Prof Neil Ward* argues the changes needed for climate change mitigation in agriculture in the UK are less dramatic than those between the 1940-1980s but more challenging owing to the different neo-liberal ideology prevailing now. We discuss the changes instigated in the Second World War in UK agriculture, their impact, the challenges posed by climate change today, and two contrasting land sparing and land sharing approaches to reaching a net zero target for food and farming.
*Prof Ward is currently on sabbatical at the University of East Anglia working on the book he mentions in this interview, which is provisionally entitled “Net zero, food and farming – climate change and the UK agri-food system”. It is expected to be published in the summer of 2022 by Routledge.
Geoff Tansey blog 