Guy Singh-Watson has over the last 30 years taken Riverford from one man and a wheelbarrow delivering homegrown organic veg to friends, to a national veg box scheme delivering to around 80,000 customers a week.
Tired of meetings, brands and the assumption that greed is our predominant motivation, Guy converted the business to employee ownership in 2018, using the proceeds to buy a small farm and return to growing organic vegetables. In common with many of Riverford’s new co-owners, Guy is an advocate of using business to shape a part of the world, however small, to be kinder, more considerate and sustainable; more like the world most of us want to live in.
His weekly newsletters connect people to the farm with refreshingly honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food, and the occasional rant about farming, ethical and business issues he feels strongly about.
I did my best to thank the 35 staff (almost all French) for helping to make it the success it is today; for the beautiful cabbages, the joy they bring to the farm, and their hard work.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 11th May 2022
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'Our survival on this planet relies on us learning from nature, to include growing and eating more perennial crops. Luckily, many of them are very tasty, too,' writes Guy Singh-Watson.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 4th May 2022
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Conversion to organic farming can be a painful process; converting the mindset of a farmer raised on agrochemicals can take even longer.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 20th April 2022
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To this day I still love watching customers, particularly in large groups spanning three or four generations, enjoying an extended, leisurely lunch with children running amok outside.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 7th April 2022
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My first commercial onion crop in the 1980s was tended by Henry Clarke, an ox of a man who once milked my father’s cows.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 30th March 2022
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Has pragmatic compromise become a creeping move towards ‘the customer is always right', and damn the environment and UK farming? writes Guy Singh-Watson, reflecting on the need to invest in British-…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 17th March 2022
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The inconsistent weather last year meant slow ripening of the chilli fruits, and although many varieties can be picked green, most benefit from the sun ripening them for the best flavour, writes…
By Chris Wakefield - 18th May 2022
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There is some nostalgia within green circles for the 1940s, mainly because the war and subsequent rationing imposed a healthy diet and very low tolerance of waste, writes Simon Fairlie in his new…
By Simon Fairlie - 18th May 2022
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Wicked Leeks’ series of live events will host food writers Melissa Hemsley and Ixta Belfrage this summer as part of a series with women in food and sustainability.
By Wicked Leeks - 18th May 2022
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Turn veg into star-studded gems with whatever you have in the fridge in this delicious South Asian 'nine-jewel' korma from chef Asma Khan.
By Wicked Leeks - 12th May 2022
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For Mental Health Awareness Week, plant-based chef Lauren Lovatt explores what food benefits the mind and shares her recipe for ‘sizzling courgettes’.
By Lauren Lovatt - 12th May 2022
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I did my best to thank the 35 staff (almost all French) for helping to make it the success it is today; for the beautiful cabbages, the joy they bring to the farm, and their hard work.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 11th May 2022
6