Finding the point of balance is never easy. It is especially difficult when it comes to producing food and goods for a global population of 7billion+ without harming our natural world and environment beyond the point of sustainable thresholds.
The UN say that at the current rate of degradation the world’s topsoil could be gone within 60 years.
Climate scientists predict that if we continue with “business-as-usual”, global warming will almost certainly exceed 4C by the end of this century.
Mankind’s selfish gene has led to prevarication and inaction, to the detriment of our own long-term interests. Consequently, we face dire predictions on the future. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), believe we have less than two decades to limit the effect of climate change “in order to avoid irreversible changes to eco-systems and the planetary climate system.”
The task ahead is daunting, but maybe now is when hope burns brightest; we are a highly adaptable and ingenious species. When it is in our interests to act, we can achieve amazing things. Radical action is now in all our immediate interests.
And really good people are already doing really good work to achieve the transformation we need. Here’s a selection of just some of the people and organisations whose work gives me real cause for hope.
| ACADEMIA | ||
| Prof. Dieter Helm Oxford University | Economist, author Chair of Natural Capital Committee (NCC) | Dieter's twitter feed NCC's twitter feed |
| Prof. Michael Lee Bristol University | Ruminant Nutritionist Prof. of Sustainable Livestock Systems Head of Sustainable Agriculture, Rothamsted Research's North Wyke Farm Platform, | Michael's biography Livestock farming needs to prove its part of the solution, not the problem |
| Rothamsted Research | North Wyke Farm Platform's long-term, farm-scale experiments to assess the impacts of grazing livestock to sustainable farming | Rothamsted Research website |
| Jacqueline Hannam | Soil Scientist at Cranfield University Soil Science Council member | Jacqueline's twitter feed |
| Prof. Johan Rockstrom | Director of Stockholm Resilience Centre 2004-12. Developed the "Planetary Boundaries Framework" | Planetary Boundaries Framework & TED Talk |
| Mike Berners-Lee Lancaster University | Fellow of the Institute of Social Futures, author and expert on carbon footprinting | Mike's twitter feed |
| CAMPAIGN & POLICY | ||
| Sustainable Food Trust | Founded by Patrick Holden A global voice for sustainable food and health Thought-leader on sustainable farming in harmony with nature | SFT website |
| Oxford Real Farming Conference | Pioneer and thought-leader on sustainable food & farming. Excellent (and affordable) conference held annually, beginning of January | orfc website |
| Rare Breeds Survival Trust | charitable trust to monitor, protect, and champion the diversity of UK native breeds of farm animals | RBST website |
| Food Ethics Council | think-tank charity with mission to accelerate shift towards fair food systems | Food Ethics Council website |
| Lucy Siegle | journalist and writer on environmental issues. Campaigner, author of Turning the Tide on Plastic | Lucy's twitter feed |
| Raw Milk Producers' Association | Co-operative society owned and run by producers of raw drinking milk | RMP's website |
| RSA - 21st century enlightment | An ideas and enlightenment factory! Its mission is to enrich society through ideas and action | RSA website |
| PRACTICE | ||
| Exmoor National Park's "Exmoor Ambition" | A community-led action plan to enhance and sustain Exmoor's farmed landscape and communities | Exmoor Ambition plan |
| Martin Lines and Nature Friendly Farming Network | 3rd generation arable farmer in Cambridgeshire Chair of Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) | Martin's twitter feed NFFN website |
| James Rebank | Lake District farmer of hefted Herdwick sheep flock Author of The Shepherd's Life | James' twitter feed |
| Linscombe Farm | organic vegetable growers | Linscombe website |
| Ethical Dairy | pioneering their own way of dairy farming to make it kinder, more sustainable and ethical | Ethical Dairy website Ethical Dairy's twitter feed |
| Fir Farm | Cotswold livestock farm and producer of 100% pasture-fed meat | Fir Farm website |
| Wildlife Estates | European network of farms and estates aiming to sustainably manage land to enhance bio-diversity | Wildlife Estates' twitter feed |
| Barker Boys | Suffolk arable farm where top yields go hand-in-hand with farming for nature. | Barker Boys' twitter feed |
| Blackhill Organic Farm | Extensive grazing of native breed cattle and sheep naturally adapted to produce high quality meat from pasture. | Blackhill Farm website |
| Pasture Fed Livestock Association | Society of British farmers committed to producing meat and dairy from livestock managed on natural 100% pasture-fed diet | PFLA website PFLA's twitter feed |
| The Dartmoor Inn, Dartmoor, Devon | Phil Burgess & Andrew Honey cook great food using the best quality local, native breed, grass-fed meat | The Dartmoor Inn website |
| St Tudy Inn, St Tudy, Cornwall | Emily Scott, goes the extra mile to source the best local ingredients. Great ethos, great food | St Tudy Inn website |
| St John Restaurant, London | Fergus Henderson, the original proponent of food thrift and zero waste with his own "nose-to-tail" eating philosophy. Author of classic, "Nose to Tail Eating - a kind of British Cooking" | St John restaurant website St John's twitter feed |
| There's more! | Let me know who and what gives you cause for hope | catherine@catherinebroomfield.com |
email Catherine at catherine@blacklakefarm.com