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    ‘Monbiotic man’ – will future food be ‘farm-free’?

    Simon Fairlie starts a series of articles about whether technology will save us. He supports small farmers over George Monbiot’s ‘Regenesis’ solution. Read more

    What to know about choosing your backyard chicken

    Thinking about getting some chickens but not sure which breed to start with? Chris Lesley of Chickens And More shares her top tips for what to consider when choosing your backyard chicken. Read more

    We need to completely close down industrial animal agriculture

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 16-Aug-2020 | 15

    Industrial agriculture is cruel to animals, cruel to people who work in it, it damages the environment and concentrates wealth in very few hands. I guess if you’re reading this, you know that already, and I don’t have to explain it. The problem is, it’s still there, doing its vile stuff every day. What do… Continue reading We need to completely close down industrial animal agriculture Read more

    Our policy on keeping animals & eating meat

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 10-May-2020 | 106

    Our topics include vegetarianism and veganism, but also keeping animals (for meat, dairy, eggs, honey, wool, leather, work etc); and also fishing and hunting animals in the wild. Is this incongruous? As a sustainability / new economy organisation, should we be promoting only veganism, rather than the keeping and/or eating of animals? Read more

    Life on Birchwood Croft: tales of smallholding in the Scottish Highlands

    Lesley Anderson of | 10-Jan-2019 | 0

    Lesley Anderson learns about the ups and downs of life for crofters Beth and Tim Rose in the Scottish Highlands. Read more

    Is eating meat ethical or sustainable? Interview with Simon Fairlie, author of ‘Meat: A Benign Extravagance’

    We are sometimes approached by people asking why we provide information on vegetarianism, veganism and keeping animals. Isn’t that a bit incongruous? We don’t think it is Read more

    The case for feeding food waste to pigs

    Lesley Anderson of | 03-Jul-2018 | 5

    If we are going to use livestock to produce food, we need to work out how to do so sustainably. It has always been a source of frustration to me that so much food is wasted, yet we cannot legally use it to feed our livestock, leaving them munching away on food which could have… Continue reading The case for feeding food waste to pigs Read more

    How to make a chicken coop from a repurposed plastic barrel

    Lesley Anderson of | 22-Apr-2018 | 13

    Wooden chicken houses can be a nightmare, especially when they are infested with red mite: hiding in every crack and crevice and tormenting your hens. Those recycled plastic chicken houses can be expensive though and even they have some design flaws! Read more

    On a small scale, why is it illegal to give food waste to chickens and other animals?

    Imagine you have a factory producing sandwiches for supermarkets and petrol stations etc. Maybe you’re producing 100,000 packs a day or even more. Now imagine the worst thing that could happen. Perhaps someone comes in to work with food poisoning and contaminates the product and 100,000 people come down with food poisoning. Read more

    Does the sustainability of meat production depend on the size of a holding and the number of animals kept on it?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 03-Dec-2017 | 84

    I want to investigate at what size meat production becomes unsustainable (in terms of acreage, number of animals etc.) – i.e. whether it can be sustainable at all, and if so, whether there’s an upper limit, above which it can’t be sustainable Read more

    Should you keep a rooster with your hens? (and how to deal with a problem rooster)

    Lesley Anderson of | 30-Nov-2017 | 8

    I prefer to keep my animals as naturally as possible to allow them to express their natural behaviour and reduce stress, so I have always kept a rooster with my hens. It is true that you do not need a cockerel or a rooster in your flock for your hens to lay eggs. So why… Continue reading Should you keep a rooster with your hens? (and how to deal with a problem rooster) Read more

    Is it ethical to eat meat, or to keep animals for meat or dairy?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 15-Oct-2017 | 289

    This is a very important question for us here at Lowimpact.org, because we have courses, books, magazines, links etc on keeping animals and on game. We also have vegetarianism and veganism as topics – because we recognise the environmental benefits of eating less meat. Read more

    How the study of animal behaviour (ethology) can help you keep livestock more ethically and sustainably

    Lesley Anderson of | 12-Sep-2017 | 1

    I want to talk about something which can help us design more ethical and sustainable ways of keeping our livestock. It is a subject that has always fascinated me and, if you keep animals, I think you will find it fascinating too. It is the is the study the behaviour of animals, particularly in their… Continue reading How the study of animal behaviour (ethology) can help you keep livestock more ethically and sustainably Read more

    Slug control with ducks!

    Lesley Anderson of | 22-Aug-2017 | 5

    “You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency” – Bill Mollison Read more

    A year of downshifting in Devon

    Downshifting means working less, earning less and spending less and it’s what Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson has spent the past year attempting to do. She shares what she’s learnt so far and why she’d encourage others to embrace downshifting too. Read more

    Smallholding with heart: advice about getting and running a smallholding from Janet Jenkins of Cuckoo Farm

    Embarking on a new life in the countryside, away from the trappings of urban existence, is a dream increasingly common to many. This week we interviewed Janet Jenkins about her and her family’s smallholding journey, putting the heart back into the land at Cuckoo Farm. Read more

    Progress? Is modern food production efficient (using poultry as an example)?

    We often hear it said that modern farming is efficient and results in low cost food on our table but how true is that? I would contend that there is an awful lot wrong with our food production and distribution systems in the west and the much vaunted efficiency is far from being the true… Continue reading Progress? Is modern food production efficient (using poultry as an example)? Read more

    Why do organic farmers have to pay for certification rather than farmers who use toxic chemicals?

    It’s always more expensive to do the right thing isn’t it? Like taking the train instead of driving or flying, or buying recycled products, organic food or natural building materials. If you want to do the environmentally-friendly or socially-just thing, it’s going to cost you more money. That can’t be right, can it? Read more

    Work / farmshare opportunity for someone interested in farming, smallholding, forestry, livestock, mushrooms or building stone

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 16-Apr-2016 | 8

    Here’s a very interesting opportunity for a budding smallholder – either paid work or farm share, near Totnes in Devon. Over to Richard: Read more

    Viable self-sufficiency

    Back 40 years ago in 1976, John Seymour’s most famous work –The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency – was published. It was billed as for dreamers and realists which was pretty accurate. Read more

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