Category: Uncategorized

Counting on 2026 …. Day 21

6th February 

In response to the government’s national security report ‘Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security’ (1)  Sustain responded with its reading of the urgency of the situation, making the following recommendations:-

“The Government must now look to planning, nature recovery and food and farming policy to mutually support each other to deliver the wholescale changes in diets and food production that security experts recommend. Farming policy must prioritise global ecosystem recovery, and nature and climate policy include measures to grow more foods that boost our resilience and aren’t heavily reliant on imports. Immediate actions include:

  • Halting any further expansion of intensive livestock production
  • Investing in projects like Bridging the Gap, and schemes like Welsh Veg in Schools, to unlock profitable supply chains that increase the production and consumption of organic fruit, vegetables and legumes
  • A horticulture investment strategy that boosts commercial production of UK vegetables, beans, pulses, legumes and nuts, as well as increasing the UK market for these products 
  • Ending the exploitative practices of large agri-food corporations, and give farmers more power to set prices and market conditions
  • Funding farmer cooperatives, networks, and mentoring schemes to scale agroecological farming through knowledge sharing, pooling resources and building collective market power “ (2)

It is frustrating that there are so many clear solutions to the crisis we face, but so little willingness on the part of the Government to enact the policies and legislation that would enable these changes to be made – because market forces won’t do this alone and many people whether farmers, retailers or consumers are trapped by unrestrained market forces.  

  1. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-introduction

(2) https://www.sustainweb.org/news/jan26-national-security-risk-report/

Counting on 2026 …. Day 20

5th February 

Sustain’s report (released November 2025), Bridging the Gap: How to fix the food system for everyone, calls for the creation of “just, healthy and sustainable UK food system will require system-wide change alongside strong leadership. Farming of nutritious food with lower inputs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, which restore nature and support decent livelihoods for a diversity of growers must become the mainstream to build nutritional security and domestic resilience against global shocks. Our policy recommendations include ways to significantly increase domestic fruit and veg production in the UK7 and, with this, more jobs (up to 80 jobs per thousand tonnes produced), benefiting local communities.9

“Alongside this we need to double the consumption of fruit, veg and pulses to improve people’s health while securing a market for growers, supporting the transition to climate and nature friendly farming. For this triple bottom line to be possible, good food must be available and affordable in local retail settings and across our schools and hospitals, sourced through ethical, value-based supply chains that provide growers with better and more reliable incomes than what they currently experience via supermarket supply chains.11 

“If we are to produce food that is good for people and for the planet, and accessible to everyone regardless of their income, the Government must actively support climate and nature friendly horticulture and lead by example on how our food is bought and sold.” (1)

The report lists three clear policy recommendations:- 

1. Fix the supply – Boost British fruit, veg and pulse production

• Introduce cross-departmental horticulture strategies across the nations to support green growth and boost production and consumption of fruit, vegetables and pulses

* Support small-scale and organic farmers through grants, better land access, and training programmes

2. Fix the missing middle – Ensure fair prices and invest in infrastructure

•Invest in local food infrastructure like food hubs, processing and packing facilities (particularly for legumes), and distribution centres to help smaller local producers get produce to market.

•Strengthen supply chain fairness to enforce fair dealing across more of the supply chain.

3. Fix the access – Enable everyone to eat good food

• Use the state’s £5 billion of public food procurement from schools and hospitals to create stable markets for organic and locally produced produce. This will deliver on the Labour Government election manifesto commitment to ensure 50% of publicly procured food is local or to a higher environmental standard.

  • Run pilots and roll-out schemes to make healthy food more affordable for low-income households and reduce NHS spending, such as vouchers and ‘fruit and veg on prescription’. (1)

The report details 9 different pilot schemes that have been running for the last two years, and the results show clear win-win outcomes for health, climate and  environment, local economies, and food security.

Will the government take on these recommendations? Will they be supported by the farming industry, by retailers and by consumers? 

  1. https://www.sustainweb.org/assets/bridging-the-gap-how-to-fix-the-food-system-for-everyone-1764673053.pdf

Counting on 2026 … day 19

4th February 

To return to yesterday’s astounding statistic that the UK is just 62% self sufficient for all foods, and when looking at indigenous foods (ie those that can be grown in the UK) we are disappointingly only 75% self sufficient. And for fresh fruit we are about 15% self sufficient. 

It would seem that all too often imported fruit and vegetables are cheaper – perhaps coming from countries with lower wages or countries like Spain that use cheap seasonal labour from North Africa. (This is in itself a justice issue for these seasonal workers are often abused by their their employers – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/agricultural-workers-rights-almeria). 

Do we need to encourage more horticulture in the UK and encourage consumers to buy UK produce? Maybe we need a “Buy British” advertising campaign as we did in the past with eggs.

