Sustainable Food Trust
Articles, films and images from the Sustainable Food Trust.
Articles, films and images from the Sustainable Food Trust.
Small abattoirs were the focus again at last week’s Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC), with an expert panel including Defra, farmers, abattoir owners and campaigners.
Our friend Josiah Meldrum from Hodmedod joined us on our recent Sustainable Food Stories podcast. Hodmedod’s are known across the UK as growers of heritage beans and pulses, but are also tackling ...
If we are to address the challenges of climate change, biodiversity decline and the crisis in public health, we must tackle the fundamental issues in our food and farming systems.
Food and farming event at COP26 and launch of ambitious new initiative shines a light on the power of agriculture to be a climate change solution
We share key messages ahead of COP26
The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Glasgow during the first two weeks of November 2021. We will be joining events in the run up to, and throughout, this period, which you...
A coalition of agroecological and regenerative farming and conservation organisations are calling on leaders to be bold on sustainable agriculture in tackling the climate and nature emergency at COP26...
We are really pleased to be supporting the launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s big food redesign report, exploring the potential for global companies to support the transition to a ‘circula...
Efra Committee report calls for government to support local abattoirs
This project, run by Bristol Food Connections, aims to reconnect people with our rural hinterland by introducing some of the farmers and food producers in and around Bristol, capturing the stories of ...
We review our top books to read this year, on everything from weedkillers in our food to bringing back beavers
NatWest Group and the Sustainable Food Trust to join forces for the next two years to support the development of the Global Farm Metric
We respond to Henry Dimbleby's National Food Strategy
In our recent webinar, we heard from leading experts about how to measure, protect and restore the biodiversity that coexists on British farms.
After watching Seaspiracy, many of us are questioning what fish we should eat - or indeed whether we should be eating it at all. In this piece, we look into the fish that are considered sustainable to...
On the 29th April 2021, we launched our coalition for the Global Farm Metric project with TEDx Countdown. Watch the video recording from each of our speakers here.
The Prince of Wales sends message to milestone event calling for global framework to measure farm sustainability
Here's more information about the exciting guest speakers who will be contributing to our Tedx Countdown event, to talk about what measuring sustainability means to them
We respond to the UK gene editing consultation
We are delighted to share our report charting the work and progress made by the Sustainable Food Trust during 2020
Respond to the UK consultation on gene editing
After a joint letter organised by Beyond GM and Slow Food UK, and signed by a wide range of organisations, including the Sustainable Food Trust, Co-op is the first UK supermarket to say it will not st...
In this series of short film reviews, we share our thoughts on some of the recent documentaries that have caught our attention. Spanning a range of topics around human health, public lands and indigen...
Abattoir Sector Group launched to promote a thriving UK network of sustainable and local abattoirs
Over the course of 2020, the SFT interviewed a range of American farmers, growers and producers, in order to hear how they are farming as the climate changes
Mindful that, for obvious reasons, our capacity to communicate with our supporters and followers in physical meetings was severely restricted in 2020, Patrick Holden hosted a virtual pre-Christmas gat...
A new report published by the Sustainable Food Trust's Harmony Project recommends that prisons in the UK should provide more opportunities for inmates to connect with the natural world with the goal o...
New report highlights use of antibiotics in US livestock production and the risk of US-UK trade deal
In this interview, the SFT talks to Albert Straus - CEO of the Straus Family Creamery, a family-run business dedicated to making premium organic dairy products
Hummingbird Technologies, Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) and the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) are delighted to announce the launch of the Sustainable Agriculture collaboration (SUS-Ag), a 9 mo...
regenagri, the newly established global regenerative agriculture initiative, has announced its governance team. This group of pioneering organisations will take the initiative to the next level. regen...
In this piece, we interview Ralph Vigil who runs Molino de la Isla in northern New Mexico. He explains how climate change affects their farming, and their consequent efforts to build resilience agains...
