SFT Podcast: The rise of forever chemicals and UPFs, multi-purpose willow on farms & camel farming

What's really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming's top voices. In this week's episode, Patrick and Stuart talk about forever chemicals and the increasing awareness of their impact on human health – as recently investigated in an episode of the BBC's Panorama. They also discuss the politicisation of regenerative agriculture; Patrick shares his thoughts on the publication of new research reviewing the safety of the widely used herbicide, Roundup, and asks what a post-Roundup farming future might look like; and Stuart reflects on his camel farming journey and how at one point he had the largest camel farm (21 camels!) in mainland Europe. To join in the conversation, get in touch with us at [email protected] – let us know what you'd like to hear Patrick and Stuart talk about in next week's episode!   Follow Patrick and the Sustainable Food Trust: https://www.instagram.com/susfoodtrust/ | https://www.instagram.com/hafodcheese/ https://bsky.app/profile/susfoodtrust.bsky.social https://www.facebook.com/SusFoodTrust https://www.linkedin.com/company/sustainable-food-trust/   Find out more about Stuart and the Fossil Free Farm project: https://fossilfreefarm.com/ https://www.instagram.com/camelstu/ https://www.youtube.com/@farmerstu

What's really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming's top voices. In this episode, Patrick and Stuart reflect on some events they've recently attended including COP30 in Brazil and AGRITECHNICA in Germany. Meanwhile, on abattoirs, Stuart shares what he learnt from his first visit to a slaughterhouse, Patrick talks about mobile abattoirs, and the two discuss the 'demonisation' of the consumption of animal fats. Patrick also  touches on the demise of small dairy farms and describes how farmers being told to 'get big or get out' when it comes to their farming methods, and later on in the episode, Stuart discusses some of the developments being made in agri-tech that he came across at AGRITECHNICA. To join in the conversation, get in touch with us at [email protected]. Watch the SFT Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@sustainablefoodtrust6605    Follow Patrick and the Sustainable Food Trust: https://www.instagram.com/susfoodtrust/ | https://www.instagram.com/hafodcheese/ https://bsky.app/profile/susfoodtrust.bsky.social https://www.facebook.com/SusFoodTrust https://www.linkedin.com/company/sustainable-food-trust/   Find out more about Stuart and the Fossil Free Farm project: https://fossilfreefarm.com/ https://www.instagram.com/camelstu/ https://www.youtube.com/@farmerstu

What's really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming's top voices.   Watch the SFT Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYoPEVtp3UU   Find out more about Patrick and the Sustainable Food Trust: https://sustainablefoodtrust.org https://www.instagram.com/susfoodtrust/ | https://www.instagram.com/hafodcheese/  https://www.tiktok.com/@susfoodtrust   Find out more about Stuart and the Fossil Free Farm project: https://fossilfreefarm.com https://www.instagram.com/camelstu/ https://www.youtube.com/@farmerstu  https://www.tiktok.com/@camelstu   

At this year's Regen Gathering on the island of Jersey, our CEO, Patrick Holden, had the chance to meet with the event's co-founder, India Hamilton, for the latest episode of the SFT Podcast. Alongside founding Jersey's Regen Gathering – an annual event which brings together a diverse range of people and ideas to discuss the innovative food, farming and finance approaches that are taking place on Jersey – India is also a chef, food systems expert and heads up HYPHA Consulting, a regenerative consultancy committed to pioneering sustainable futures within the rural economy and food system. In 2018, India was also involved in developing The Sustainable Cooperative (SCOOP), a consumer-led cooperative which aims to create a more sustainable supply of food on Jersey. In this episode, Patrick and India talk about the beginnings of the Jersey Regen Gathering and how its conception was inspired by other food and farming events like Groundswell, what the Jersey government is doing to support their farmers and how this differs from what's happening in the UK, and the connection between public health and our food systems. To connect with India, follow her on LinkedIn. To find out more about the Regen Gathering, visit the website where you can also find details of this year's Jersey Farming Conference, taking place in November. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Bluesky. This conversation was recorded in September 2025.   Timestamps: 0:00: Intro 0:42: Welcome India  1:15: India's background and how she founded the Jersey Regen Gathering 4:55: Scoop, Jeresy's CSA shop/community shop 9:48: Jersey's food and farming culture/Jersey's peri-urban culture  19:15: What is the Jersey government doing to support farmers? 32:54: Regen Gathering programme 36:40: The connection between public health and food systems 40:01: Outro

