We source our chicken from one farm in Leicestershire. The farm is Pasture for Life certified and rears truly free range, outdoor birds.
If you've seen our previous article and you want to know what you can do to support this movement, we've put together the beginnings of a directory to source foods from regenerative agriculture or truly sustainable natural and wild sources.
Please check back as we will update this list here as we learn more.
REGENUARY MEATS
Ok, this one is a bit biased but this is what we do. When you choose our beef, lamb, forest-raised pork or soy free chicken, you can be confident that your environmental impact is positive.
REGENUARY EGGS:
REGENUARY OILS:
We're huge admirers of Farrington Oils. Owner Duncan Farrington produces nutritious British rapeseed oil in harmony with nature. You can find more details about their methods on their website.
These guys are doing something incredible in Crete, producing the finest olive oil with regenerative methods in true harmony with nature.
REGENUARY VEG:
REGENUARY CEREALS AND GRAINS
To be regenerative we need to look for producers who are using no-till methods to grow crops. Tilling soil destroys soil structure and releases a lot of CO2.
Typically, most regenerative farmers follow these four core principles:
1. Minimising soil disturbance
There are more micro-organisms in a teaspoon of soil than there are people of Earth, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
These living organisms create soil fertility, but disturbing them through tillage or by using chemicals destroys the soil structure that acts as their home.
2. Keeping the soil covered
Nature always works to fill a vacuum, and bare soil is no different. Keeping it covered protects it from wind and water erosion, while preventing moisture evaporation and weed seeds germinating.
Most growers choose to keep soil covered by maintaining living roots in the soil as much as possible through the year – typically by growing cover crops in the gaps between cash crops.
That also helps retain nutrients and food supply for the micro-organisms in the soil.
3. Maximising plant or crop diversity
The theory is that pests, diseases and poor nutrient cycling in crops are due to the lack of diversity in our farming system.
Increasing the range of crops and animals in the system decreases pest and disease pressure while supporting biodiversity and improving soil health.
4. Integrating livestock
Livestock grazing of cover or cash crops on arable land not only provides a natural source of organic matter, but also encourages new plant growth, which stimulates the plants to pump more carbon into the soil. This drives nutrient recycling by feeding biology.
As we discover brands using these methods we will update. Unfortunately at the moment we can more easily find farmers using these methods than we can track where their produce is used but we are constantly investigating this and will update.
Fort more information regarding regenerative agriculture please see the following resources.
https://www.farmingforabetterclimate.org/soil-regenerative-agriculture-group/
https://www.innovationforagriculture.org.uk/regenerative-agriculture
https://www.agricology.co.uk/field/farmer-profiles
CLIMATE
Good overviews of different regenerative practices:
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/what-regenerative-agriculture
TO WATCH