Maddy Harland

This summer, we had no proper rain for weeks and after a cold, snowy late spring we leapt into the height of summer. It iwas hotter than usual and this gaves us, in the cool temperate north, a holiday feeling, especially those in the PM team who have enjoyed the World Cup!

I am dreaming ... I am dreaming that I am in a rainforest. I can feel the tropical warmth on my skin and hear the rich soundscape of the jungle. My sight is filled with wonderful, vibrant growth where every niche is inhabited, from the highest canopy of flowering trees in which hummingbirds flit and drink to the darker lush recesses of the jungle floor. My senses are enlivened by exotic flowering plants like crab claw and hibiscus, and climbing vines like vanilla and Chilean jasmine. I am alert in a visceral way as I walk a path knowing I am sharing it with snakes, scorpions and fire ants.

Being Salmon, Being Human starts with a wonderful, evocative foreword by Stephan Harding, describing what it means to consciously realise in every cell of our body that we are living on a sentient, interconnected planet as opposed to in a dead Cartesian machine.

This sets the scene for Martin Mueller who takes us on a journey from the vigour and beauty of the salmonid species worldwide to its industrial, genetically modified farming system, as terrible as any terrestrial caged feedlot.