Jen Gale of Sustainable(ish) is ordinary, knackered mum of two whose life changed when she dragged and cajoled the family into a year buying nothing new. That year changed not only what she buys, but also how she sees her place in the world. Jen recognised the power that we all have as individuals to make a difference to the things we care about, simply through getting informed about the impact of our daily choices, and figuring out easy swaps and changes. We teamed up with Jen for a mini series of podcasts about all things organic.
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Episode 1 - Plight of the Humblebee
In our first episode, Jen chatted with David and Emma Buckley from Buckley's Bees. They discussed the wonderful work of bees, why they are so vital, how organic farming can support them and what we can all do to help them. Click on the bee to hear the full episode...
Episode 2 - Organic 101
In this back-to-basics episode, Jen was joined by Lee Holdstock from the Soil Association, Harriet O'Reagan from Organic UK, and Guy Singh-Watson from Riverford to discuss all things organic. Most people are familiar with the concept of organic food, and maybe even organic textiles, but it's harder to explain exactly what it actually means. Is it a legal definition? What does it mean if a product is organic? Is it just about pesticides? Is organic really any better for me and the planet? The panel break down all of these in this insightful episode.
Episode 3 - Sustainable Eating
Sustainable eating will mean different things to different people, much like the words 'sustainability' and 'sustainable living'. In this episode, Jen was joined by Melissa Hemsley, self taught cook and author of some amazing cookbooks including her latest Eat Green; Brian White from Coombe Farm Organic, an organic farm in Somerset that breeds and rears slow-growing native breeds to produce award winning meat; and Tim Field, Head of Sustainability at Daylesford, one of the most sustainable farms in the UK.
The panel discuss what sustainable eating means to them, the impacts our choices around food have on the planet, and how we as individuals and families can take some simple steps to eat more sustainably. Click on the image to hear the full episode.
Episode 4 - Organic and The Climate Crisis
In this two part episode, Jen looks deeper into the role that organic plays in the climate crisis. Research by the The Soil Association shows that if Europe’s farmland all followed organic principles, agricultural emissions could drop by 40-50% by 2050. What is it about organic practices that means they pump out so much less carbon?
In the first part, Jen and Anna de la Vega from The Urban Worm talk about soil health, why it’s so vital to the planet, why modern agriculture is so bad for it, and how organic systems can help to replenish it.
In part two Tim Mead, dairy farmer and owner of Yeo Valley, talks about how organic and regenerative agriculture works in practice on their farm and what they’ve achieved in terms of reducing their carbon footprint. Click on the image for both parts of the episode.