Regen Agriculture Takes No Sides - Episode 118 - Josiah Meldrum

Hey there and welcome to the weMove podcast. This week is the last of our series on food following on from Dr. Jenny Goodmans 2 episodes “Staying Alive in Toxic Times”. I have to say it was an unexpected podcast and as is often the way just an unexpectedly good conversation, full of insight from left field and an area that we hadn't necessarily thought about, which followed on from the overall conversations with that we've been having in this series whether Abby Rose of Farmerama, Peter Greig of Piper's farm, or Glen burrows at Ethical Butcher. I say left field because entering the Regenerative Farming rabbit hole, can easily be clouded by a meat-only bias. And remember this all started with talking about “staying alive in toxic times” whilst supporting our individual, personal health, rather than an eating bias/dogma, which is where seems to be the media portrayal of Regen Farming, an opposition of meat versus plants rather than it being about a return to the principles of nature, homeostasis, balance. Which would and do provide the foundation for positive health, growth, everything. We need it all and we need the principles to be able to move accordingly to maintain health. We are nothing without our good health. So, who are we talking to then? Josiah Meldrum, co-founder of Hodmedods, who work with British farmers to produce pulses and grains, contributed to creating a more diverse farming system and diets because of their belief that creating both diverse farming systems and diets is a key to a healthier and more sustainable future, for us all. As a consumer, it would appear similar to a Pipers Farm but for pulses and grains, but like Pipers, it is an approach to creating something which supports the earth, the farms, and the people, rather than simply a hyper refined, processed machine, focussed solely on production volume. And it was a brilliant conversation, we talked about a load of things the geographical nature of food, the political nature of food the cultural nature of food, how East Anglia in the UK is one of the biggest exporters in the world of the fava bean, traveling to the Middle East as a mainstay of their diet, talk about the irony of food miles and how disconnected we are from the potential of the earth we live on to grow food for us. It seems crackers. I guess you go where the demand has been manufactured. This whole series about food has been fascinating for me, I hope it has been the same for you listening. And I think this episode, in particular, has many touchpoints with things that I’m seeing in the press, the media, and the world in general. Food, politics, geopolitics, all of that has an effect on our health. But having a good grasp of the principles is like having a map, compass and knowing how to use them to get home. Sadly too many rely on being told by a voice they will never meet the body of. So enjoy, listen, support Josiah and his Hodmedods network. If you're in the British Isles that is and if not then source a Hodmedods type network on the land you are currently living on. From Chris and me. Thanks for listening. Peace.