the disdain, and even fear, felt by the British urban working classes for 'proper' food, a phenomenon tackled bravely and brilliantly by Jamie Oliver.
In Britain, as in no other country save the US, diet and class are inextricably linked. Here, the wealthier you are the better you eat. This is the direct opposite of say, Greece or Italy, where it is the middle-classes who frequent the fast-food joints and who have stopped cooking at home, whereas the farmers and taxi drivers still expect something homecooked and traditional every night.
Why is this effect so strong in Scotland? It could be that the effects of the Highland Clearances, the concentration of landowning wealth in the hands of an aloof and often absent aristocracy, the low population and consequent demand for urban labour during industrialization have all magnified an effect being seen south of the border as well.
Aged to perfection: Scotland produces some of the finest whisky in the world, yet most Glaswegians prefer gassy lager or cheap blends
Having all that fine venison and expensive beef, whisky and fish to hand is all very well, but if you had to be a laird to afford it this cornucopia might as well have been locked in the vaults of Holyrood Palace.
And what about Wales and Northern Ireland? I was surprised to see the Ulster diet lumped in with that of Scotland. We lived in Belfast for several years in the 1990s and always found that, in general, the Irish have a greater appreciation for good food than the English. The 'Scottish' effect is strongest in the (mostly Protestant) urban industrial areas of Belfast and this probably skews the average. As for Wales, again this is a place covered in great produce which the locals are choosing to ignore. Industrialisation, poverty and so on must all be to blame.
Can anything be done? I doubt it. Plenty of Scots eat well, of course, and always have done and the place is full of foodies eating in a new generation of fine restaurants. But this healthy minority does not matter; it is the urban working-class poor that make such a startling contribution to Scotland's alarming health statistics. Life expectancy in Glasgow, probably the unhealthiest city in Western Europe, is a staggering 14 years lower for men than it is in west London (the discrepancy in women is not nearly so large, showing that the difference must be almost entirely lifestyle related).
It's not just poor diet; high levels of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, a lack of exercise and a general disdain for 'healthy living' play as big a part. It is not just a case, as Jamie has discovered, of telling people what is good for them. They have to want to change, and that is a tall order, especially if you live on a Glaswegian housing estate and there is not a decent grocer or butcher for miles.
Read Michael Hanlon's RightMinds blog here
Hasn't anyone learned yet not to read any article in this paper that begins research has found, or scientists believe, or experts say. It's all poppycock. The English diet is no better than anywhere else, in fact, it's a lot worse than some. Want a great diet that actually promotes health? Look no further than our Scandinavian cousins. They have ditched conventional wisdom of high carb low fat in favour of high fat low carb and the results have been startling, - obesity, plummeting, diabetes 2 - reversed and cured, digestive disorders - on the wane, health - skyrocketing. Take note, DOH, THIS is what you should be promoting.
- Bobby, Inverness, 03/11/2011 16:08
Report abuse