The inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities.
“Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.” –Paul Harvey (1978) U.S. radio broadcaster
Event Details
Tue 4th June 2024 7:00PM
Doors Open at 6:30PM
Starts at 7:00PM
Location: Marnhull Village Hall, Dorset, DT10 1PS
More details about the film:
Six Inches of Soil, tells the story of remarkable farmers, communities, small businesses, chefs and entrepreneurs who are leading the way to transform how our food is produced and consumed.
Agroecology is an approach to farming that includes ‘regenerative’ farming techniques that work in harmony with, rather than against nature. It focuses on local food systems and shorter supply chains. The advantages are numerous: we get to know who is growing our food and how, farmers get paid a fair price and have the satisfaction of producing healthy food in a healthy environment. Agroecology may also be our best chance in the face of climate change: it keeps carbon in the ground and creates resilient systems in the face of climate uncertainty.
Six Inches of Soil tells the inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities.
There are approx.178,000 farmers working in the UK who manage 71% of the UK's land, providing half of the food we eat, we import the rest. Current “industrial” mainstream farming practices significantly contribute to soil degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Regenerative farming practices, (within an agroecological system) promote healthier soils, provide healthier, affordable food, restore biodiversity and sequester carbon.
Six Inches of Soil is a story of three new farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey to heal the soil and help transform the food system - Anna Jackson, a Lincolnshire 11th generation arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture fed beef cattle in Cornwall.
As the trio of young farmers strive to adopt regenerative practices and create viable businesses, they meet seasoned mentors who help them on their journey. They are joined by other experts providing wisdom and solutions from a growing movement of people who are dedicated to changing the trajectory for food, farming and the planetOur farmers will have to navigate a broken food system, farm in a landscape degraded by industrial agriculture and learn how to reconnect people with the soil, where their food comes from and how it is produced.
We don’t shy away from tackling complex and thorny issues. This includes exploring the connection between food and health, food poverty and affordability, the role of animals in the farming system, Britain’s hugely unequal system of land ownership, barriers to new entrant farmers especially from diverse backgrounds and whether there is a place for carbon offsetting on farms.
Alongside hard-hitting facts, we also convey what it feels like to farm agroecologically - to farm with authentic connection with the land, changing seasons and the environment, to produce food for people you know and care about in the local community: to spend your days with your hands in the soil.
The film looks at the history of British farming and asks "How did we get here?" through a short animated chapter that brings the audience up to speed with the industrial heritage of farming and the solutions that are within reach.
We show that agroecological farming is not simply a job, but a way to live values and engage in practices which not only nourish the planet but also the farmers themselves.
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