The Community Farm, a cornerstone of Bristol’s local food and farming scene, has curated “Lessons From Lockdown”, a collection of 15 articles that describe how the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic affecte...
Study finds that milk substitutes made from soya are harming the planet and locally sourced milk from cows grazed on grass are a better option
Stanley Johnson expresses concern about the Government’s approach to trade deals, farm animal welfare and the environment
The Sustainable Food Trust welcomes Henry Dimbleby's National Food Strategy
Has the UK’s position as world leaders in animal welfare come to rest on its laurels?
We review the latest books on sustainable food and farming
We talk to Soul Fire Farm about how climate change is affecting them and what they are doing to mitigate it
Abattoirs to be eligible for support under the Agriculture Bill, following House of Lords debate
Our briefing on local abattoirs to the House of Lords for the Committee Stage of the Agriculture Bill
The Sustainable Food Trust has joined organisations and academics in calling on supermarkets to commit not to sell imported food produced to standards lower than those that apply in the UK
Next in our series on farming and climate change we interview Anna Jones-Crabtree, who owns and runs Vilicus Farms with her husband, Doug Crabtree
Patrick Holden chairs this roundtable by Land Management 2.0 exploring the role of local food in future food and farming systems
The Agriculture Bill, which will govern the way England is farmed for many years, is going through its final stages in the House of Commons this afternoon. The Sustainable Food Trust welcomes the many...
We set out why we feel the Government will be making a huge mistake if it pushes through the Agriculture Bill in its current form
We interview Nate Drummond who is the owner of Six River Farm in Maine along with his partner Gabrielle Gosselin to understand how they view climate change and to discover the steps they are taking to...
This week’s podcast features Patrick in conversation with journalist and broadcaster John Humphrys about how food systems have coped with the coronavirus and the challenges in motivating people to t...
We update on work for our latest study which will estimate the food production outcomes of a nation-wide conversion to sustainable production methods, and calculate the per capita availability of food...
First in our farming and climate change series, we feature Will Harris of White Oak Pastures
In this episode Patrick speaks to regenerative farmer Will Harris, based in the United States, in Bluffton, Georgia.
We share five of our favourite websites that help you find local food during the Covid-19 crisis. They are working across the whole of the UK to support farmers and growers, consumers and retailers
In this episode Patrick speaks to American farmer and pioneer in regenerative agriculture, Joel Salatin, about local and resilient food systems.
The coronavirus has exposed the "intense fragility of our current food system" explains Caroline Lucas, in conversation with Patrick Holden. What can the Government do to ensure food systems are res...
In this podcast, Patrick Holden speaks to ffinlo Costain and Roland Bonney about how to develop more transparent, welfare-friendly and sustainable livestock farming systems.
In this first podcast, Patrick speaks to journalist and author George Monbiot about the future of farming in the UK, and the meat vs plant-based diet debate.
The unacceptable costs of growing chicken consumption have been revealed in a new report from the Eating Better alliance
In this Farm Gate podcast, ffinlo Costain speaks to leaders of the food and farming community about their ideas for reform
In this short film, Patrick Holden speaks to National Food Strategy Independent Lead, Henry Dimbleby, about making sustainable farming pay
Follow the links for films, write ups and press releases from the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2020
In a briefing published today, the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) sets out its continuing concerns about the new Agriculture Bill [1], the second reading of which takes place today. The SFT welcomes th...
The Sustainable Food Trust, along with 63 other farming, health and environmental organisations, has signed an open letter from the NFU to PM Boris Johnson to protect UK food and farming standards.
In this debate at the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2020, panelists discuss the future of UK farming, and what constitutes a sustainable diet
Patrick Holden speaks to environmental campaigner and writer George Monbiot about the debate on land sharing versus land sparing and what the future holds for farming and the planet
In our session which took place at the Oxford Real Food Conference 2020 we explore the problems facing the sector and the urgent action that's needed to address them
What we should eat to be healthy and produce a healthy planet has never been more unclear or hotly contested. A panel chaired by Sarah Sands, editor of the Today programme on Radio 4 tried to find ans...
