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Features

A return to the whole foods our grandparents recognise

From frugal, glycine-rich cuts of meat, to better protein & fibre sources, Hannah Neville-Green explores what's driving a collective shift away from Ultra Processed Food

Diets Eating and drinking Health
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News

The AGtivist investigates illegal shellfish activities linked to E.coli outbreaks & seabed damage

A rise in the illicit trade of cockles, clams and oysters is causing problems across the food supply chain & environment

Environment and ethics Eating and drinking Fish
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Features

Farming’s big plastic problem – and emerging solutions

A study of soil taken from 100 British farms found microplastic contamination at every site, writes Nick Easen

Environment and ethics Farming Plastic
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Features

Are biostimulants the future of eco-friendly farming?

They used to be called muck and magic, but biostimulants are gaining in popularity as more growers look to boost soil and plant health the natural way

Farming Soil
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Features

Lack of agroecological funding could be costing us our future

Research and innovation in organic and agroecological farming is chronically underfunded, finds Nick Easen

Agroecology
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News

Poison for profit – EU exports 122,000 tonnes of banned pesticides

44 Highly Hazardous Pesticides, banned for EU use, are still being shipped to the African continent

Environment and ethics Pesticides
News

The AGtivist investigates illegal shellfish activities linked to E.coli outbreaks & seabed damage

Environment and ethics Eating and drinking Fish
News

83% of UK households choose organic as market growth outpaces non-organic

Supermarkets Eating and drinking Organics
Features

Subsidised biogas from maize is damaging the UK’s food & farming systems

Environment and ethics Farming Renewable energy
STORY OF THE WEEK

83% of UK households are now buying organic and that shoppers are “seeking to back British farmers” when they do, with strong growth in organic milk, eggs and carrots David Burrows, Wicked Leeks

Features

A return to the whole foods our grandparents recognise

Diets Eating and drinking Health
WL Meets

WL Meets: Stuart Oates, the farmer trying to go fossil fuel free

Agroecology Environment and ethics Farming
News

The AGtivist: Sustainable Farming Incentive a mixed bag as small farmers lose out

UK Gov Farming Politics
Features

The Public Plate: a new model for responsible restaurants that bring people together

UK Gov Farming Politics
Opinion

News from the farm: Wild pickings & nettles in fine fettle

Foraging Environment and ethics Guy Singh-Watson
The AGtivist

The AGtivist: Imported meat bypassing UK border hygiene checks, raises risk of disease

Farming Health Meat
News

Losing hope for happier chickens as ‘big 8’ walk out of agreement

Eating out Animal welfare Ethical business Meat
Features

Farming’s big plastic problem – and emerging solutions

Environment and ethics Farming Plastic
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FOOD, FARMING, FAIRNESS. Wicked Leeks is a digital news channel joining the dots between food, farming & people, published by @riverford ⬇️SUBSCRIBE

In 2025, overall sales of organic produce and prod In 2025, overall sales of organic produce and products increased by 4.2%, with the major driver of this being the growth within supermarkets, where there was a sales uplift of 7%. Organic is also outpacing non-organic with the unit growth of organic in supermarkets four times that of non-organic. 

Dairy has been one of the biggest drivers of growth – particularly organic milk and eggs – both of which returned a volume sales uplift of over 8%. Bananas, carrots and salad also had impressive years.

Most organic farmers (85%) report sales either growing or staying stable with less than 10% experiencing a sales drop, according to a farmer survey conducted as part of this year’s Organic Market Report, compiled by Soil Association Certification. 

The report also revealed that the frequency of organic purchases has increased in supermarkets, with shoppers, on average, buying organic once every 3 weeks.

However, the positivity surrounding strong demand is overshadowed by concerns over supplies. The UK has become increasingly reliant on imported organic food and drink as overall organic production remains stagnant.

The latest government figures, covering 2024, show the overall percentage of organic UK farmland stuck at 3%. While there was an increase in land in-conversion in England last year, this dramatically slowed when the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) closed abruptly.

The UK government has just revealed details for the new SFI and this included a renewed commitment to organic. Support for converting to organic and ongoing management of organic land will be included in the new scheme, which is set to reopen via two application windows in June and September. Support for the smallest of farmers is less assured.

