The Big Issue #245
- August 25 to September 24, 2016
“Life after the circus” – We investigate what happened to the 33 lions rescued from circuses in South America and brought to South Africa to settle in the bush. It’s a story that garnered international attention, but once the dust settled, what then? It’s no small feat to look after 33 top predators, and that’s besides the animals Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary already had. Sadly, two of the lions died and we explain how and why that happened and the steps taken to ensure it never happens again. The other 31 though, have landed up in a great retirement home.
“Falling in love again – why we need ‘ugly food’ – It’s a scandal that one third of the food we produce is wasted and never lands up in anyone’s kitchen. Even more so when you consider the amount of water we waste in producing that food. Professor Suzan Oelofse of the CSIR, a waste expert, talks to us about how this happens and makes suggestions about how people can change their habits in order the minimize waste. A big part of it lies in marketing and perception – the notion that “ugly” food is not good enough for the shelves. If you campaign right though, you can change this, as did Intermarché supermarkets in France, which offered “ugly” food at 30% less and increased traffic to the supermarket by 24%.
“Absolutely fatuous” – Much loved British actor Joanna Lumley is back on screen again in the movie version of “Absolutely Fabulous”, which could also have been called “Women Behaving Badly”, come to think of it. The hit TV show was a glorious subversion of every convention possible, with her playing the drunken Patsy to Jennifer Saunders’s equally out-of-it Edina. Our profile looks at Lumley’s campaign for the Gurkhas and more. While Patsy’s grey cells were fried a long time ago, Lumley has a weight the blond beehived one could never imagine. The film is released on September 23.
Journalist Sylvia Vollenhoven discusses her journey from discovering as a child that being “coloured” was a problem, through adult work at the SABC and in Ghana, illness, recuperation and finding her roots in a Khoisan ancestry. Addressing her younger self, she comforts the little girl excluded from a white school, the young woman who was for a time seduced by alcohol and reminds us of the value of “things that cannot be seen”.
Our new 4-page pull-out section for children. Aiming to encourage and develop scientific curiosity, it offers puzzles, discusses common questions that arise (for eg, “Why do humans have body odour?” and “Why can’t you tickle yourself?”), and this time shows children how to make their own fake plastic with milk and vinegar.
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