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6 days ago | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Ali Assaf |Alex Healey |Neelam Tailor
Temu’s deals feel like a game but behind the scenes the Chinese shopping app uses underhand psychological tactics known as ‘dark patterns’ to keep us spending. Temu was the most downloaded app in the UK, US, Australia and Canada at the beginning of last year. Neelam Tailor uncovers the tactics the shopping app borrows from casinos and gaming apps to manipulate shoppers, and explores the environmental, ethical and data privacy risks that come with those bargain hauls
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2 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Alex Healey |Neelam Tailor
They are everywhere, and they might be messing with your body more than you realise. They’re linked to obesity, gut issues, even chronic disease. But how exactly are UPFs making us sick? Neelam Tailor speaks with food philosopher and former industry insider Prof Barry Smith, who breaks down what UPFs do inside your body, how food companies keep us hooked, and how you can reduce how much UPF you eat.
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3 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Alex Healey |Josh Toussaint-Strauss
Salmon is often marketed as the sustainable, healthy and eco-friendly protein choice. But what you may not realise is that most of the salmon you buy is farmed, especially if you live in the UK, because Scottish salmon producers are no longer required to tell you. Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out why it is important for consumers to know where their salmon comes from, and examines the gap between the marketing of farmed salmon and the reality for our health, the environmental and animal welfare
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Neelam Tailor |Ali Assaf
What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Josh Toussaint-Strauss |Ali Assaf
As droughts become more prevalent, corporate control over our drinking water is threatening the health of water sources and the access people have to them.
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Neelam Tailor |Ali Assaf
Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk. Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems? Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all
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Jan 30, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Josh Toussaint-Strauss |Ali Assaf
Efforts at stopping population movement by force often fail to stop people migrating across borders. But for many politicians, that can be a good thing. Josh Toussaint-Strauss explores how immigration is being exploited for business, to boost political agendas, and as a weapon of war• ‘Weapons of mass migration’: how states exploit the failure of migration policies
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Ali Assaf |Alex Healey |Neelam Tailor
Why are your favourite products getting smaller but costing the same? From toilet paper rolls to snacks, shrinkflation is the sneaky tactic is affecting many things we buy. In this video, Neelam Tailor looks into how companies hide shrinkflation and what you can do about it. After a holiday season where festive treats like Cadbury’s Christmas selection boxes shrank while prices stayed the same, shrinkflation continues to impact shoppers in 2025.
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Dec 19, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Neelam Tailor |Alex Healey |Ali Assaf |Steve Glew |Ryan Baxter
Pharmaceutical corporations claim high prices are the cost of innovation, but the reality is far more complicated — and troubling. In 2030, the patents of some of the world’s best-selling drugs will expire, an event called the 'patent cliff', and companies are doubling down on tactics such as 'evergreening' patents and pay-for-delay deals to keep prices high and competition out.
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Neelam Tailor |Alex Healey |Ali Assaf |Joseph Pierce |Ryan Baxter
In the UK and US, more than half the average diet consists of ultra-processed foods. For some people, especially those who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPFs is typical, and this has been linked to a myriad of harmful effects to health. Neelam Tailor traces the surprising journey of ultra-processed foods from their origins in industrial waste to today's complex ingredient lists and the regulatory loopholes that paved the way
