lifestyle-and-leisure

Is freelancing as glamorous as it seems?

The word alone inspires visions of co-working spaces with white-washed brick walls, spartan surfaces, and rows of Monstera deliciosa plants.

But as long-term job security decreases and the gig economy takes hold, for some it is more about necessity than a glamorous lifestyle.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says there are more than a million independent contractors in Australia — though a 2014 study by research firm Edelman Berland put the number as high as 3.7 million.

Food health-rating labels failing to reveal added sugars, study finds

Professor Bruce Neal from the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney reviewed more than 34,000 packaged foods with health-star ratings.

These are the voluntary front-of-pack labels, designed to help people make healthier choices.

But health experts said naturally occurring sugars found in fruits, vegetables and dairy were treated the same as sugars added during food processing.

The science of taste: Why we choose fries over broccoli

But observations and research show this is generally not the case.

Instead, people tend to make choices based on how food tastes. Typically, the more sugar, salt and fat in the food, the more we will like it.

Genetics, experience and environment also influence our perception of food and the consumption choices we make.

Sick of fast fashion? Here are five ways to make your wardrobe more sustainable

Clare Press, fashion writer and editor, described this as her "canary in the coalmine moment" — the point at which she decided to become a passionate advocate of slow fashion.

She cites a study from 2006 that found British women were consuming four times as many clothes as their 1980 counterparts, and sending 30kg of textiles and clothing to landfill annually.