Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Food is not, should not, primarily be seen as a commodity to be bought or sold. To a large extent food is an expression of culture, solidarity and connectedness with the land. Food is also a human right.
This big vs small debate needs to be sorted out with a more detailed, targeted lens that does justice to the small-medium active farmers, individual or aggregated together in larger organisations.
Climate change is more than a terrifying crisis, it is an opportunity to restore planetary ecosystems and create healthier, more balanced societies.
On 26 January, the future of post-Brexit agricultural policy in England became clearer with the government’s announcement of six new standards under its Sustainable Farming Incentive.
In total some 850 million people are working in agriculture globally of which more than half in lower-middle income countries (e.g. India, Indonesia, Kenya) and just 16 million in high income countries.
Almost 3,000 kcal per person per day is made available for consumers, who “need” in the range of 2,100 kcal per person per day.
By and large there is a far too simplistic debate about the role of livestock in our food and agriculture systems.
A new course in Sweden poses the question, “what will a self-sufficient Hällefors Municipality taste like in 2030?”
Students on the course act like talent scouts. They search for unrealised food-growing potential across the region – people, unused land, forgotten traditions.
This is how a future that includes me was created. This, place-based farming, is wisdom. And, I suspect that, in places like mine, this is the only path that can lead to another future millennium.
Living and working, having lifestyles and livelihoods that are truly regenerative and sustainable look nothing like how most of us currently live and work.
How, then, do we remind ourselves of food’s healing elements, especially in our social connections?
Oysters can be an important protein for the future and a buffer against some climate change impacts only if society can balance competing interests.
