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 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
13
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
6
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
5
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
1
My hope is that 2021 will mark the start of the decline of the cult of individual wealth and fame, along with all the waste and loneliness that go with it.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 7th January 2021
9
In search of mature, rocket-free inspiration, Riverford supports the Oxford Real Farming Conference: an annual meeting of unconventional farmers, cooks, campaigners and scientists.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 2nd December 2020
5
From his first windmill to running a green empire, Ecotricity founder Dale Vince tells Jack Thompson why he thinks his Asperger’s is a superpower and his simple mantra to reach zero carbon.
By Jack Thompson - 15th April 2021
0
As spring emerges, we celebrate the start of the Spanish season with these new recipes for asparagus and broad beans, ideal for the first post-lockdown get-togethers.
By Becky Blench - 15th April 2021
0
Try making spring green rice rolls or chickpea curry with shiitake mushrooms to celebrate the best of Spring veg with these five vegan recipes.
By Kirsty Hale - 15th April 2021
0
The first report into state of Britain’s trees finds non native species have increased while ancient woodland and wildlife faces a range of threats including climate and invasive diseases.
By Nina Pullman - 14th April 2021
0
It’s been an excellent salad season so far because the weather has been very dry, and so we have fewer problems with the fungal disease mildew, writes grower Marco Altamirano from Riverford's farm in…
By Marco Altamirano - 14th April 2021
0
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