Oxford Student Beef Ban: Let’s Choose Facts Over Fashion
News that the Oxford University Student Union has voted to ban beef and lamb from campus canteens in a misguided effort to tackle climate change will no doubt dismay many British farmers—particularly those who are doing their best to farm sustainably. The vote follows similar initiatives to ban the sale of beef at Goldsmiths, University of London and the University of Cambridge, in the half-baked belief that a reduction in the consumption of beef lowers an individual's carbon footprint. The…
UK Farmers ‘Collateral Damage’ in Post-Brexit Trade Deal Considerations
UK farmers will have woken up this morning to the news that measures in the Agriculture Bill 2020 to ensure future trade deals will meet UK animal welfare and food safety rules were rejected by the government. Ministers have ruthlessly and serially reneged on pre-Brexit and pre-election manifesto promises to protect food and farming standards around food safety, environment and animal welfare. Instead, we have another empty and equally unbelievable comment from Defra’s Victoria Prentis that the government is “absolutely…
Is the National Beef Association missing the point?
Farmers across the world could be forgiven for feeling somewhat unloved at the moment – and it’s probably fair to say that those with cattle have been unfairly singled out as being solely responsible for the climate emergency. Against that backdrop the UK beef industry’s self-proclaimed representative body, the National Beef Association (NBA), appears to favour the further intensification of beef production in the UK (at the expense of sustainable, grass-fed systems) as the most ‘climate friendly’ solution looks frankly…
Regenerative Farming: The next big con?
Before I get shot down, let me start by saying that I believe the collection of practices being described today as ‘regenerative farming’ have huge potential to put the brakes on—and indeed reverse—many of the negative impacts of industrial agriculture. Regenerative farming practices and principles offer solutions to some of the crazy activities that many farmers have been encouraged—or even forced—to partake in. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the widespread adoption of regenerative farming is…
Regenerative Is For Everyone. New ‘Certified Regenerative by AGW’ label meets producers where they are on a journey of regenerative stewardship.
In a first for the industry, not-for-profit/charity certifier A Greener World UK/Europe has launched a plan-based regenerative certification, Certified Regenerative by A Greener World (AGW). As public interest in sustainability continues to increase and broaden in its scope, the demand for rigorous, meaningful assurances of responsible farming practices has grown. Building on its successful family of leading labels, the new certification will provide a whole-farm assurance of sustainability, measuring benefits for soil, water, air, biodiversity, infrastructure, animal welfare and social…