After both appearing on the Grazing for Good: Livestock and Biodiversity in the UK panel at ORFC earlier this year, SFT CEO, Patrick Holden, sat down once again with Molly Biddell, Head of Natural Capital at Knepp Estate – a 3,500-acre rewilding project in West Sussex – for an episode of the SFT Podcast. Her work involves leveraging nature markets and policy for Knepp, Weald to Waves and the River Adur Landscape Recovery project. She also works part-time at Hampton Estate, a family-run regenerative farming business, facilitates the Upper Adur Farming Cluster group and is a columnist for Farmers Weekly. In this episode, Patrick and Molly talk about the work going on at Knepp Estate – 'a radical rewilding experiment', says Molly – including the success they've had so far in terms of an increase in biodiversity, carbon sequestration and habitat restoration. They also talk about the role of projects like Knepp Estate to improve public awareness of rewilding and more sustainable agricultural methods, before finishing the episode with a discussion on measuring the climate, nature and social impacts of such projects. To hear more from Molly, you can read her column for Farmers Weekly here. To find out more about Knepp Estate, visit: https://knepp.co.uk. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and Bluesky. This conversation was recorded in May 2025.

Following their session together at this year's Oxford Real Farming Conference – Land, Food and Spirit – SFT CEO, Patrick Holden, and renowned biologist and author, Rupert Sheldrake, reconnected to record an episode of the SFT Podcast. Rupert's impressive career started at Cambridge University where he studied Natural Sciences, before receiving a scholarship to attend Harvard University, studying History and Philosophy of Science. Rupert later returned to Cambridge where he gained a PhD in Plant Development. This eventually led him to India, where he worked at The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), to develop a more holistic approach to biology and science: "the mechanistic, materialist paradigm was too limiting and constricting" resulting in the idea of 'morphic resonance'. Rupert has also authored more than 100 technical papers and nine books, including Science and Spiritual Practices. This episode takes a slightly different turn from our usual episodes, with less focus on agriculture, and more on the role of spirituality in science. During this episode, Patrick and Rupert discuss bridging the gap between spirituality and science, they ask whether farms could be considered 'holy places', Rupert explains his theory of morphic resonance and talks about his involvement with the British Pilgrimage Trust. To find our more about Rupert and his work, visit https://www.sheldrake.org, and follow him on Instagram and YouTube. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and Bluesky. This conversation was recorded in April 2025.     Timestamps: 0.00: Intro 0.55: Welcome Rupert! 1.11: Patrick and Rupert at the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) 2025 2.20: Rupert's career beginnings 3.59: What is 'morphic resonance'? 4.53: Is there a connection between morphic resonance and epigenetics? 6.43: Building a bridge between science and spirituality  8.58: The influences of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Rudolf Steiner 11.20: Rupert's spiritual journey 17.00: What is a 'holy place'? 21.59: Choral Evensong and its place at conferences like ORFC 27.56: Rupert's involvement with the British Pilgrimage Trust 32.25: Could farms be considered 'holy places'? 34.10: Rogation Sunday and patronal festivals 40.21: What's drawing people back – regardless of religion – to holy places and patronal festivals? 43.07: Revaluing the parish and local community 48.36: Saying grace at mealtimes  53.30: Thank you Richard 54.21: Outro  

