26/03/24 - London farmer protests, Scottish herring and hempcrete
Listen now
Description
Farmers have been gathering in London's Parliament Square to protest about what they feel is a lack of support for British food production. Organisers said they have three demands: first, a ban on what they see as 'dishonest' labelling where food imported and processed in Britain can be labelled as British; second, they want the UK to withdraw from the Australian and New Zealand Trade Deals; and third, they want a clear plan for 'food security'. Herring used to be a mainstay of communities up and down the west coast of Scotland. In the early 1900s Scotland was producing 2 million barrels of herring a year, but by the 60s and 70s, stocks of herring had been over-fished and collapsed. Since then, they've struggled to return, but a huge new spawning ground has been spotted by satellite. And, hemp has traditionally been used to make hardwearing textiles - things like ropes and canvas for sails. But it can also be used to build houses using a material called hempcrete! Film-maker, Steve Barron, who's best known for directing music videos, bought some farmland back in 2017, and decided to "grow his own home". Presented by Anna Hill Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
More Episodes
New physical checks have been brought in on some imports of food and plants from the EU. Products deemed high or medium risk now have to be inspected - including live animals, meat and some plant products. We report from a border control post to find out how it works. An investigation is under...
Published 05/04/24
The latest figures from Defra show nearly 20,000 badgers were killed across England last year, as part of the Government's policy to tackle TB in cattle. Badger campaigners say that the continued culling is leading to local extinctions. Defra says there are no easy answers, but badger culling...
Published 05/03/24
Published 05/03/24