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Speaker Interview: Henry Unwin

Writer's picture: Independent ForumsIndependent Forums

Get to know the thought leaders sharing their insights at the Future Food Systems event (25-26 January, Online | 2 March, London) in our dedicated speaker interview series.

 

Independent Forums: What is your favorite food?

Henry Unwin: Impossible to answer! I love cooking and I love eating. Pizza from our pizza oven in the garden is a favorite but at this time of year a hearty broth goes down well!


Independent Forums: Who or what has inspired you this year and why?

Henry Unwin: Cycling to COP26 with almost 200 cyclists as part of Ride the Change. An incredible experience organised by Do Nation and Break the Cycle to raise awareness of the climate and ecological emergency and arrive in Glasgow for COP26 carbon free!


Independent Forums: What is your biggest source of motivation?

Henry Unwin: People! Whilst it is people who have got us into this crisis it is amazing people who will get us out of it. One of the things I love most about working in this sector is that you are surrounded by inspiring and passionate people. That gives me hope, and also means that we can have some fun along the way.


Independent Forums: How would you describe a typical day?

Henry Unwin: There is no such thing. I might be doing a farm tour, talking to staff about ways in which they can reduce their impact on the planet, participating in a talk or panel, writing reports, researching innovations in food and farming but like most it also involves delving into spreadsheets and trudging through emails!


Independent Forums: What’s one thing about you that most people don’t know?

Henry Unwin: I have two world records!


Independent Forums: What’s one thing about your organization that you wish more people knew?

Henry Unwin: What I love about Daylesford is that we own the whole story. From the fields our animals graze, our own abattoir and production units and our pubs, cafés, restaurants and farmshops. Most people see us as a Farmshop, but first and foremost we are an Organic Farm. Our dairy is located just meters away from our café and Farmshop in the Cotswolds and our 28 acre Market Garden at the same site produces 300 varieties of seasonal organic fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs. People know that we have passion for sustainability, but what they might not know is this has been at the heart of our business and a core value from the first day we opened our doors 20 years ago.


Independent Forums: Where do you see the biggest opportunity for transformation within the food system?

Henry Unwin: Whilst there are so many opportunities around innovative technologies and incentivising more regenerative agriculture, it feels like reducing food waste is a huge opportunity. If food was a country, it would be the third largest emitter of Greenhouse Gas in the world! Our food system makes up 34% of global emissions, yet we throw away a third of the food we produce. We use an area the size of China just to grow the food that we throw away!


Independent Forums: What are you most looking forward to at Future Food Systems 2022?

Henry Unwin: I am just excited to be surrounded by people talking about the two subjects I am most passionate about. Food and Sustainability! It’s been amazing to see the coverage of sustainability and climate change over the last year, particularly gravitating around COP26. However, it feels that food has been really missing from these conversations so its great to see it front and center at this event.

 

Henry will be speaking in the 'Scaling Regenerative Agriculture' session on 25 January 2022.


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