We Feed The World, the biggest ever photography project to capture global food systems, showcased across 50 exhibitions, from London’s Southbank Centre to strawbale barns, saw 55 million people stand face-to-face with the folk who feed 70% of the world using less than a quarter of its agricultural land, debunking the myth that we need intensive, industrial farming to survive.
Since launching in February 2024, its national counterpart, We Feed the UK, has reached over 54 million people through exhibitions, events, and features in the national press.
We’re thrilled that this celebration, of some of the Earth’s best custodians, has cultivated such widespread support both nationally and internationally.
Dig deep into the world of regenerative farming through this archive of stories, told by our supporters across the media industry.
The intimacy and truth of the images gave a window into a world in that is fast being replaced by large-scale brutality and destruction. It moved me, as art should, to ask questions: of our world, and of Riverford’s part in it.
Guy Watson, Founder of Riverford Organic Farmers
Giving a taste of the “small but fruitful” farms featured in We Feed The World, this feature in National Geographic makes a beautiful case for a global uptake of biodiverse, fairtrade farming.
“From all-women worker cooperatives in Edinburgh to traditional fishing practices off the southern coast, these stories touch every corner of the country.”
The Guardian
Marking the launch of the We Feed The UK book, The Guardian published a gallery of photographs, featuring soil and sea custodians from each of our ten stories.
The work that the We Feed The UK project has done in translating the day to day actions of farmers into poetry has connected us with new audiences in impactful ways. This has helped us as farmers and as an organisation to relay our messages and actions to a wider audience, giving us further impact and enabling us to deliver better actions for farming, nature, food, and climate.
Martin Lines, Director of the Nature Friendly Farming Network
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In an interview with Sophie Gerrard, the photographer for our Scotland We Feed the UK story, Aesthetica Magazine explores the issue of female representation in Scottish farming. Gerrard’s photographs, accompanying her words in this insightful piece, highlight inspiring examples of women-led initiatives in regenerative farming across Scotland.
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This beautiful feature from Resurgence & Ecologist outlines the breadth of We Feed The UK. Including photographs by Andy Pilsbury and words from Ifor Ap Glyn, contributors of our Wales story, the article highlights the role of storytelling on the pathway to a sustainable food system.
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“A new photography series celebrates the inspiring stories of independent eco farmers across the globe working towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.”
Journey through seven stories of pioneering growers from We Feed The World in this feature by Marie Claire, as seen in Marie Claire UK, China, Hungary, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
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In an edition of The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4, dedicated to We Feed the UK, Jimi Famurewa joined producers and poets in London, Somerset, and Cumbria to ask whether the arts can convince us to care how our food is grown.
Addressing the climate and biodiversity crises alongside social justice in food systems, this brilliant episode is a testament to the power of poetry and photography. Together, these art forms can inspire new audiences at a time when UK farming urgently needs widespread support.
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70% of the UK is farmland. The potential for this to become the place where we support biodiversity, sequester carbon and address so many of the other problems we are facing is enormous. The arts have the power to speak to the heart. Apathy is such a big barrier, and hope activates.
Rowan Phillimore, Co-Director of The Gaia Foundation
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In this episode of the BBC’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Helen Needham speaks with two of the Scotland We Feed The UK story contributors, Sophie Gerrard and Iona Lee. Detailing Sophie and Iona’s experiences of documenting women-led regenerative farming in Scotland, and featuring Iona’s poem, The Seed Kist, the podcast shines a light on the potential for future-focused farming in Scotland.
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The Sunday Times In Pictures beautifully captured the essence of our campaign, showcasing our ten We Feed The UK photographers. This image gallery, Working the soil to save the Earth, encapsulates the restorative farming practices at the root of resilience.
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We hope the impact of We Feed the UK will be felt by both citizens and ‘on the fence’ farmers who have the chance to transition to regenerative agriculture.
Wicked Leeks Magazine marked the launch of the campaign back in February, with a celebratory feature. The magazine, published by the ground-breaking Riverford Organic Farmers, is an alliance and publication that aligns perfectly with We Feed The UK’s aim to inspire and inform positive change.
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“I named the project A Fish Called Julie after I came across two sea bass in a container. I was making pictures at the fish market in Newlyn where fish are offloaded, iced and sold. Whether the fish were destined for Julie, who would cook them that night somewhere, or if they’d been landed by a boat of the same name, I was unsure. But to me it looked like a name tag you’d get at a networking event. It made me smile. And for those who might miss the reference, it also made me think of the 1988 British movie A Fish Called Wanda”
Dive deeper into the sorry behind each of Jon Tonk’s We Feed The UK photographs in this gallery feature in the Guardian.