This month we bring you a special edition of the podcast, recorded at London Climate Action Week as part of Extreme Hangout's live podcast series. Our CEO Patrick Holden is joined by Dr Federica Amati, Head Nutritionist at ZOE, with a special guest appearance from Professor Tim Spector, Founder of ZOE, for the first half of the episode. Dr. Federica Amati's career boasts a plethora of academic achievements – alongside her position as Head Nutritionist at ZOE (the science and nutrition research company), Dr Federica also holds a PhD in Clinical Medicine Research, a masters in Public Health and is an Association for Nutrition (AfN) Registered Nutritionist.  She has also authored Recipes for a Better Menopause and the Sunday Times Bestseller, Every Body Should Know This. Her approach focuses on improving overall dietary quality throughout the life course, using food as the best tool to transform health. During their conversation together, Patrick and Dr Federica talk about the importance of reconnecting people with how their food is grown, the current culture of litigation and fear of the wrong kinds of bacteria in our foods and how environmental health and nutrition are intrinsically linked. The final 20 minutes of this episode features a Q&A segment from the audience. This episode was recorded and produced by Extreme Hangout. To find out more about Dr Federica, follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.  To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and Bluesky. This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

For this episode of the SFT podcast, Max Jones – transhumance guide and traditional foods archivist – visits our CEO, Patrick Holden, on Patrick's farm in Wales.  Alongside his work as a transhumance guide – the practice of moving livestock from one grazing ground to another in accordance with the seasons – Max Jones is also a writer, photographer, educator and founder of Up There The Last, a project which aims to reconnect people with their food and educate them about the traditional food practices of the past, which still exist in some parts of the world today. From rare cheese production in the heights of the Alps, to traditional wild salmon smoking in the republic of Ireland, Max Jones' journey to seek out and learn more about traditional food practices has taken him all over the world and led him to meet the people working hard to preserve these essential practices that are at risk of being left behind and forgotten. In this episode, Max and Patrick talk about the threat to traditional foods including modern technology and health and safety regulations, as well as the presence of an off-the-record 'food counterculture' that exists to protect ancient practices. To find out more about Max, follow him on Instagram, and visit the Up There The Last website and Substack page. You can also read the article that Max wrote for the SFT about the importance of preserving traditional food practices, here: https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/news-views/preserving-the-practices-of-traditional-foods/. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and Bluesky. This conversation was recorded in August 2024.

To coincide with the release of our new report, Grazing Livestock: It's not the cow but the how, the latest guest on the SFT Podcast this month is Nic Renison. Nic is a regenerative farmer based in Cumbria where she farms alongside her husband, Paul (Reno), at Cannerheugh Farm. The daughter of dairy farmers, Nic grew up within the conventional, high production agricultural environment, growing food with little thought of the environment. This all changed in 2012 when Nic and Reno had a 'light bulb' moment after visiting an organic farm in Northumberland, which inspired them to start employing more regenerative farming methods. In 2018, alongside Liz Genever, Nic co-founded Carbon Calling – a conference created for farmers, by farmers, to share ideas and exchange knowledge on all things farming and regenerative agriculture. During the episode Nic and Patrick discuss Nic's early farming influences, her and her husband's journey from conventional to regenerative farming methods and the origins of the Carbon Calling conference, and how it supports the wider farming community. To find out more about Nic and Cannerheugh Farm, follow their journey on Instagram and visit their website here. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, X or Facebook.

Richard Higgins, chairman and CEO of Good Gardeners International, is our guest on the latest episode of the SFT Podcast. Alongside being CEO of Good Gardeners International (GGI), Richard is also a philosopher, fungi specialist, holistic scientist, and Director of Sustainable Agriculture London. He grew up on a mixed farm in Somerset and studied his National Diploma in Agriculture (NDA) at the Royal Berkshire College of Agriculture on Farm and Grassland Management. He later completed a 10-year postgraduate study of the soil fertility works of Sir Albert Howard while travelling and teaching from China to Hawaii. In this episode, Richard talks to Patrick about Sir Albert Howard's influence on his own career, how agriculture intersects with the work of Good Gardeners International – including the charity's demonstration farm, its innovative composting system and the value of human manure as fertiliser. Visit Good Gardners International here to find out more about their work and follow them on their social media channels @GoodGardenersINTL. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in regenerative food and farming, head to our main podcast page. And to keep up to date with our news, you can subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, X or Facebook.