Good Food, Good Farming

Through October Friends of the Earth were celebrating the Good Food Good Farming Days of Action as part of our Growing Together project by championing the change makers who are shaping a fairer food system here in Ireland.

Good Food Good Farming is a European civil society alliance that calls on decision makers to support for peasant farmers, environment- and climate-friendly agriculture which is tied into local economies across global food chains.

We began the month of action by going west to Mayo to host the two day The Future is Rural sustainable rural futures fair in partnership with the Irish Environmental Network and Foodture in the Museum of Country Life in Castlebar Co. Mayo. The festival was launched with a screening of 'In Our Hands – Seeding Change’ - a story of hope and inspiration amidst the human and environmental crisis that is modern industrial agriculture.

People came to join us from as far away as The Burren and Co Meath to this sold out event! Following the film we were joined by a lively panel of guests – Fergal Anderson, Galway based organic farmer and member of Talamh Beo, Saoirse McHugh from the Green Party & Organic Growers Ireland and David O’Donnell, Head Chef at Belleek Castleand charied by Sinead Moran, local farmer and co-founder of Foodture.

Interesting and dynamic conversations were sparked from the opening screening, some of which have been recorded in the Foodture podcast – available here at this link. The launch was brought to a close with some giggles thanks to Galway comedian and farmer Breda Larkin.

Other activities at the festival included various film screenings, workshops, forests walks, panel discussions, a farmers market and much more. The day was broken into 5 thematic hours with each hour focusing on one of the following – soil, seed, grow, eat and power. Speakers and presenters included Dave Beecher the Soil Preacher, Kate Ruddock and Triona Reid of Friends of the Earth, Nathalie Markiefka from Good Food Good Farming and Foodture, Jennifer McConnell from Seedsavers, Aoife Reilly from Glasraí Organic Farm, The Salad Project, Slow Food Mayo, Edible Landscapes and many more.

Several films were screened throughout the day including ‘We Unite’ - a film about two organic farmers in Germany and their journey to the ‘We are Fed Up’ protest. ‘We Unite’ is availabe to watch for free here. Special thanks to members of Young Friends of the Earth for volunteering at ‘The Future is Rural’.