Farm Gate

Environmental breakdown and global population rise have led to a strong focus on food supply chains, but the way that we produce fibre is equally important.  At least 60% of our clothes are now made using synthetic, petrochemical-based fabrics - all of which need to be replaced.  Natural animal or plant-based fibres will become resurgent on the cat walks and on the high street - so the need to reform and integrate food and fashion supply chains is urgent. ffinlo Costain talks to Cate Havstad-Casad, farmer and founder of Range Revolution, an Oregon-based company which produces luxury leather products from certified regenerative ranches.

The world of glamping may seem remote from the every day toil of working with crops and livestock, but for six months of the year it can provide a hugely important source of income that can be used to underpin other aspects of farming life. ffinlo Costain is joined by Hannah Jefferson from Woodfrys Farm in Dorset and Jessica Allen-Back from Home Farm Glamping in Elstree.

This is the final programme in our Regen Dairy mini-series. Today we're visiting Germany, and ffinlo Costain talks to two regenerative dairy farmers - Anja Hradetzky, who farms at Hof Stolze Kuh in northeast Brandenburg, and Annabelle Gerard who farms at Hof Tangsehl in Lower Saxony. Regen Dairy is a partnership project of Farmwel and FAI Farms, in collaboration with Arla Foods, Barry Callebaut, Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever, and Woolworth South Africa - you can find out more about the project at regendairy.org 

One of the greatest challenges for global transformation is mindset shift - and because, in terms of food systems, this transformation needs to happen in so many places at once, it can be very difficult for individuals to feel that they're actually making a difference. The Inner Development Goals framework has been developed to support and foster the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Alongside this, the UN Development Programme has established the Conscious Food Systems Alliance. ffinlo Costain talks to Thomas Legrand, author of Politics of Being, and Lead Technical Advisor to the Conscious Food Systems Alliance - and Klaudia Shevelyuk, a sustainability consultant and communications manager for the UN's Inner Development Goals. Klaudia also talks about her harrowing experience of conflict in Ukraine, and explains how the IDGs helped her to cope.

ffinlo Costain speaks to Jayne Buxton, author of The Great Plant-Based Con.  Jayne has written novels and non-fiction, published articles in The Independent and The Guardian, and has been an ambassador for the Real Food Campaign and the Public Health Collaboration.   The Great Plant-Based Con, explains why eating a plants-only diet won't improve our health or save the planet - and it's available from all good book stores on-line or on-the-street.

COP27 is over. Temperatures continue to rise. There's still no consensus about the role of land use and agriculture. Did anything good emerge from Sharm El-Sheikh in terms of food systems & climate change? ffinlo Costain is joined by three experts:  Patty Fong, Program Director, Climate and Health and Well-being, Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Adele Jones, executive director, Sustainable Food Trust, Chantal Wei-Ying Clement, deputy director, IPES Food.

This is the third programme in a series in which I talk to regenerative dairy producers from around the world.  ffinlo Costain speaks to Phyllis Van Amburgh, who farms at Dharma Lea in Sharon Springs, New York, USA, about epigenetics and vertical real estate - and to Charlotte and Russell Heald, from Dunkeld Farm in the Tararua region of the north island in New Zealand, about food forests and circular farming systems. The Regen Dairy project was set up by FAI Farms and Farmwel, in collaboration with Unilever, Barry Callebaut, Arla Foods, Woolworth South Africa and Ben & Jerry’s.  This programme was roduced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

ffinlo Costain talks to Sir Dieter Helm CBE.  Dieter is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford. He was the Independent Chair of the UK's Natural Capital Committee, and was awarded a knighthood for services to the environment, energy and utilities policy. This discussion is a masterclass for people aiming to influence UK Government policy on agriculture and the environment. Helm is hugely engaging as he sets out his influential thinking and establishes sound criteria for support and opposition.

Carbon tunnel vision is a nasty disease that can create a strongly distorted perspective on agricultural land use and food production.  This programme will help to remedy the condition, by showing that land use decisions are complex.  ffinlo Costain is joined by Adele Jones, the deputy chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, and by Ashleigh Bright, a food systems and sustainability scientist, based in New Zealand.

This is an edited recording of the Regen Dairy round-the-world tour, which took place on 5th October 2022.  We were thrilled to host this opportunity to circumnavigate the globe with four very different regen dairy farmers, all of whom are quite exceptional in their own way.  Our panellists were Blake Alexandre is a fourth generation dairy farmer from Alexandre Family Farm near Crescent City, California, USA.  Richard Park is from Sizergh Farm, near Kendal in the UK, which has probably been farmed since the Vikings colonised Britain.  Mark Anderson is a fifth generation farmer from South Otago, New Zealand.  And Annabelle Gérard is a first generation dairy farmer from Lower Saxony in Germany.  The webinar was hosted by ffinlo Costain.