I must admit, in my ignorance I had always thought that "organic farming" was an alternative response to modern farming. But this week Pammy Riggs sets me and the record straight. The term "organic" is misleading. For thousands of years, human beings have farmed without chemicals - call that organic is you wish - and then in modern times the chemicals were invented to increase yield. Organic farming is simply farming like it's always been done.
She should know - she and her husband bought a plot of land decades ago in Devon and set about developing a livestock farm. When she discovered that homeopathy was effective in keeping her children healthy, she tried it on the animals with fabulous results. Her pioneering farming methods - called the Positive Health Management System - were born and lead to numerous awards including Organic Business Person of the Year.
Pammy is currently working with Whole Health Agriculture to offer this system to farmers of today. It's all about balance - you look after your animals and they will look after you. Why is this even relevant? Because chemical farming is no longer sustainable, she explains. It's in all our interests, surely, that what we put into our bodies is produced healthily and responsibly. And farmers can be empowered to farm from the heart (and not the wallet).
Pammy is a passionate farming advocate and positive about future food production. Things must change and the solutions are already available. Join us in learning what these are, and why Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall calls her "the chicken whisperer"!
Find Pammy on LinkedIn
Books by Pammy are available at Waterstones and on Amazon:
Keeping Chickens for Dummies
Growing Your Own Fruit & Veg for Dummies
Storing & Preserving Garden Produce for Dummies
Space for Farming