Real Farm Festival, Church Farm, Ardeley 17-19 June 2011

Real farming, what’s the big idea?

If everyone in Britain is going to enjoy safe, healthy, natural food, often referred to as Real
Food, we need a national Real Farming movement. ‘We all farm every time we eat’ says Tim Waygood, farmer and entrepreneur. We Britons need to take responsibility for our food and how it is farmed.

We need to abandon factory farming and the GM industrial agriculture advocated by British and American governments, corporates and banks, and invest in healthy, ecologically sound ways of farming that produce the food that people want to eat at an affordable price.

On Saturday 18th June, Real Farm Festival invites people to take part in a series of conversations on the science, philosophy and practicalities of farming for real food. We welcome speakers from the Soil Association, Organic Research Centre, Campaign for Real Farming, Self Knowledge Global Responsibility, Pesticide Action Network, FARM:shop, Agrarian Renaissance, and Ecological Land Co-operative.

The IAASTD, United Nations and HRH Prince of Wales have all this year advocated “agroecology” as a practical way of feeding the world’s growing population, but British government scientists refuse to acknowledge that it can be done.

British people need to get clued up on farming if they are to hold the government to account, to demand research is directed towards ecological farming and to implement change at the grassroots level regardless of political will.

Questions we’ll be putting to the presenters at the Real Farm Festival include: How bad is GM? What are the alternatives? What is polyculture? What will it take for Britain to become ecologically farmed?

Real farming needs a new focus for agricultural science, new appropriate technology and potentially different economic structures to ensure farms nourish people and planet, before profit. People are invited to come down to Real Farm Festival and contribute to the big ideas.

Church Farm is a mixed, high welfare 175-acre farm run predominantly by young people (80% female) who care about the future of real food. Get a taste of how ecological farming is possible, have a go at farming, take part in various workshops (such as the Biodynamic Stirring Party, Wild Cultures - art of fermentation, Peg Looming) enjoy and take part in lots of live music, performance and games, eat great food fresh off the farm, and really get stuck in to some big ideas.

All tickets and info are on the website, www.realfarmfestival.com