On 18 September The OTB convened an expert panel to discuss and debate the future of Nature Friendly Farming. At a time when consumers are reporting not understanding green terms (see this survey from Yeo Valley) we wanted to dig down into different nature friendly farming approaches to compare and contrast, from agroecology, regenerative to organic.
In the session the panellists explore the differences and how some approaches that are not underpinned by a legal set of standards can be used for greenwashing (see this article from the Counter about Regenerative agriculture). On a positive note, non-organic farmers can adopt agroecological and regenerative practices, which can be a pathway into adopting more farming methods that support nature and wildlife, and can ultimately lead to them converting to organic. The panelists also talked about how the National Food Strategy had addressed the issue of nature friendly farming in the food system, and whether it had gone far enough.
Chaired by Vicki Hird, Head of Sustainable Farming at Sustain and Author of Rebugging the Planet. The panel included:
-
Jerry Alford: Soil Association
-
Roger Kerr: Organic Farmers and Growers
-
Richard Smith, Senior Farm Manager: Daylesford Farm
-
Lindsay Whistance: Organic Research Centre
Join us for the event here
We would like to thank all the panelists for taking part in the session and providing real food for thought on the issue and of course to Daylesford for hosting at their amazing Harvest Festival event – we are looking forward to 2022’s harvest festival!
