Book reviewed this issue are:
Dictionary of Environmental Health
David Worthington
Spon Press (2003) Price: £55
What are the essential texts on the bookshelf of any professional in the environmental health field? Perhaps the first book which will come to the mind of many EHPs will be Clay’s Handbook of Environmental Health, the textbook used by students and officers alike since what seems before the dawn of history. Under the stewardship of Bill Bassett, the Handbook has been joined by a number of texts related to environmental and public health, to form Clay’s Library of Health and the Environment. The latest addition to the Library is the Dictionary of Environmental Health by David Worthington. No doubt this book will find its way on to many bookshelves as an essential reference for that moment when some additional understanding, or a clear definition is required. How many times have we searched a range of sources to find a clear definition of a term and wished that we had a comprehensive yet concise reference source at hand.
The author has very considerable experience as an environmental health professional, both within local and national government and has been responsible for the production of the CIEH electronic encyclopaedia series, Environmental Health Today. Whilst a wealth of information is available in electronic form, there is still room for book which can be quickly lifted off the shelf for easy reference.
The Dictionary is intended to cover the full spectrum of environmental and public health although the author acknowledges that it is difficult to know where these fields begin and end and that there will inevitably be omissions and topics perhaps, in the view of an enquirer, not adequately addressed. There are more than 3000 entries in the dictionary, including terms and concepts, abbreviations and acronyms. Want to know what HACCP stands for? You’ll get not just a definition, but also a discourse on its history, development and principles. Too embarrassed to ask a colleague what ‘sarking’ is in a roof? You’ll have the answer in no time with the dictionary. Topics covered range through disease, food, occupational health and safety, pollution, built environment, government and even subjects, which don’t appear at first site to be strictly related to environmental health. There is actually an entry on the term ‘environmental health’.
Inevitably not every enquiry will be catered for. In such a broad field this is just not possible. However there would appear to be a number of strange inclusions and also omissions. For example the significance of an entry on ‘plutonic’ rocks is not entirely obvious while on the other hand it would seem to be a little strange that, for example, ‘noise induced hearing loss’ and definitions of heat transfer terms related to food processing have not been included.
So how useful will it be? The book does not claim to be an all embracing text on environmental health and in many cases entries will not supply sufficient explanation. In those situations it will be necessary to search other texts for enlightenment. It will, however, be of value to many practitioners and to students as a ready reference to fill in gaps in knowledge, or provide some explanation.
Reviewed by Oliver Hetherington
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Food Deserts: A Practical guide
Nargis Kayani
Chadwick House Publishing Price: £25.95
The increasing trend of developing out of town, or edge of town shopping centres, coupled with the demise of local neighbourhood shops has a host of impacts on both urban and rural communities. The term “food deserts” was first used in 1995 by the Low Income Project Team of the Nutrition Task Force to describe areas where access to food shops is difficult and there is a lack of small retail shops to meet demand for healthy, affordable food.
Nargis Kayani makes it clear in this well presented work that food deserts result from a complex matrix of factors that impinge on health inequalities, social exclusion, and the downgrading of local economies. In particular she argues the case for environmental health professionals to take up the challenge posed by food deserts. This involves expanding the understanding of “safe food” to encompass food which is also healthy and affordable.
All too often publications that claim to be “practical guides” fail to deliver. In this regard the author has the advantage of extensive hands-on experience through her research work on a food desert in the Stephney neighbourhood of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The description of this work is a model of clarity, and has the added advantage of being readily adaptable to a wide range of similar investigative exercises. The outcomes from this study are both thought provoking and encouraging, and demonstrate how well designed and delivered research can lead to concrete developments.
The final chapter dealing with the wider concerns of food deserts paints a very broad canvas, but would benefit if the linkages between the individual elements were more clearly demonstrated. In fairness, a very comprehensive set of references (including web sites) is provided for readers’ wishing to delve further into the subject. By the author’s own admission, it is difficult to encompass all the elements of a very complex topic in a publication of this nature. While the term “food deserts” has shades of the instant news bite about it, the issue is an increasingly important one that has particular resonance for those interested in seeking joined up solutions to joined up problems. This timely publication serves to bring the issue to a wider audience while keeping the sceptics onboard.
Reviewed by Martin Fitzpatrick
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