The Sustainable Food Trust is delighted to announce that King Charles III is continuing his patronage of the SFT following the Royal Household’s review of Royal patronages. The King, then HRH The Prince of Wales, was first announced as Patron of the SFT in 2019.
Commenting on the latest news, Patrick Holden, SFT’s founder and CEO, said, “It would be impossible to overstate the esteem in which we hold our Royal patronage and the gratitude we feel towards His Majesty for his lifelong championship of sustainable food and farming. We are deeply honoured that he has seen to continue with his patronage of our organisation, especially given our now 40-plus year connection we have enjoyed with him.”
The King’s life work, which encompasses a deep commitment to sustainable food and farming, reminds us that everything in the universe is connected and balanced. His Majesty’s book, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, explores how seeking balance can lead us towards a more considered way of being and includes the observation – as The King has expressed in speeches – that “we are Nature” and, by extension, “what we do to Nature we do to ourselves”. A key inspiration behind the SFT’s work on harmony within food and farming, the book stresses the need to work in a more interconnected way and that food production must operate in harmony with Nature through ‘land sharing’ – a belief that is shared by and underpins the ongoing work of the SFT.
The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) stands as further illustration of The King’s ongoing commitment to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. Launched by His Majesty (then The Prince of Wales) in 2020 at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, the SMI convenes top organisations from industry and the financial services, alongside governments, to accelerate and deliver on a just, sustainable and prosperous future. The SMI’s Agribusiness taskforce seeks to advance the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, while ensuring positive partnerships with the world’s farmers.
Reflecting upon The King’s longstanding commitment to sustainable farming, Patrick Holden adds, “Since His Majesty first decided to embrace what’s described as ‘biologically sustainable farming’ in the early 1980s, his personal interest in and knowledge of the issues we promote has been unabated. He continues to amaze and inspire us.”
You can read more about The King, including his passion for sustainable farming, here.
Featured image available under Creative Commons license. View original here.