Equally the government and local authorities could ensure that the Public Food Procurement sector does more to buy locally – encompassing buying British rather than imported produce, and buying from local (often small and medium sized) producers.

However this is not a simple straightforward problem to solve. If buying British means paying a higher price for fruit and vegetables, then the poorer sectors of our society need to receive a higher income – either through improved benefits and/ or improved pay. The proliferation of food banks already shows us that we are failing as a society – and therefore being failed by our government – to ensure everyone has enough money to eat well.

Wages also feed in as a cost factor for the producers of fruit and vegetables. Growing and harvesting is both labour intensive and seasonal. Increased wage costs (due to inflationary pressures and NI costs etc) are eating away at profit margins. This has also been compounded by Brexit which has reduced the supply of seasonal workers from Europe and sometimes crops have gone unharvested severely denting the viability of businesses. We need a better system of ensuring that everyone receives a fair wage as the bedrock of our economy.

The dominance of the supply chain by big supermarkets also needs to be reviewed. Supermarkets dominate the market giving them considerable leverage over prices paid to the producers. Whilst this does drive down costs on some items, it does so at the expense of the producers. A report from 2022 by the Sustainable Farming Campaign highlights the very small profit margin received by food producers as opposed to the profits made elsewhere in the supply chain: “For 1kg of apples purchased in a supermarket (about 6 apples), the apple grower has costs of 76p, yet receives in profit just 1% (3 pence) of a selling price of £2.20”. The same report observed that organic apples sold not by a supermarket but by a not-for profit hub, received : “1kg of organic apples purchased gives the organic apple grower three times -3% (10 pence) of the selling price of £4.00 with costs of 175p.” Ie a 0.06% profit margin as opposed to 0.04%. (1)

Another major costs for the producers of fruit and vegetables is energy. Rising energy prices have, for example, particularly affected crops grow under glass. In part this is because of the UK’s past heavy reliance on fossil fuels and the impact of the war in Ukraine. A concerted shift to renewable energy would bring down energy costs but in terms of a just transition, should grants be made available to enable fruit and vegetable growers to invest in solar panels? At the same time there needs to be urgent investment in the capacity of the grid.

Support  with investment in new technologies and infrastructure would also encourage an expansion of UK based production. Relatively speaking, horticulture doesn’t need lots of land vis a vis other crops or livestock,  but does need more infrastructure per hectare. 

Another factor to be considered in terms of promoting  UK grown fruit and vegetables is the growing insecurity of the supply of imported produce. Spain, Italy and North Africa from where much of our imported fruit and vegetables come, are countries that are increasingly the impacts of change – droughts  floods etc – and which have already resulted in reduced harvests. 

  1. https://www.sustainweb.org/news/nov22-unpicking-food-prices-new/

Background reading

 – https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0707/POST-PN-0707.pdf

Counting on 2026 … day 18

3rd February 

The availability of food is highlighted as a major concern for the UK in the Government report,  Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security. Food insecurity is seen as major national issue. 

The UK is just 62% self sufficient for all foods, and when looking at indigenous foods (ie those that can be grown in the UK) we are disappointingly only 75% self sufficient. In other words we are importing up to  25% of foods that could be grown here in the UK!

The Guardian recently produced an article about food security in Finland. (1) Despite a not very amenable climate with a short growing season, Finland is 80% self sufficient for food. Finland is by nature a country where a preparedness mindset is essential in the face of its climate, its geopolitical borders and its own geography.  

Finland’s National Emergency Supply Agency (Nesa) ensures that the nation will cope if things go wrong. They maintain a strategic store of grains – wheat, oats, barley and rye – which is rotated to ensure freshness. This reserve helped to reassure people when the war in Ukraine led to grain shortages. 

Farms form the backbone of their food system, and they have developed varieties of grain and other staples that are suitable for their short growing season. Alongside the farms, Finland ensures that their food supply chain is also resilient. Emergency fuel reserves are kept for both farm machinery and transport vehicles. 

Another key part of Finland’s resilience strategy is in ensuring preparedness at household level too. Finnish households are all encouraged to maintain a sufficient stock of food and other essentials to last 72 hours. 

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/16/finland-crisis-food-stockpiles-europe-supply-chains-fuel-reserves?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on 2026 … day 17

2nd February 

Food security is a pertinent issue. A recent Government report,  Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, investigates “how global biodiversity loss and the collapse of critical ecosystems could affect the UK’s resilience, security and prosperity.” (1) 

At the top of the list of events the poses a high risk for the UK is global ecosystem breakdown: ie the ecosystems on which we depend for fresh water, clean air and food, and for predictable weather patterns, and which protect us from diseases, would cease to function. 

Without major interventions, the report states that this is a highly likely outcome based on current trends. 