Yesterday we heard from speakers at the Oxford Real Farming Conference about the crisis facing our local meat supply as small abattoirs continue to go out of business at an alarming rate
There’s been a spate of great films over the last year which examine the issues and concerns of food and farming and how we negotiate the climate emergency in the face of these. Read our reviews and...
The Sustainable Food Trust Progress Report outlines the development and successes of the SFT over the last 8 years
We are delighted to announce that HRH The Prince of Wales has accepted an invitation to become the Patron of the Sustainable Food Trust
Ahead of the BBC 1 documentary, ‘Meat, A Threat to our Planet?’, Patrick Holden stresses the importance of differentiating between livestock systems and meats that are part of the problem, and th...
In this short film, Patrick Holden outlines why the Government needs to make sustainable farming a financially viable option.
Read our response to the UK National Food Strategy
The Campaign for Local Abattoirs submitted evidence to the UK Government's National Food Strategy in October 2019
We call on the all the political parties to state their commitment to UK farmers in their manifestos and to give a high priority to developing an environmentally sustainable and healthy food system
Read our submission of evidence to the Welsh Government consultation
We respond to the Queen's Speech opening parliament
This week, the National Farmers' Union published their plan for achieving net zero emissions from UK agriculture by 2040
This short film captures some of our favourite moments from the Farming and Climate Change conference
Join us for a weekend exploring harmony and sustainability at Holden Farm Dairy
In a programme on the Al Jazeera news channel, Patrick Holden discusses the effects that our global food systems are having on the planet and what this means in terms of a changing climate
In this interview for BBC Front Row, American writer and farmer Wendell Berry talks about a traditional rural way of life that has almost disappeared from the world
In this podcast for TEDxBristol Patrick talks about citizen buying power and the true cost of food
This film highights a selection of farm business case studies which integrate emissions reduction with the production of high quality food and the maintenance of natural capital.
"How could a combination of policy change, financial investment and market mechanisms create the conditions for sustainable farming to become mainstream?"
Sustainable Food Trust welcomes IPCC report which recognises positive role of livestock in climate change mitigation
A panel of expert professors at the Farming and Climate Change conference looked closely at the science of agricultural emissions and their impact on climate change
At our recent conference Charles Massy explores the critical role that ruminants play in landscape preservation and restoration
In this film Jonathan Dimbleby addresses an array of queries put to a panel with Minette Batters, MP Richard Benyon, Professor Michael Lee, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson and Patrick Hol...
We remember the work of Audrey Eyton who contributed to the campaign against overuse of antibiotics
On this page you can find films, photos, presentation slides and commentary on our Farming and Climate Change conference which was organised in partnership with the National Farmers' Union and hosted ...
Thanks to Jason Taylor for creating this short highlights video from our Farming and Climate Change conference at Fir Farm in July 2019
View some photo highlights by photographer Chloe Edwards from our Fir Farm 2019 event
View the powerpoint presentations from our speakers at the Fir Farm 2019 conference on Farming and Climate Change
Watch the opening session of our Farming and Climate Change conference, featuring Patrick Holden, Minette Batters, Martijn Wilder and Gail Bradbrook
We ask Nicolette Hahn Niman about livestock in sustainable agriculture, as well as about public perception, nutritional advice and her thoughts on the EAT-Lancet report
Are you looking for a summer read? Check out these recently published books on a range of sustainable food and farming issues. Questions about nutrition and how we eat and farm stand front and centre....
We speak to Dr Gail Bradbrook about why she co-founded Extinction Rebellion and what she views as the way forward to address the crisis of climate change
We speak to Dieter Helm, Chair of the Natural Capital Committee, about public money for public goods and how money can be used to accelerate the transition to sustainable farming