He said: “We want food companies to spell out exactly how much water they’ve pumped into their ham on the front of packs, so people can easily see how much they’re paying for meat, and how much for water and additives. “As long as a legal loophole lets companies avoid admitting how much water ham contains, consumers risk being sold a pig in a poke.” The discovery of high amounts of water and additives is not peculiar to ham. Previous studies have found high levels of water and beef protein in chicken.. Peer pressure that forces parents to buy expensive designer goods is making raising children harder than a generation ago, according to a new survey. Grandparents and parents said that an increase in materialism and the dispersal of families meant that bringing up children had become more difficult.
Modern parents complained that the popularity of designer clothing prompted children to demand expensive branded garments. More than four out of five parents questioned for Saga Magazine thought today's children were more materialistic and had higher expectations than a generation ago. And 80 per cent said parenting was harder because of the higher cost of living. Some 73 per cent of grandparents among the 2,662 people surveyed said raising children was easier in their day a view shared by 68 per cent of today's parents.
Lorraine Jefferies, a self-employed hairdresser from Sandy, Bedfordshire, who has two grandchildren, said that branded goods were making parenting more difficult. "I have got five children and it definitely is a lot harder these days," said Mrs Jefferies, whose children range from 11 to 23. "They have peer pressure at school and if they don't get the brand they get bullied. And now, instead of spending £10 on a trainer you are paying £60." She said that her daughter Clare had bought her three-year-old son a pair of designer boots costing £80.