Not only would this impact us locally, the UK would also be impacted by the knock on effects of systems collapse in other countries leading to increased competition for limited resources such as food and water, greater risk of global pandemics,  an increase in both armed conflict and mass migration. Partial system collapse is likely by 2030 and a global collapse as early as 2050. 

In a repeat of what has been said so widely, measures needed to reduce the likelihood of global ecosystem collapse include:-

  • Protecting 30% of global land and ocean by 2030 (now just four years away)
  • 30% of global nature to be under rest by 2030
  • Mobilising finance to close the funding gap of $700bn
  • Reducing risks from pesticide usage by 50% by 2050
  • Eliminating or reforming harmful subsidies by $500bn by 2050
  • Meeting the 1.5C Paris climate agreement target

So why aren’t we – whether as individuals, as industries or as the government – a) doing more to curtail activities that are driving this ecological breakdown, and b) doing more to increase national and global resilience?

  1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-security-assessment-on-global-biodiversity-loss-ecosystem-collapse-and-national-security?internal=true

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

1st February 2026

Reflection with readings below.

Today’s reading from the prophet Micah takes the form of a dialogue. God has  a bone to pick – ‘a controversy’ – with his people’. What, says God, have I done to you? How have I wearies you? Why is it, God is asking, are you so disenchanted with me, so uninterested in what I am to you, so disconnected?

And it is down to Micah to answer. In fact there is nothing God has failed to do, no fault that Micah can flag up. Rather Micah knows that it is the people who are at fault; they are the ones that have failed to maintain the relationship. So instead Micah replies by asking what can he – what can the people – give to show how much God really means, to rebuild the relationship. It’s not burnt sacrifices, nor offerings of vast numbers of rams nor gallons of oil, nor even the sacrifice of the first born. No, it is to what God has already asked: do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. 

The Psalmist asks pretty much the same question, what does God want of us? To speak truthfully, to show no guile, to do no evil, to not despise our neighbour but rather to honour God, to act honestly and with integrity, to not give money in the hope of gain. 

And in Paul’s letter to the community at Corinth, we’re told that being Godly is not about being wise, or rich, or powerful, or of noble birth (and today we might add not being a celebrity). 

All this is building up to Jesus’s famous teaching on who are God’s blessed – those who experience an inner joy and contentment that comes from their relationship with God. 

All these positive actions, these positive ways of living, are what makes the kingdom of God real here on earth. So in a sense we do know what we need to do to make the world a better place, but maybe the problems arise because so much of what is wrong in the world is structural and as individuals – even as churches – we struggle to find ways of changing those structures. Yet actually God doesn’t expect us to be successful all on our own. God asks that we be faithful, doing that which we can do and for the rest staying alongside God.

The following prayer comes from the Talmud

Do not be daunted 

By the enormity

Of the world’s grief.

Do justly, now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now.

You are not obligated 

To complete the work

But neither are you free 

to abandon it.

Micah 6:1-8

Hear what the Lord says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.

Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth;

for the Lord has a controversy with his people,
and he will contend with Israel.

“O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of slavery;

and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.

O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 15

1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
who may abide upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *
who speaks the truth from his heart.

3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend; *
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbour.

4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
but he honours those who fear the Lord.

5 He has sworn to do no wrong *
and does not take back his word.

6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

7 Whoever does these things *
shall never be overthrown.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Candlemas – where does the light shine?

31st January 2026

“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations. Isaiah 42:6

You Lord are the light of the world:help us to see.

Your word is a light for our path:guide us in all we do.

Whatever we say or do:let it be to the glory of God.

A reading from Luke 2: 29- 35

“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,

as you have promised.

I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.

He is a light to reveal God to the nations,

and he is the glory of your people Israel.” 

Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the tops of the  mountains where the glaciers are fast disappearing?

Will it follow the rivers that flow down from the mountains? 

Will it light upon the people who rely on the river for their livelihoods?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the depths of the earth where conglomerates mine for minerals and riches?

Will it reach the depth of the oceans where conglomerates drill for oil and gas?

Will it follow the flow of money that skips lightly past those who labour,  

and fills the ever deepening pockets of the wealthy?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it reach the verdant understory deep within the rainforests? 

Or will it find that space already punctured by sugar and soy plantations?

Will it be embraced by a rich biodiverse ecosystem – 

or will it search desperately for indigenous lives that are no more?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it glitter on the vast whiteness of the poles? 

Or will it sink into the void that melting ice has left behind?

Will it bring life to the Arctic tern and the walrus? 

Will it be a ray of light for the penguin chick and the polar bear cub?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will reach inside  apartment blocks  split open by bombs?

Will it reach inside the ‘temporary’ abodes of the refugee camp?

Will it reach inside those precarious homes where the need for heat 

is in a constant battle with the need to eat?

Will it spotlight communities in need of levelling up?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

For the times we have masked your light so that its message is obscured:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refocused your light away from those in need:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have directed your light away from our own shortcomings:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refused to see where your light is pointing:

Lord have mercy.