In one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, where less than half of our indigenous biodiversity remains, the project aims to show that nature-friendly and community-centric farming practices are at the root of our future resilience.
Emine Rushton, Wicked Leeks Magazine
Helen Keys and Charlie Mallon are reviving the Irish heritage of growing flax for fibre, as part of a rotation of chemical-free oats and potatoes on Mallon Farm in County Tyrone. Their determination to regrow and scale the flax industry in a just way was celebrated in an online feature by The Ecologist.
“Whether we’re talking about textiles or vegetables, collaboration with other people is the thing that makes it work.”
“Fishing in Cornwall is like a metaphor for life. I love the notion that fishermen are completely governed by what the sun and wind are doing, what’s in season and what type of boat they’re going out on.”
Emerse yourself in the life of small scale fisherfolk captured in an interview with Jon Tonks, featured in the Observer.
“Colin’s radical new farming technique was so successful it became a global agricultural movement known as pasture cropping and is heralded for its ability to build topsoil and sequester carbon.”
“This is very different to industrial agriculture. It’s about being in tune with nature and learning from it and being part of it. The magic and mystery are so important. To understand what’s happening in nature you have to be quiet and observe and then the answers emerge on their own.”
Through two in-depth articles exploring We Feed The World stories from Australia and Slovakia, The Independent shared hope for the future of farming with readers.
I read about your exhibition in London in the Saturday Telegraph magazine. It featured a farm in the Scottish Isles. A tear was brought to my eye. The media talk only of pollution, of farmers mistreating animals and the environment, we are all lumped in together, no matter our methods or our morals. It was therefore great to hear of your support for small producers who are trying to do their best to look after the Earth whilst running a viable business. Keep up the good work.
Alex, small-scale farmer from Wales
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After being inspired by the We Feed The UK poetry performed at the Oxford Real Farming Conference, Verity Sharp featured Zena Edwards‘ poem Tincture on her Late Junction show on BBC Radio 3.
Zena’s poem celebrates two Black-led community-growing projects that bring community spirit and food justice to north London.
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Mel Osborne of BBC Radio Cornwall explores our Fishing story through an interview with Hot Poet, Chris Redmond. This feature dives into some of the UK’s most sustainable fishing practices, which are working to replace a system based on human greed with one that considers sustenance, livelihoods, and our planet.
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“There is loads of wisdom in old practices and old dialects that we can draw from…It was really inspiring, as a city kid, seeing that the work they do in a morning will have a resonance in fifty years’ time.” Testament, poet
Catch Hot Poet Testament sharing his experiences on Strickley Farm and performing The Lig live on BBC Radio 4’s The Verb in this beautiful feature exploring hedgerows and language.
Disaster-narratives will get us only so far. Stories of other ways of living and producing food which are kinder to land and the animals on it as well as healthier to us are a needed, hopeful tonic to avoid despair-induced apathy.”
Arc 2020
In the lead up to COP26, Pebble Magazine shared five We Feed The World stories, serving as a timely reminder of the challenges small-scale growers are met with in the face of changing climate conditions.
“The images and corresponding stories certainly do have impact. Their strength lies in the emphasis on diversity: vast, chemical-intensive monocropping practices are far more delicate than they seem. The 50 farming communities platformed at We Feed the World show the multitude of ways food can be grown such that are not so deeply threatening to the land, water and wildlife upon which we rely and for which we must care.”
Reporting on the Good Food Good Farming March which we coordinated in 2018 in collaboration with the Landworkers Alliance, Sustain and the Soil Association to coincide with We Feed The World’s show at at Oxo Bargehouse, Arc 2020 comentated on the importance of sharing stories of goof farming in action.
My job, whether it’s through rap, poetry or beatbox, is telling stories. Stories about people. These can give us direction in life, including what to buy in the supermarket.
Testament, poet
Listen to Jon Tonks speak more about the murky world of sustainable marine fishing through his experience documenting fisherfolk in waters off Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for his commission, A Fish Called Julie, with Andy Bennett on BBC Radio Bristol.
Through interviews with contributors to our Cumbria story, Mike Zeller explores the crucial role hedge-laying plays in nature recovery. On this organic 300-acre farm in Cumbria, James, alongside his father and his son, is weaving a wild tapestry of grassland, woodland, and becks, threaded together by seven miles of ancient hedgerow.
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