A few years ago I read a book that had such a very simple message you could hardly call it radical, but that message is still struggling to get through.

It cropped up in Ramsden during that period when the Wychwood Network were arranging evening talks in the village hall there. It turned out the author is a local man and he gave us a first hand account of why this message is failing to get through.

Then, lo and behold, I’m supping a pint of Hooky on a straw bail in a field near Kingham, and it comes up again. This time Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is citing it as a principal reason behind his latest tv series.

So this week, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear it mentioned in one of the Centre for Alternative Technology podcasts. Click on this audio file link and it should start up and play automatically, and will play in the background if you’re busy, but it’s definitely worth a listen. There’s stuff in here that did come as a surprise…

MP3 Audio File: Peter Harper on decarbonising the food system

Oh, and the book? It’s a key part of the sustainable bookshelf: Feeding People is Easy by Colin Tudge.