Read David Burrow's full feature on Wicked Leeks.
What if restaurants were affordable, climate-consc What if restaurants were affordable, climate-conscious and community focused? Joyful, inclusive spaces that bring people together to share good food, and strengthen communities? Founder of @thepublicplate Carly Triske-Grove shares her vision with Wicked Leeks this week. 

"In 2005, aged 25, I opened my first restaurant, albeit with limited work experience. I had worked in a few bad places, including one that paid staff £1 an hour, letting us rely on tips to survive! Yet I had a clear vision, and 21 years later, it remains unchanged: serving good food, generously and affordably, can bring people together and strengthen communities.

"The word “restaurant” is perhaps over-generous. I started with a hut in a park that had historically served hot dogs and ice cream. We painstakingly scraped the grease off the walls, installed a rudimentary kitchen and built a picket fence to keep the kids in and the geese out. My then two-year-old took naps sandwiched between the till and the ice cream freezer; I’m not sure we’d get away with that today.

"We sold in 2019 and I’ve never been able to go back. When lockdown hit six months later and I was at home with a toddler, I suddenly had space to think about what was next. It was during that time I discovered a fascinating historical precedent for more affordable and accessible dining: British Restaurants. I learned that during the Second World War, the government had established a network of communal dining halls to serve nutritious, price-controlled meals. At their peak, over 2,000 restaurants fed around 600,000 people a day. They were created to ensure fair access to food during rationing and played a significant and a successful role in our war effort."

Read the full feature on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.
Roughly 135,500 tonnes of plastic waste is generat Roughly 135,500 tonnes of plastic waste is generated by farms each year, according to the Chartered Institute of Waste Management. But these old figures may well be an underestimate since there’s no mandatory reporting. Plastic usage on farms may only account for 2 per cent of all the plastic used in the UK, but from there it can leach into our food system – polluting water, soil, crops, and harming animals. 

A study of over 100 British farms growing potatoes and carrots found that all farm soils contained plastics. On average 3,700 microplastic particles were found per kilo of soil and there were many more particles where farmers used plastic crop covers. 

It is not surprising since plastic is a ubiquitous product found on countless farms across the UK where it’s used for wrapping and netting silage bales, as well as protective mulches for young crops. It is used for twine, polytunnels, pots, buckets, fertiliser, seed and chemical bags, as well as pesticide containers. There‘s no end to plastic’s use since it is a durable material. 

“Agricultural plastics are the real elephant in the room. Each year we cut 2,000 bales of hay across our farm. If I had wrapped them all in plastic, that’s six layers each – that would be the equivalent to half a million single-use carrier bags,“ explains Stuart Oates, a Cornish farmer and founder of the Fossil Free Farm project. 

“The problem is that it gets into the farm environment. If I cut across a bale of net wrap, microplastics are released. And you’re cutting it where your livestock are eating, it’s going into their feed, which they are eating. It’s not good.”

Read Nick Easen's full feature at Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.
I’m pleased that businesses are committed to enhan I’m pleased that businesses are committed to enhancing their ongoing work across welfare and the environment.” So said Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, last week as he announced that eight of his member businesses were setting up the “Sustainable Chicken Forum”, which “will play a vital role to make even more progress, as well as overcoming this shared supply challenge”.

The statement also confirmed that the businesses – between them the owners of 18 high street brands including Burger King, Frankie & Benny’s, KFC, and Wagamama – were dropping out of the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). This is the promise these companies, and others in the UK, plus hundreds across Europe, made to give the birds in their supply chain more space, longer, more fulfilling lives and the most humane death.

With eight dropping out, this leaves 14 UK companies still signed up (Compassion in World Farming, which runs the commitment, could not tell me whether this was accurate). Greggs, Subway and Pret are still ‘in’, so too the Azzurri Group, which runs Zizzi and Ask pizza chains, and Marks and Spencer. To date, Waitrose is the one to have met all six commitments in full, as the chief operating officer Charlotte Di Cello explains: “Fresh and frozen, sandwiches, pizza, ready meals, gravy – all Waitrose brand chicken [have met BCC criteria].”

The deadline for everyone else to catch up is the end of this year. The chances of many following Waitrose’s lead are slim. The likelier bet is on more UK companies following the eight out of the door (Unilever seems to have now dropped out too). That the brands enjoyed plenty of positive PR in signing up around 2020 – and since – is quickly forgotten.

Read the full feature on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.

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