The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast

In our latest episode, Patrick is joined by Nicolette Hahn Niman, author of the recently re-published book Defending Beef. Nicolette began her career as an environmental lawyer and was a vegetarian for 33 years before becoming a cattle rancher and an advocate for the role of livestock in sustainable farming systems. 

In episode two of our second podcast series, Patrick is joined by Tom Watson, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Tom was also a speaker at The Sustainable Food Trust's 2019 Farming and Climate Change event at Fir Farm in Gloucestershire, during which he shared his health journey. Tom and Patrick discuss challenging orthodoxies around nutrition and agriculture as well as the recent publicati...

In the opening episode of our new podcast series, Patrick Holden is joined by vegetarian cook and bestselling author, Anna Jones. The conversation begins by exploring a question that is on the minds of many, 'what should I eat to be healthy and sustainable?'. While Anna and Patrick's responses to the question differ slightly, they remain for the most part united by a shared goal – the transition t...

In the final podcast of the series, Patrick Holden speaks to John Sauven, the Executive Director of Greenpeace, about transforming food and farming systems in order to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss - touching on the land sparing vs land sharing debate, as well as true cost accounting and sustainable diets.

In this week's podcast, Patrick speaks to Dr Harpinder Sandhu – global expert in food and farming systems, based at the University of South Australia, in Adelaide. Harpinder talks about his pioneering work on measuring farm sustainability, before moving on to address the ongoing farmer's protests in India. 

In this week's podcast, Patrick speaks to Alice Waters – founder of  Chez Panisse  restaurant in Berkeley, California, International Vice President of the  Slow Food Movement , and widely celebrated for her work with the  Edible Schoolyard Project . Alice's revolutionary understanding of food as a political act and a tool to influence positive change underpinned the various subsequent stages of he...

In this week's podcast, Patrick Holden speaks to Dr Zach Bush – the internationally renowned, multi-disciplinary physician, founder of Farmers' Footprint . Together, they discuss the intricate intersections between the microbiome, nutrition and chronic diseases, highlighting the devastating impact of chemical herbicides and pesticides on both soil and human health.

In this week's podcast, Patrick talks to Tim Mead, founder and CEO of Yeo Valley - the UK's largest   organic dairy brand, based just outside of Bristol, at Holt Farm. Tim starts by telling us how it all began, from when his parents bought the family farm in North Somerset, over 60 years ago, to Yeo Valley becoming the 3rd largest yoghurt brand in the UK. He explains that the changes the dairy mar...

In our first podcast of 2021, Richard Dunne, The Harmony Project's Director of Education, speaks to a very special guest - Lord John Bird, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Big Issue who in 2015 became a people's peer in the House of Lords.  With the Future Generations Bill, Lord Bird hopes to challenge the status quo around education, and introduce a new kind of pedagogy - one which fosters chil...

In this pre-Christmas podcast, Patrick speaks to a very special guest - his daughter, Alice Holden. Currently working as head grower at Dagenham farm, Alice is considered one of the UK's pioneering female growers.

In this pre-Christmas podcast, Patrick speaks to a very special guest - his daughter, Alice Holden. Currently working as head grower at Dagenham farm, Alice is considered one of the UK's pioneering female growers.

In this week's podcast, Patrick speaks to Guy Hayward, the Director and Co-Founder of the  British Pilgrimage Trust,  a charity dedicated to renewing the ancient tradition of pilgrimage in Britain. Patrick and Guy discuss the  intersections between pilgrimage, food and farming and explore the idea of journey across agricultural landscapes that  'makes food sacred again'.   

In this week's podcast, Patrick talks to Darina Allen, renowned chef, best-selling author, and co-founder of the Ballymaloe Cookery School on the South coast of Ireland. 'Ballymaloe Cookery School was born out of desperation', explains Darina, as she recounts the heart-warming story of how it all began, and what first brought her to Ballymaloe House – where she met her husband Tim Allen, who she o...

In this week's podcast, Patrick talks to  Sophie Throup , the  Head of Agriculture, Fisheries and Sustainable Sourcing for Wm Morrison plc. Morrisons is the UK's 4th largest supermarket chain, with almost 500 stores across the country. Patrick is keen to gain a clearer understanding of one of the major influencers of our food systems: the consumer. Are customers actually interested in the provenan...

In this week's podcast, Patrick talks to James Rebanks, farmer and best-selling author of  The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District  (2015) and  English Pastoral: An Inheritance  (2020).     Starting off with James' own story - which is simultaneously traditional and quite exceptional for a Cumbrian shepherd - the conversation then turns towards the challenges faced by our food and farming...

In this week's podcast Patrick talks to Livia Firth MBE, Co-founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age and founder of the Green Carpet Challenge (GCC). During the conversation, Patrick and Livia discuss the parallels between the social and environmental footprints of food and fashion, and how consumers can use their purchasing power to affect change and transform the fashion industry.  An important...

In this podcast, Patrick speaks to his long time friend, fellow environmentalist and campaigner Jonathon Porritt, Co-Founder of  Forum for the Future , and former Director of Friends of the Earth. The conversation touches on differences in opinion between conservation organisations and farming groups, and the ways in which this may have led to a separation of policy and public understanding of the...

In this week's episode Patrick speaks to author and former Conservative member of the European Parliament Stanley Johnson. Since 1951 his family has farmed on Exmoor, on the Devon-Somerset border, and Stanley still manages the farm there today. During the conversation, Stanley and Patrick discuss agricultural trade with the European Union, the opportunity for food and farming to form a central par...

This week Patrick is joined by scholar and environmental activist Dr Vandana Shiva . Together they discuss the influence of Sir Albert Howard on sustainable farming principles, the de-colonisation of agriculture as well as the importance of biodiversity and true cost accounting. "If you change the metric, you realise that cultivating biodiversity can heal the earth" says Vandana, adding that "good...

In this episode, Patrick speaks to author and wellbeing entrepreneur, Liz Earle , who has been a familiar face in the world of health and wellbeing for over thirty years, building brands from beauty to publishing, based on living well in every sense. Liz is a passionate advocate for sustainable and regenerative agriculture and how this impacts our own personal health as well as that of the wider e...

In this week's podcast, Patrick speaks with young horticulturalist Huw Richards, who tends an 11 acre plot in West Wales and shares his growing experiences with a large online audience. Huw shares what led to his childhood passion for growing, his ambition to "make food growing less complicated" and his belief that "seasonal and local diets are the most sustainable". 

During this special podcast, The Harmony Project 's Richard Dunne speak to Serena Murdoch, a 16 year old from Kent, passionate about climate justice and environmental activism.  Serena  is a volunteer for the UK Student Climate Network and the Teach the Future Campaign . She is also involved with the charity Action for Conservation , and is part of the Youth Leadership Group for the conservation i...

In this episode, Richard Dunne speaks to the founder of Square Food Foundation, Barny Haughton - a chef, teacher and food educator who believes that food education should be playing a central role in health and education policy both at local and national government level.  "If we want resilient food systems, we need resilient communities and if we want resilient communities, we need a food educate...

In this episode, Patrick is joined by Isabella Tree , an award-winning author and travel writer, who lives with her husband, the environmentalist Charlie Burrell, in the middle of a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex .   During the conversation, Isabella explains why the Knepp experience challenges conventional ideas about our past and present landscape and points to the positive impact t...

In this special edition, Richard Dunne, the Sustainable Food Trust's Director of Harmony in Education, speaks to co-founder of the Eden Project , Sir Tim Smit , about his personal experiences of education and fascination with the natural world, as well as what lessons he learnt from the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan  and creation of Eden.