Dr Claire Whittle on dung beetles and preventative medicine
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
Release Date: 08/05/2022
Julian & Miriam Rose on developing England's first community-led estate and the complexities of inheriting land and wealth
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
Sir Julian Rose and his daughter, Miriam Rose, of the Hardwick Estate – England’s first community-owned estate – joined our CEO, Patrick Holden, on the SFT Podcast. Julian Rose was one of the pioneers of organic farming in the UK. In the late 1960s, Julian inherited ownership of the Hardwick Estate and by 1975 the 375-acre farmland had been converted to organic status. 40 years later, the Rose family have made the decision to transfer ownership of the Estate to the local community, seeking to move away from a history of private aristocratic ownership. Following closely in her father’s...
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SFT Podcast: Storm Goretti impact on farmers, SFI updates & 'nutrient dense’ food ranges
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
What’s really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming’s top voices. For our first episode of 2026, Patrick and Stuart talk about the extreme weather we’ve experienced, just days into the new year – reflecting on the disruption that Storm Goretti caused,...
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SFT Podcast: Christmas special
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
What's really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming's top voices. In this episode, Patrick and Stuart explore the current distortion of food pricing, with Christmas vegetables being used as loss leaders in supermarkets. They discuss nose-to-tail eating, share...
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Tim Smit on forever chemicals and rethinking the meaning of ‘farms’
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
Our CEO, Patrick Holden, recently sat down for a conversation with Sir Tim Smit, former archaeologist, music producer and founder of the Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. In this episode, Patrick and Tim talk about the emerging dangers of forever chemicals for the environment and human health, reconceptualising what we mean when we talk about farms and their importance for mental health and wellbeing, and why the integration of food and farming into the national curriculum “shouldn’t be fringe, it should be right at the core”. To listen to more SFT podcasts, featuring...
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SFT Podcast: The rise of forever chemicals and UPFs, multi-purpose willow on farms & camel farming
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
What's really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming's top voices. In this week’s episode, Patrick and Stuart talk about forever chemicals and the increasing awareness of their impact on human health – as recently investigated in an episode of the BBC’s...
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SFT Podcast: Supporting small abattoirs, the demise of small dairy farms and developments in agri-tech
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
What’s really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming’s top voices. In this episode, Patrick and Stuart reflect on some events they’ve recently attended including COP30 in Brazil and AGRITECHNICA in Germany. Meanwhile, on abattoirs, Stuart shares what he...
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SFT Podcast: Live from COP30 and Agritechnica
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
What’s really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming’s top voices. In this episode, Patrick and Stuart report live from two big events in the food and farming calendar - COP30 in Brazil and Agritechnica in Germany - covering everything from the power of...
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SFT Podcast: Patrick Holden & Stuart Oates
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
What’s really going on in food and farming? Two farmers – Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Stuart Oates, founder of the Fossil Free Farm project – get behind the headlines to unpack the biggest stories shaping what we eat, how we farm and the future of the planet. Expect lively debate, real-world experience, and unique insights from some of food and farming’s top voices. Watch the SFT Podcast here: Find out more about Patrick and the Sustainable Food Trust: | Find out more about Stuart and the Fossil Free Farm project:...
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India Hamilton on Jersey’s food and farming culture and the impact of events like the Regen Gathering
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
At this year’s Regen Gathering on the island of Jersey, our CEO, Patrick Holden, had the chance to meet with the event’s co-founder, India Hamilton, for the latest episode of the SFT Podcast. Alongside founding Jersey’s Regen Gathering – an annual event which brings together a diverse range of people and ideas to discuss the innovative food, farming and finance approaches that are taking place on Jersey – India is also a chef, food systems expert and heads up , a regenerative consultancy committed to pioneering sustainable futures within the rural economy and food system. In 2018,...
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Molly Biddell on rewilding at Knepp estate and measuring social impacts
The Sustainable Food Trust Podcast
After both appearing on the Grazing for Good: Livestock and Biodiversity in the UK panel at ORFC earlier this year, SFT CEO, Patrick Holden, sat down once again with Molly Biddell, Head of Natural Capital at Knepp Estate – a 3,500-acre rewilding project in West Sussex – for an episode of the SFT Podcast. Her work involves leveraging nature markets and policy for Knepp, and the . She also works part-time at Hampton Estate, a family-run regenerative farming business, facilitates the and is a columnist for Farmers Weekly. In this episode, Patrick and Molly talk about the work going on at...
info_outlineDr Claire Whittle is a farm vet, Nuffield scholar, but above all, a dung beetle enthusiast.
In the UK, there are 60 species of dung beetle, which fall into the categories of 'dwellers', 'stealers' and 'tunnellers'. Each beetle plays a vital part in breaking down dung, improving soil health, suppressing pests, and even reducing greenhouse gas emissions and flood risk.
A recent study showed that many of our dung beetle species are in serious trouble, with almost 50% categorised as scarce or threatened nationally. A key cause of this? Agricultural practices that damage the fragile dung biome.
In the podcast, Claire explains the important role dung beetles can play in preventative care, crucial in a world of ever-increasing drug resistance. She explains how dung beetles are vital to a return to homeostasis and ecological health on farms, and what farmers can do to help these critical critters.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Wilding, by Isabella Tree
The Secret Life of Cows, by Rosamund Young
Silent Earth, by Dave Goulson
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carlson
Keep up to date with Claire Whittle’s work via Instagram, and Dung Beetles for Farmers.
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