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This archive of investigations, reports and interviews below spans from my work with What Doctors Don’t Tell you through my ‘Ecologist years’ to some of my more recent work (see also my Blogs page) with other publications and from the NYR Natural News website, which I edit and Beyond GM campaign and its associated websites.
It does not include the large body of feature work which I did as a music journalist – work I am equally proud of but which came before the internet made archiving easier!
What Doctors Don’t Tell you re-wrote the book on how journalists should approach health. Instead of rewriting press releases, blindly following the latest fads or relying on rent-a-quote experts, the team immersed itself in the medical journalist that Doctors were – or should have been – reading. These often tell a very different story to the PR that filters through to the media about modern pharmaceuticals. I was a contributing editor at WDDTY for nearly a decade and editor of Proof! – the consumer magazine that grew out of the work we did there.
The Ecologist magazine, founded in 1970, was the world’s oldest and most widely read environment magazine. It was a driving force in major environmental campaigns against climate change, toxic chemicals in household products, rainforest destruction, food additives, genetic modification and much more. Its courageous, in-depth journalism provided early-warning signs for all the environmental challenges we face now and was, for decades, hugely influential in setting the environmental and green political agendas in the UK and elsewhere. The New York Review of Magazines called it “A magazine that changes people’s lives”. I was privileged to be its Health Editor and then Editor for several years before it ceased printing in 2009 and have continued to contribute ad hoc to it’s website.
My interest in a less interventionist, more natural approach to health continues to this day. NYR Natural News is the only alternative health website based in the UK. It has a growing UK and international audience of people who want good information on health alternatives and who want to understand the connections between environment and health. It is also an increasingly powerful voice in environment and GM campaigning, exposing the toxic connections between multinational corporations and political policy and their impact on human well-being.
Feeling chronically below par, sluggish and lacking in vitality has become the norm for many of us. This chronic lack of vitality could be an indication that the lymphatic system is blocked, sluggish or just plain overwhelmed by stress and toxins. Ignored by medicine unless problems such as lymphoedema arises secondary to, say, breast cancer […]
First there was plain yoghurt, then fruit yoghurts, then yoghurt drinks, and now everyone ‘s talking about – and apparently consuming – gut-friendly probiotics. Yakult started the trend almost 10 years ago but, since then, big names like Danone, M “uller and Nestl’e have jumped on the milk-train. Now, even supermarkets like Asda and Tesco […]
Soap is one of those things we all take for granted. Yet, we’ve used it for thousands of years as part of daily life and in religious ceremonies. These days, the art of making soap has largely died away, overtaken by the trend towards detergent use. Today, most of us use detergents moulded to look […]
History will relate that it was the chemists of drug giant Pfizer who first brought men ‘s most intimate problem out from under the bedclothes into the light of day with the invention of Viagra in 1998. But Pfizer ‘s greatest achievement was to turn male impotence from a guilty secret into an everyday medical […]
We all know we’re experimental guinea pigs for the food industry. The thousands of additives and pesticides that form part of our daily fare mean that our bodies are storehouses of chemical toxins. The long-term health consequences of this situation are totally unknown-and that’s official. Even the UK government’s food experts admit this sad fact, […]
Constant stress is a defining feature of modern life, and a source of common health problems such as anxiety, insomnia, heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain and gastrointestinal problems like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These days, 60-90 per cent of all visits to the GP are for stress-related disorders. The profound effect of stress on our […]
It wasn’t so long ago that milk was considered a healthy food and the best source of calcium – the more you drank, the stronger your teeth and bones would be. But nowadays, we know that a wide range of symptoms can be attributed to milk and dairy products and, for many, eliminating or restricting […]
It’s said that London’s water passes through 13 people before being flushed into the sea. For many of us in the UK, the water does certainly taste ‘used’. But taste isn’t the only problem. Tapwater also contains pollutants such as fluoride (natural and artificial), lead (from old pipework), Giardia (an intestinal parasite), nitrates, pesticides, hormones […]
It’s a basic necessity. Brushing your teeth several times daily helps keep them clean, free of plaque-forming bacteria, and freshens the breath. In the UK, we spend lb217 million a year just on toothpaste. Brushing, like most daily tasks, can be boring, so manufacturers now advertise toothpaste so as to suggest it ‘s a beauty […]
Vitamin E has had a slippery ride since its discovery in 1922, when it was hailed as a virtual cure-all. Our bodies can’t make vitamin E; we have to obtain it from either food or supplements. Soya and wheatgerm oils are concentrated natural sources, and it’s also plentiful in nuts and grains, so deficiency is […]
I am an award-winning campaigner, journalist and author. A former editor of the Ecologist magazine Pat has run campaigns for Paul McCartney’s Meat-Free Monday, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Neal’s Yard Remedies. In 2011, my work leading the campaign, Cows Belong in Fields, won CIWF the Observer Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year. In 2014 I co-founded the campaigning group, Beyond GM.
I am a qualified psychotherapist and the author more than 40 books for adults and children and I was inducted into Who’s Who in 2014. In addition to my work with Beyond GM, I work occasionally with the film production company Ecostorm. I also currently edit and oversee NYR Natural News – a campaigning natural health website, continue to write in a freelance capacity and make regular public speaking and media appearances.
I have been a trustee of both the Soil Association and the Organic Research Centre in the UK and am currently on the advisory board of GMO Free USA and am a trustee of the investigative media agency, Eyewitness.
To read more about me see here.
Skype: patti.t16
I am interested in and available for short- and long-term projects/consultancies, and am particularly keen on those that focus on food, sustainability and culture change. I am also an experienced public speaker.
My unique professional experience means I bring a variety of skills to any work I do, including effective and persuasive communication and writing skills, an holistic perspective on sustainability and change, and both intuitive and analytical ability. I am well known in my field and comfortable working in most fora.
Recent projects/consultancies include work with: Stella McCartney ‘Care’ range, Paul McCartney’s Meat Free Monday, Friends of the Earth, Compassion in World Farming, Soil Association, Neal’s Yard Remedies.
Recent public speaking engagements: UK Aware, Oxford University PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Society, Durham Union Society (Durham University), Bristol Festival of Nature, World Preservation Foundation, Women’s Institute.
Please feel free to contact me by email: howlatthemoon@live.co.uk
Laura Longrigg
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I'm a highly experienced journalist and award winning campaigner specialising in environment and alternative health. I'm also the author of several books for adults and children and a qualified psychotherapist.
