Jack Thompson | TableDebates

Mosaic of different fields and land use

Beyond a binary land use debate in Tom Heap's new book

TABLE interviews Tom Heap about his new book Land Smart in which he explores many difficult tensions and trade-offs in land use, from biofuels versus solar panels and regenerative farming to biotechnology, and tiptoes into the emotionally-laden debate of dietary change – revealing his penchant for pragmatism.

Picture of a sculpture depicting an athlete doing discus. Credit: Frans Van Heerden via Pexels.

Eco-gastro diplomacy at Paris Olympics

13 million meals served. Zero chicken nuggets. 60% vegetarian. All fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, eggs and cereals are sourced from France – pears from Nantes, lentils from Lyon, and Tomme cheese from Bordeaux. They’re even turning 40 tonnes of used coffee into fertiliser. At the Paris Olympic Games, France is keen to show off its culinary prestige to the 15,000 athletes, 20,000 journalists and millions of spectators. But this time, it’s with a green twist.

Picture of a highland cow in a field

The furore over FAO livestock emissions

Methodology matters. Which figures scientists and researchers choose as benchmarks, what papers they choose, or exclude for their calculations, matter. This is because of the power of statistics to shape narratives and provide arguments that call for distinct solutions. The debate and backlash to the recent FAO report Pathways to Lower Emissions, a global assessment of emissions in livestock agri-food systems is over precisely this point; how the use of a single statistic has the potential to shape ideas about the future of food.

Photo by Mick Baker via Flickr. A sign of weetabix next to field

Deconstructing Weetabix: What my family farm's supply chain taught me about power

In this blog, Jack Thompson traces the supply chain of his family farm’s wheat to UK cereal manufacturer, Weetabix. In mapping every stage, he reveals where power is concentrated in arable farming: seed monopolies, fertiliser companies, machinery companies and grain merchants. He argues that this consolidation of agribusiness is driving not only environmental and social harm, but is a leading reason for the farmer protests in Europe. This article was originally published in Vittles, an online magazine based in the UK and India, publishing new food and culture writing. It was written by TABLE's research and communications officer, Jack Thompson.