Please enjoy this short film "What is sustainable food" made by Abi McLoughlin and the Kindling Trust. The film was made after consulting stakeholders and encapsulates the movement towards more low-carbon food systems.
Climate Friendly Food is a not-for-profit social enterprise, set up in 2008, that tackles climate change through agroecological farming, particularly field-scale veg, market gardening, orchards & other perennials. We certify low-carbon growers, through farmer-to-farmer inspection, and aim to increase carbon awareness and community resilience.
Join other growers to make a real difference to climate change
In the UK, food consumption is at least 30% of our carbon footprint if you include land use change. The UK is committed to 80% carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2050. Business as usual or even business as usual "lite" is no longer an option. Field grown fruit and vegetables tend to have very small carbon footprints and increasing the sector is important for getting more local fresh food into our communities, using urban and peri-urban land for food growing, tackling obesity and employing more growers.
Our organisation
We formed in 2008, and became a community interest company (6815026) in 2009. We can legally define ourselves as a not-for-profit social enterprise with charitable aims. We engage with growers, gardeners and consumers in order to lower the carbon footprint of food.
Our purpose
Climate Friendly Food was set up by growers inspired by Richard Heinberg's transition vision of food. We expect to see increasing small-scale food growing in the next few decades with a possible seven million of us involved. We aim to establish integrity and maintain quality assurance within the sector.
Our services
- web-based learning (best practice and toolkits),
- participatory certification to low-carbon standards,
- a demonstration / training farm called "Fir Tree Community Growers" based in St Helens, Merseyside, UK,
- low-cost consultancy services in community food and carbon footprinting.
Working with growers
Climate Friendly Food offers opportunities for you, as a grower to:
- grow low-carbon foods;
- move away from fossil fuels and become more resilient in the face of peak oil;
- move towards closed, renewable and community-led food systems;
- connect to the science of climate change.
It also supports
- retailers to purchase from you as a low-carbon supplier;
- consumers to find you in our online directory;
- UK to meet international carbon reduction obligations.
Other producers
With the comprehensive spending review, there has been a sea change in funding projects like ours. We have made the decision to concentrate on supporting growers as there is already professional support services for livestock and arable producers to reduce their carbon footprints.
www.cffcarboncalculator.org.uk - our sister organisation with free online farmers carbon calculator
www.efrc.com - consultancy services
www.soilassociation.org - charity and organic certification
www.footprints4food.co.uk - consultancy services from Bangor University
www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk - support exchange and events
www.permaculture.org.uk/whats-going-on/association-work/farming
www.carbontrust.co.uk - support for businesses to lower their carbon footprints