By Claire Jeannerat, ARC2020
For both Claire and her husband, shepherding in the mountains is a lifestyle choice rather than a career. They endeavour to live this vocation in a manner that respects and upholds ancient traditions that are being lost in modern society, bridging a path between the old and new.
By Shane Casey, ARC2020
We’re back on Shane Casey’s farm in the Burren, Ireland, where it’s nearly time for the reverse transhumance cattle drive – or ‘winterage’ as it’s known locally.
By Louise Kelleher, ARC2020
It’s a source of satisfaction to Jacqueline that she and her family are very much present in the fields around the village where they live. One reason she wanted to become a farmer was to see animals in the pastures.
By Stuart Meikle, ARC2020
Methane has a role to play in sustainable farming. We cannot let the debate around methane emissions cloud the broader benefits of farming with ruminants...
By Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future
The single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth is to stop thinking there’s a single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, or that bang for your buck metrics of this kind are helpful in formulating how best to live.
By Matthew Hayes, ARC2020
What is the value of a life? What is the consequence of a death? Is there a right way to kill? What is the best way to live?
By Gunnar Rundgren, Garden Earth
While there are many environmental and ethical reasons to criticize industrial forms of livestock production, there are no valid reasons to shun the rearing of livestock in general.
By Robert Barbour, Sustainable Food Trust
How are we going to feed an increasingly hungry planet, without crippling the life support systems on which we depend? It’s an existentially important question, the solution to which will require action on a myriad of fronts.
By Lizzie Rowe, Sustainable Food Trust
The polarisation of the meat debate is driving a dangerous divide between people united by the same aim: saving the planet. We need to stop demonising and start collaborating. Whether we choose to eat animal protein or not, the thing that really matters is that we think about our food choices. Forget omnivore, flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan – we should all be united as thoughtful eaters.
By Nicolette Hahn Niman, Sustainable Food Trust
Clearly, mainstream meat production needs much improvement. But this is precisely why faux meats are such a distraction. They get people like Bill Gates and other techies all excited. This siphons the energy, media attention and money away from the work that really needs to be done to fix agriculture. We need all hands on deck to transform mainstream agriculture from extractive to regenerative.
By Erik Assadourian, Gaianism
It is foolish to lose the knowledge of animal husbandry and butchering skills. It is only a matter of time when we (in consumer cultures) will need and rely directly on them again. In the meantime, if we choose to eat meat and animal products, we should support those who are caring for their animals humanely and sustainably, who are reintegrating these farming skills and services into our local economies, and who are helping to build or sustain a resilient local food system.
By Sasha Wirth, Fibershed
Around 300 visitors have come to UC Elkus Ranch in Half Moon Bay for its annual Sheep to Shawl event when the farm gates are opened wide to anyone interested in getting a glimpse of the agrarian life.