This session will hear from four projects in Western Europe pioneering ways of providing access to land for ecological food production and new entrant farmers. We’ll learn of different business models used in the UK, Germany, Belgium and France to inspire different models across the world and give insights into the context in which these projects operate and the practicalities of making them work.

CSA groups have sometimes been labelled as middle class. And although sociological studies show that it is true that many CSA members have a background of higher education, the essence of community supported agriculture is to back local organic/agroecological farmers, be inclusive and build social cohesion. CSA farms using agroecological practices are conscious of their key role in providing healthy, nutritious food for all while preserving soil health and agrobiodiversity.

There are a wide…

This session will explore the many facets of hedgerows, from wildlife habitat to cultural history, from ecosystem services to ecological resilience.

Nigel Adams and Dr Jo Staley from the UK introduce the importance of hedgerows, their roles in agricultural landscapes and current policy relevance. They will outline the contribution that hedgerows can make to nature conservation along with the many ecosystem services that they provide, and the importance of sensitive management to guarantee their survival…

It is now widely accepted that fundamental changes are needed across the food system to address the climate emergency, food insecurity, tackle an escalating global public health crisis, and ensure resilient livelihoods for food and farm workers. Over recent decades, agroecology has risen to meet the challenge, offering a holistic framework to address current food systems’ environmental, social and economic failings. At the same time, the steady growth of the organic market has made a…

Join the recently-formed Global Grassfed Alliance to hear about a growing international movement of people and organisations championing the production of grass-fed meat and milk from regenerative farming systems. The session will be a dialogue between members of the alliance working with different geographic constraints and increasing public interest the world over.

The Global Grassfed Alliance (of which the UK’s Pasture-Fed Livestock Association, host of this session, is a member) is in the early stages…

As power in the food system is increasingly globalised and concentrated, we need strategies to hold corporations to account for the human rights abuses taking place in the fields growing produce that supply our supermarket shelves, and improve the working conditions or agricultural labourers. Join us and hear from leaders discussing social movement strategies to mobilise workers power to defend their rights in the face of multinationals in the food and agriculture system.

In…

“Business as usual is not an option” – the global report by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), published in 2009, came to a clear and straightforward conclusion. More than a decade later, decisive action is no longer “an option;” it’s an imperative. The COVID-19 pandemic has moreover laid bare the inequities, system failures and dangers of today’s dominant, globalized and increasingly corporatized food and agriculture systems that have…

Leader of the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), Nonhle Mbuthuma, share’s her farming community’s struggle to defend their ancestral land from Mineral’s Resources Limited, (MRC) an Australian mining company with British investment. The people of Xolobeni town, on the Wild Coast of South Africa, fought for many years against the proposed gold mine and finally succeeded with their “Right to Say No” campaign in 2016. The proposed mine would have destroyed a 22km area of the…

Many grass-fed/regenerative farmers have been “going against the grain” for years. There are signs this is changing as more farmers are looking at regenerative techniques, especially with changing subsidies in the UK. US ranchers Doniga Markegard and Will Harris are leading the field when it comes to grass-based farming systems and regenerative land management. 

Will Harris took the leap 20 years ago. He is a sixth generation farmer on his family farm in Bluffton, Georgia.…