Social movements have a history of achieving great change. That’s why there’s something in the air this year, from public sector strikes to land access protests on Dartmoor, as mass gatherings of people have started using their voice in an undeniable, visible way. And so, in our new issue of Wicked Leeks magazine, (available to order now), we wanted capture a snapshot of that energy and how it relates to food, farming, land, nature and climate.
In our news section, there’s a similar story to public sector wage disputes in farming, where apple growers are starting to leave the sector due to chronically low returns and high costs (page 4), while columnist Sue Pritchard is calling for a new social movement for food (pages 6-7). The power of a community is something our cover star and former Archbishop, Rowan Williams, has long believed in; his words on how to create change, plus his views on activism and land, are as fascinating as they are pertinent.
While mass gatherings can be overtly political (page 8), coming together also takes place in smaller, though no less empowering, arenas. We explore how to find joy in hosting friends for dinner with zero stress (page 27 – how’s that for a radical action?), and how food growing has long been used as a tool for unity (page 33). In Lifestyle, discover the community in your gut and how to look after it (pages 30-31), plus travel to Italy and the home of the Slow Food movement (page 28) where good food and good farming are still held in the highest esteem. Because community means different things to different people, our roadmap to collective action celebrates this diversity and how you can get involved at any level, whoever you are (pages 16-17).
In an era of polarisation, we hope this issue serves as a reminder that we have more in common than we do pulling us apart. And that joining in, finding your own community, can be as fulfilling as it is empowering.
Wicked Leeks spring-summer 2023 is available to buy as a hard copy if you are a Riverford customer, or as an online digital edition available to all.
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