Jonty is joined by Dr Sally Bell, Holly Beckett from Focussed Farmers and sustainable farming advocate, Russ Carrington, to talk about how mental and physical health and wellbeing are so vital during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Sally Bell qualified as a doctor in 1999, trained as a GP and spent three years as an aid worker in Darfur and Uganda. A few years ago, she and her family suffered some serious health issues and it caused her to look deeper into the root cause of disease. She became convinced that there were better solutions to complex and chronic health problems than the conventional GP approach. She trained with the Institute for Functional Medicine and is convinced that with ‘five foundations of health’ our bodies have a remarkable ability to heal themselves.

Holly Beckett is a Nuffield Scholar and Project Director at Focussed Farmers, aimed at educating farmers and ag-sector workers on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, with a particular emphasis on how we can use mindfulness to develop our self-awareness and self-management.

Russ Carrington was the executive secretary for the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association and is very active in the Young Farmers movement. He has been chairman of the Agricultural and Rural Issues (AGRI) steering group, sat on Defra’s Green Food Project Steering Group and through the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) he actively participates in political activities at a European level. Russ has also started a Transition Farming Movement in Herefordshire, which is using innovative methods to discover opportunities that can lead to sustainable practices and resilient communities.

Sally, Holly and Russ talk to Jonty about their personal journeys, discussing the importance of sleep and eating whole foods, how we can achieve our goals more effortlessly and how mindfulness can aid resilience during the coronavirus pandemic.

Funding for the production of this podcast came from the Farming the Future Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund. Thanks to the A Team, Roddick, Samworth and Thirty Percy Foundations for your support.

George Monbiot Talks to Young Farmers and Environmentalists - EP8

The FarmED PodcastBy FarmEDSep 24, 2020