… and keeping the debate informed and transparent.
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There are more and more good ideas out there for making our farms ‘greener’ – and lots of items in the news of late.
There is looking towards a greener future for agriculture in terms of renewable energy on the farm focussing on electricity or producing heat, in ways that can both reduce energy bills and carbon footprint.
Then is the interest that environmental groups are showing – whether the nature-friendly farming & food systems from the RSPB; or the Devon Wildlife Trust working with landowners and farmers or campaigning to fund wildlife-friendly farming.
There are several issues where current farming practices are impacting the environment, and that includes the impact on UK rivers to meet food demand and what we can to do fix it; the huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions created from what we eat and the ways we can reduce them; and the fears of significant disruptions for farmers as we try and create food and agriculture businesses for a green future and how we can all actually benefit from the transition.
The UK might have left the EU, but the CAP Reform website still has a lot of thoughtful, relevant pieces – such as looking at the future of food, in particular how food security, sovereignty and sustainability are intermeshed. And yet, whilst we might well need a greener agricultural sector to help meet climate goals, farmers say they’re being asked to do too much and there are fears that forcing green targets on farmers could devastate our food system.
In the meantime, here’s a wee promotional film on “changing the way we farm: good for people and good for the planet” – all of which might or might not counter the new front in conspiracy theories, namely farming and all those ‘green deals’ being foisted on farmers.
With so much to consider and so much information out there, the debates need to be as transparent as they can be…
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