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…
Eddie’s Eggs – Eastern Cape, South Africa
Set in the middle of the beautiful Eastern Cape stretch of the Sundays Rivers Valley, Eddie’s Eggs is located in the largest citrus producing region in the country. Farmer Eddie Ferreira manages a flock of over 5,000 Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW), Certified Non-GMO by AGW laying hens and produces Certified Non-GMO by AGW animal feed for sale to the public. The chickens at Eddie’s Eggs are free to range in the organic orchards, which offer…
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…