Renew in us your spark that we may be visible agents of your Kingdom and active agents of your purpose.

Amen.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Counting on 2026 … day 16

30th January 

This last week the radio programme Farming Today has been reporting on the difficulties livestock farmers have been facing with insufficient supplies of winter feed. Last year’s hot dry summer reduced crop yields meaning there has been a shortage of things such as hay, silage, maize, sunflower seeds, rape seed etc. Farmers have had to buy in extra feed including more imported soya beans. The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) said that “the UK needs a national protein strategy to safeguard feed security because that impacts food security.” 

This bemuses me. Would it not be more logical, if we are wanting to increase national protein security, to focus on growing more plant based proteins that can be fed directly to humans rather than feeding us indirectly via livestock? Gaining our protein needs from livestock rather than plants is much more inefficient in the use of land, water, fertiliser etc and generates far more pollution costs too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002q29g
https://www.agindustries.org.uk/resource/aic-on-bbc-farming-today-programme-uk-feed-security.html

Counting on 2026 … day 15

28th January 

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is a global agreement, dating from 2022seeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss – ie restoring the integrity of biodiversity. Signatories, which includes the UK, have undertaken to restore 30% of the biodiversity by 2030 – both land based and marine. (1)

In December 2025 the government published its policy paper, The Environmental Improvement Plan (2025) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. (2) This is intended as a ‘roadmap’ first restoring nature, improving environmental quality, creating a circular economy, protecting environmental security and improving access to nature. However it is crunched in terms of minimise and enable and encourage with no measurable targets and no details as to the who and the how and the where.

More useful is the report from the Wild Life Trusts. It starts critically: “Despite often being a key player in the international stage …the UK has not backed this up with implementation at home. The UK’s international environmental leadership threatens to be undermined by the fact that the UK Government is on track to meet only four of its forth individual domestic environmental targets and remains one of the most nature depleted countries on the planet.” But it also offers positive advice: “Space in the UK is finite and there are many competing aspirations for how our land and seas should be used. A national strategic spatial approach to planning the use of both is needed to reduce and avoid conflict. This approach needs to be fully cross departmental to ensure policies for,planning, transport, energy, food and nature are all aligned.” This plan needs to show “how and where 30%of the land will be effectively conserved and restored by 2030…”

The report also reveals some shocking analysis: “…analysis shows that on,y 3.1% of land in ZD gland is effectively protected and managed for nature, whilst a maximum of 8% of English seas could be said to be protected for nature.” It goes on to recommend: “Landscape-scale habitat creation is needed, linked by corridors and stepping stones of wild places throughout our cities and countryside. Practices that damage nature must be minimised to enable nature to recover.” (3)

I’m surprised that in all these discussions about route maps to increase biodiversity and the need to allocate more space for nature, that instigating a switch to largely plant based diets doesn’t feature. We cannot maintain existing diets, existing farming practices and restore nature!

  1. https://www.cbd.int/gbf
  2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-environmental-improvement-plan-2025-and-the-kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework
  3. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/UK and Global Biodiversity Framework – The Wildlife Trusts 2024.pdf

Counting on 2026 … day 14

27th January

“Biosphere Integrity refers to the capacity of ecosystems across the planet to support life and maintain the overall health and stability of the Earth system. This depends on the health, diversity, and interactions of the organisms that make up these ecosystems.” (1) 

This is a safety boundary that we – because of human activity – have passed. We are living in the danger zone that means crises are inevitable. We experience this through rapidly declining numbers of pollinators (essential for growing crops); increasing soil infertility; declining ability of the environment to absorb carbon dioxide; declining ability of ecosystems to absorb rain so limiting flooding; loss of species removing opportunities to benefit from them for food, medicines, building materials etc; increasing loss of green and blue spaces that maintain our physical and mental wellbeing. 

Human activities that are causing the loss of biodiversity integrity include:-

  • Deforestation 
  • Changing land uses including  the expansion of urban structures 
  • Increased intensification of agricultural 
  • Expansion of agricultural land use
  • Industrialised fishing
  • Expansion of mining activities including deep sea mining
  • Expansion of industrial processes increasing pollution
  • Expansion of activities producing greenhouse gases – eg use of fossil fuels and livestock farming
  • Increased production of novel entities and the spread of invasive, non-indigenous species
  1. https://www.planetaryhealthcheck.org/boundary/change-in-biosphere-integrity/

Global risk map of the Change in Biosphere Integrity, based on the functional integrity (HANPP) control variable. Transgression is based on the HANPP control variable. All values shown on the map refer to the year 2010. Based on data from Kastner et al. 2022.

Most boundary transgressions occur in large, continuous regions with high land-use intensity. In contrast, areas in regions without transgressions, such as the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and boreal forests, are primarily natural or semi-natural.