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.
Market forces have driven agriculture towards specialisation and scale; the increased yields have reduced the price of food over the last 70 years, but with catastrophic environmental costs.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 22nd July 2021
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Even with the most mundane work there has to be some fun, camaraderie, pride, and a sense of purpose to sustain you through the week.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 15th July 2021
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For me, Southgate’s management is indeed about more than football. He and his team represent the diverse and inclusive, caring, considerate and confident Britain I want to live in.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 7th July 2021
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When the first organic veg boxes were delivered by us freaks on the fringe 35 years ago, plant-based eating and climate change were the concerns of a tiny, far-sighted minority.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 24th June 2021
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Every year we worry that the annual samphire will be out-competed by salt-tolerant perennials like sea purslane, but there seems to be just enough movement of the mud to keep the habitat open.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 16th June 2021
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Each year, the harvester, trailers and rowing-up rake get larger, harvesting 100 acres of grass a day compared to the five acres of my youth.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 10th June 2021
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Most British strawberries today are grown in coconut fibre under acres of polytunnels and the season has been extended far beyond summer, writes Louise Gray in her latest Roots to Fruits column.
By Louise Gray - 23rd July 2021
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UK fruit is at its peak of ripeness and flavour; juicy sun-warmed fruits that make for blissful eating whether enjoyed as they are or in one of these show stopping recipes.
By Becky Blench - 22nd July 2021
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Market forces have driven agriculture towards specialisation and scale; the increased yields have reduced the price of food over the last 70 years, but with catastrophic environmental costs.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 22nd July 2021
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British farmers are trialling alternatives to soya in animal feed, known to cause deforestation in the Amazon.
By Jack Thompson - 19th July 2021
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As the summer holidays approach, Anna Turns tries a new green cooking book with her daughter and finds a wealth of education and creativity.
By Anna Turns - 19th July 2021
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‘The Angry Chef’, aka Anthony Warner, tells Jack Thompson why food doesn’t have an ‘easy answer’ and why feeding the masses is a forgotten side of sustainability.
By Jack Thompson - 16th July 2021
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