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.
As we became employee owned and I renounced control, protection of suppliers was written into our founding documents; last month, this was crystalised into a new Supplier Charter.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 4th March 2021
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Perhaps the worst thing about wasting food is the contempt it shows for the planet that produced it, but short-lived, headline-grabbing campaigns on wonky veg do little to drive a lasting reduction.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 24th February 2021
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I will never see the walnuts in full production, but have been sustained by a vision of being wheeled out in my later years to sit under the trees as the nuts drop, with a flagon of cider and an air…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 17th February 2021
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Plastic has become so iconic in a collective determination to address environmental issues that we had to act.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 4th February 2021
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Within a month, our government has initiated a rushed consultation on gene editing and overturned a ban on a bee-threatening neonicotinoid insecticide.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 28th January 2021
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Earthworms hate slurry, and few would claim it’s perfect – but with the farmers getting 30p per litre for milk, don’t expect them to be able to make costly compost anytime soon.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 14th January 2021
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For International Women’s Day, social advocate and environmentalist Jennie Stephens tells Anna Turns why diverse leadership can unlock social and climate justice.
By Anna Turns - 7th March 2021
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Barclays, HSBC and NatWest are among UK banks found to be linked to deforestation in Brazil as spotlight on unethical finance grows.
By Jack Thompson - 4th March 2021
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From community food sharing or family meal planning to buying a ‘Magic Bag’ of leftover food from your favourite café – read our round-up of the best food waste apps and resources.
By Becky Blench - 4th March 2021
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As we became employee owned and I renounced control, protection of suppliers was written into our founding documents; last month, this was crystalised into a new Supplier Charter.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 4th March 2021
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Environmental journalist Anna Turns weighed her household waste after a week before setting a mission to reduce it with the help of tips and tricks from food waste experts.
By Anna Turns - 2nd March 2021
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A caterpillar spotted while gleaning a field for leftover crops sparked a conversation around the connection between species, writes Chantelle Norton.
By Chantelle Norton - 2nd March 2021
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