Soil Association’s annual conference in Wales

The Soil Association’s annual conference will be held in Cardiff on January 26th and 27th. The Secretary of State for Agriculture, David Miliband, laid down a challenge to UK farmers last year, reflecting on the World Wide Fund for Nature’s calculation that we “were living as if we had three planet’s worth of resources to live with rather than just one”. He stated that one planet farming as well as one planet living should be practiced – one planet farming which minimised the impact on the environment of patterns of food production and consumption, and farming which maximised its contribution to renewal of the natural environment. The director of the Soil Association, Patrick Holden, commented that if we were to turn around 60 year’s worth of energy intensive industrial agriculture and “just in time” food distribution systems, individuals and communities needed to be given the tool-kit to create low-energy, re-localised food economies.

At the conference, leading experts on peak oil and climate changes will be included. The chair of the government’s Sustainable Development Commission, Jonathon Porritt, will set out what David Miliband’s challenge means in practice. Environmentalist Vandana Shiva (picture) is to make the links between North and South, as well as emphasis the need for localisation to counter the disastrous impacts of unrestrained globalisation. Zac Goldsmith, editor of The Ecologist magazine will be joining a question time panel. An organic fashion show takes place at the pre-conference reception in which TV celebrity Donna Air and other models catwalk against climate change showing off a selection of organic outfits. Even though the issues are serious, the Conference will also offer a rich menu of cultural entertainment, reflecting the organic movement's optimism and energy. Art, poetry, music, storytelling and film inspired by organic farms and landscapes will feature throughout the conference.

http://www.soilassociation.org