Climate Friendly Food

Grass Roots Food

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Graham Harvey for coffee in Bristol. Graham is a journalist, author of several books (the latest called The Carbon Fields), organiser of the "Alternative Oxford Farming Conference" and perhaps most famously agricultural stories editor of Radio 4's The Archers.

With a daily audience of over 5 million eople, The Archers is a very long running radio drama and probably unique in its agricultural and rural basis. Many people in food and agriculture comment how relevant and up to date the programme is with agriculture, food and rural issues. Much of this credit must be taken by Graham.

On this understanding I was particularly interested to learn more about Graham's latest campaign, called "Grass Roots food". The argument centres around the ability of permanent grassland to absorb vast amounts of carbon, and therefore the meat and dairy produced from grazing this grass must be a positive food choice for carbon-conscious shoppers. He also argues for the health benefits of such food over industrially-produced meat and dairy products.

At Climate Friendly Food we firmly believe in a two-pronged approach. Our Western society consumes far too much meat and dairy produce, to the point that we are using too much land and creating excess carbon emissions for our needs. The overall health effects of a high meat and dairy diet are not positive.

However, as part of a balanced diet - and accepting that not everyone is going to choose a vegan diet, the meat and dairy produce that everyone eats should have a low carbon footprint, have human health benefits and carry high animal welfare values. It si indeed true that permanent grassland absorbs and stores vast amounts of carbon, and it's possible that on a farm basis this can exceed the total farm carbon emissions from all other activities (machinery, materials, livestock, fuels, etc.).

With these criteria in mind we support the thrust of Grass Roots Food and hope it makes an important contribution to the low carbon farming debate. Do visit their website, where you can also buy The Carbon Fields, which is a very intersting read. www.grassrootsfood.co.uk