Consumer watchdog Which? has published a report into breakfast cereals that shows just how much the happy, smiling, caring manufacturers of these cereals really care about our health. The answer would appear to be – not one bit.
The group looked at 275 different cereals and found that even the ones usually considered to be healthy, often contained high levels of sugar, salt and fat.
In fact, using the Food Standards Agency’s traffic-light warning system (red for high, amber for medium, green for low), 75% of the cereals tested got the red light for sugar, 20% got the red light for salt and 7% for saturated fat. Kellogg’s Coco Pop Straws contained the same amount of sugar as a KitKat (34g per 100g) and in some cases you’d be better off having a bacon sandwich than a bowl of cereal.
This in itself is shocking and should make us all think twice before pouring ourselves a bowl of cereal in the morning. But hey, once we know what’s really going on, we can make those decisions. What’s worse is the way the cereal manufacturers relentlessly target children and continue to portray the idea that eating their cereals is the perfect, healthy start to the day. That’s not just shocking. It’s disgusting.
Oh sure, they’ll all claim that the information is there on the pack for all to see and that we’re all intelligent human beings, capable of weighing up options and making rational decisions – and yes, we are. But if that were the end of the story, then why would these manufacturers spend millions on marketing their cereals? Why bother, if we just read the side of the packet and don’t listen to a word they say?
The fact is that they know, and we know, that their marketing works. The drip-drip effect of their message slowly but surely shifts our opinions. It’s not some sordid conspiracy; it’s just hard, business fact.
In case you ever doubted it, the motivation for these people is money. Plain and simple. They’ll claim that they’re only trying to find a way to make their product successful and that if the customer is buying what they make, they’re doing it right. No, they’re not. They’re only trying to find a way to own the latest BMW and they’re doing it wrong.
But we’re the mugs because we’re the intelligent ones and yet we still buy their rubbish. More of us are waking up. More of us are realising that we’re the ones with the real power. And it’s no wonder, as a result, that local food is becoming so popular for so many people. There is food out there that has been made for something more than money. That’s where our money needs to start going, now.

On the 6th of July, BigBarn attended the prestigious National Business Awards ceremony and gala dinner at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham, and scooped the coveted Growth Strategy of the Year award for the Midlands and East of England region. That means that we’re off to the Dorchester Hotel, in November, to take part in the national finals.

Ant, wearing what he described as a ‘James Bond’ dinner suit, and Ed, having some trouble in a ‘this thing must have shrunk’ dinner suit, took to the stage to accept their award from Dr David Rae of Lincoln Business School and TV presenter Adrienne Lawler. Afterwards, the pair said they were ‘buggering off to get home’, adding all sorts of polished phrases that made them sound like astute businessmen and accomplished networkers.

Hundreds of companies entered the awards, which are sponsored by Orange and acknowledged by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as ‘the UK’s business Oscars’. Ant and Ed, with the Oscar thing going to their heads, were said by very intelligent sources to be ’slightly disappointed’ at not having had the chance to make a tedious acceptance speech. Even more intelligent sources said their Mums had been ‘hoping for a mention’.

Reflecting in a philosophical and business-luminary-like way on the award the following morning, Ed went on to say that ‘It is, of course, a superb vindication of everything that BigBarn is trying to achieve that we have been recognised in this way. We do, genuinely, want to thank all the people that register with us, and the growing number of producers who have become BigBarn members. Winning the award is, to us, confirmation that the local food movement is not just a passing trend, but something that is here to stay and growing all the time’.

So on behalf of us all, thank you. If you want to register with BigBarn you can do that now, here. If you’re a producer and want to join the many others that have recognised the benefits to their business of being a BigBarn member, call us on 01234 871005 or email Ant, and if you’re a big, swish, ethically-minded corporate sponsor who would like to support everything that BigBarn is trying to achieve for consumers, producers and the rural economy alike, or at least to take us out on your posh yacht while you think about it, then get in touch on the same number.

The National Business Award is the latest in a string of awards won by BigBarn:
WINNER – Best Dot Com start up – Eastern Association of Enterprise Agencies 2001
RUNNER-UP – AGI Award for Innovation 2003
WINNER – BCS Technology Award – Cybrarian Project Awards 2003
COMMENDED – The UK eWell-Being Awards 2005