Farm Gate

A regenerative agricultural and environmental transformation depends upon a resurgence of localism - but localism is also championed by far right politicians who pronounce their own vision centred on a tough approach to immigration.  How we can safeguard food systems in a more ecologically chaotic world with accelerating human migration?  Can we find a popular but inclusive vision of national localism? ffinlo Costain is joined by Natalie Bennett of the Green Party of England and Wales, and by Sue Pritchard, the chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme, we discuss a feature film, Six Inches of Soil, which is currently in production in the UK.  The film is being crowd-funded by organisations and individuals, and its producers want to ensure that - even as we are driven towards an ecological precipice fuelled in part by an industrialised food system - we recognise that the dirt beneath our feet is what feeds us and makes our societies strong. ffinlo Costain is joined by Colin Ramsay, the director of Six Inches of Soil, and by Claire Mackensie, the film's producer. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme, we're talking about meat, fish and protein alternatives - and the competing claims about sustainability that are made by individuals and vested interests across the food sector and around the world.  IPES Food has released a new report, The Politics of Protein, and to discuss it, ffinlo Costain is joined from the USA by lead author, Phil Howard, and from Brussels by the director of IPES Food, Nick Jacobs. LINKS: https://twitter.com/IPESfood http://www.ipes-food.org/pages/politicsofprotein https://twitter.com/ffinlocostain https://twitter.com/NickJacobs11

Demand for new woodland is growing for everything from timber to carbon sequestration. But forests take up space - and competition for land is increasing. How do we balance the demands of food production, nature, housing and infrastructure, with the need for new woodland and forest products?   ffinlo Costain is joined by Andrew Heald, a consultant specialising in sustainable forests and plantations, and by Martin Lines, the chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to Rob Percival, author of The Meat Paradox.   We are not wild animals and yet we still kill other sentient creatures and eat them in their billions. Rob charts our relationship with meat, from the scavenging of carcasses on an ancient savannah to the industrialised systems that produce much of the meat we consume today. He finds that emotional conflict has challenged human consciousness for many thousands of years. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to Josiah Meldrum, co-founder of the successful on-line retailer, Hodmedods. Josiah works with British farms to source top quality beans, pulses and grains - particularly less well-known foods, like the fava bean, grown in Britain since the Iron Age, but now largely forgotten.   We talk about why Josiah thinks of Hodmedods as an agroecological retail business and about the need for strong supplier relationships. We discuss the benefits of scaling out rather than up, and the failure of fellow online food retailer, Farmdrop. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme we focus on the UK and East Africa and discuss how the carbon market can channel finance from carbon sequestration and storage to help fund broader land regeneration. ffinlo Costain speaks to Thomas Gent, the founder of Gentle Farming who works with the Agreena carbon payment platform, and Joona Mikkola, a regenerative agriculture specialist based in Uganda who founded Soil Watch, which monitors carbon levels and soil health using satellite data. Produced by Farmwel.

Carbon farming is on the rise - but how does the carbon market work, and how does carbon sequestration and storage help to finance the delivery of other ecosystem services. ffinlo Costain is joined from Scotland by Charlie Davis, a Natural Capital Advisor specialising in the management of natural assets for Savills, the farms, estates and agricultural land agents.  Produced by Farmwel.

Despite the absence of food systems, soil and agriculture from the top negotiating table at COP26, these subjects did, at last, emerge as key themes at side events inside the COP conference village. The Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration - initiated by Nourish Scotland and IPES Food - was a key factor in pushing this focus on food systems up the policy agenda. ffinlo Costain discusses the purpose, legacy and future of the Declaration with Pete Ritchie, Executive Director of Nourish Scotland, and Chantal Clément, Deputy Director, of IPES Food. Produced by Farmwel.

Was COP26 in Glasgow a success? In this programme we do a stock take. What was achieved at COP26 – in terms of global warming and agricultural land use? What was missing? What was fundamentally misunderstood at the top table? And what do we need to do next, to ensure that an agroecological transition is lifted firmly onto the negotiating table at COP27 and beyond? ffinlo Costain, the founder of the Food & Global Security Network, is joined by Sue Pritchard, the chief executive of the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission, and Patrick Holden, the founder of the Sustainable Food Trust. Produced by Farmwel.