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 found it hard to disagree with the main conclusion of Seaspiracy: that there is almost no sustainable fishing, and the labels claiming sustainability fall a long way short of delivering it.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 8th April 2021
9
If someone tells you that they will reach net zero, I urge you not to be impressed until they have told you how.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 31st March 2021
12
The illegitimate faith in greed shown by our PM’s comments this week will lead us over the cliff, destroying all that so many of us love about our country, and ultimately our planet.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 24th March 2021
17
These delicious leaves emerge unaided with extraordinary vigour in February from bulbs and seeds sheltering under last year’s leaf litter and a layer of undisturbed, delicious smelling humus.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 11th March 2021
3
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
2
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
1
The agri revolution led to a focus on crop yields above all else – but researchers are beginning to look again at nutrition in our food.
By Jack Thompson - 9th April 2021
2
The Netflix documentary has been welcomed for spotlighting damage from large-scale fishing while its claim that no fish is sustainable is disputed.
By Nina Pullman - 8th April 2021
12
More than just reefs and rainforests, habitat diversity also covers the heaths, woodlands, fens and bogs closer to home. Here's how you can help protect and visit some of the habitat restoration…
By Becky Blench - 8th April 2021
2
Charity Surfers Against Sewage hopes to galvanise 100,000 Brits to clean a million miles of rivers, beaches and green spaces to counter the rise in single-use plastic since the pandemic.
By Nina Pullman - 8th April 2021
0
I found it hard to disagree with the main conclusion of Seaspiracy: that there is almost no sustainable fishing, and the labels claiming sustainability fall a long way short of delivering it.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 8th April 2021
9
The pandemic has brought a fresh perspective on the power of community and feelings of injustice: let’s channel this anger positively and build dignified food security for all, writes David Markson.
By David Markson - 6th April 2021
1