Jamie Oliver would probably be very sad to learn (though I suspect he already knows) that the foods consumed in Britain today are very little, if any, better in terms of nutrition than they were in post-war Britain. Moving from full fat to skim milk products is not any improvement. Much as I personally am not a (beef) liver fan, I suspect it is better for people than pizza. Pasta (though I love it) is not really a step up from Indian foods (not mentioned and apparently a dying cuisine in Britain but many Indian dishes tend to be much more vegetable based than the kinds of Italian pasta dinners that I expect many Brits consume these days - i.e. spaghetti, as pictured). Purchasing whole wheat bread is little better in most cases than buying white (with all the additives and so little real nutrition and fiber left in most commercially produced bread these days). Baking one's own at home would be a much better trend. 'Chips', both fresh and frozen (I suspect more frozen than fresh these days in most households) remain the mainstay of the British diet - and the only vegetable mentioned. I believe most salmon available in Britain is farmed, not wild - replacing wild cod and haddock - too bad - though I guess it might be a plus if they don't batter and deep fry their salmon.
Thanks for posting the article, Anna. I don't think it was particularly good (not really specific enough for my taste but then it covers a long time period) but it did reveal some interesting things - not that most surprised me. I know there are many people who try to cook often at home and eat fresh, often organic, foods in the UK (Tere is an example, as I think my daughter in Scotland is as well) - this article I think really doesn't speak to most of those however. Those who live in rural, agriculturally rich areas I am sure don't run as much to the pub (also disappearing) as they might have in yesteryear - which for them is probably a good thing since they probably tend to cook at home more than those in cities.
I don't think any of my Welsh relatives (some now living in or near London, and in Northumberland) have ever had a (separate) freezer, and I am not sure they even had a fridge when I visited Wales as a child in the late 50s - though I know they all do now. It was summer and I know I was never offered ice, ice cream or a popsicle at any rate. We kids were given room temperature orange squash and I don't think even the grown ups had cold drinks except maybe if someone brought some beer from the pub. By contrast, though fridges in Canada were smallish by today's standards, and we waited years till we got a black and white tv, I think we always had a fridge with a freezer compartment - but not a separate freezer till the mid-60s.
