Transforming Tomorrow

Increase your knowledge of salmon tenfold as we look at the environmental impacts of a major industry. Farmed salmon is the UK’s biggest food export – and Dr Josi Fernandes is obsessed! Josi joins Jan and Paul to talk about her work looking at salmon farming practices and sustainability in the UK and how her research in the area all started over a conversation in the pub. We discover what Josi has learned from speaking with salmon farmers, processors and retailers – though not everyone wanted to talk. We take in the differences between farmed and wild salmon; how farmed salmon came to be such a big market; the industrial scale of production; potential futures for the industry; and whether anyone in the studio eats salmon in the first place. Find out more about Josi’s research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/josiane-fernandes2 You can discover Paul Greenberg’s Four Fish book here: https://www.paulgreenberg.org/books/four-fish/ And see more on Mark Kurlansky’s Salmon book here: https://www.markkurlansky.com/books/salmon-a-fish-the-earth-and-the-history-of-their-common-fate/

Do investors really care about sustainability, or is it all about the money? If they do care, what powers do they have to make companies change their ways? Jan and Paul welcome Professor Mark Shackleton to discuss the world of finance and how it intersects with sustainability. They discover why the King can’t enter the City of London without permission; how data can be used to influence ‘green’ investing; and how shareholders can instigate change. Among discussions of ethics and politics, they find the time to talk about physics and Paul’s strange childhood fascination with global stock exchanges. Find out more about Mark’s research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/mark-shackleton

Would you spend more for green products? Really? Really really? Even if you would, is it possible consumers can change how businesses operate through such decisions? Jan and Paul welcome back Professor Dakshina De Silva, and Drs Anita Schiller and Aurelie Slechten to discuss the factors that influence consumer spending on green goods; different cultural attitudes towards green spending; how income levels affect these attitudes; and whether the future is carrying your own ice cream spoon. Read more about the team’s research into green consumer spending in this short article: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_18/10/

Communities with lower-income residents can be impacted more by pollution. But why? And can anything be done? With pollution impacting health and employment opportunities, can regulations help these communities? Will they make industries pack up and leave? Or is that just a handy excuse? A crash of economists invades the studio to talk to Jan and Paul about how industrial pollution ties in with economics and sustainability. Professor Dakshina De Silva, and Drs Anita Schiller and Aurelie Slechten explain how economists view the world –and how we can measure the social costs of pollution. And we discover shockingly that there may be a ‘Wrong Side’ of the river in Lancaster.

Does planting new hedgerows help farmers, and how? Is having a connection with nature important to a farm’s success? And, where’s Jan? Paul is left to fly solo after a car breakdown means Jan cannot make it to Orton, and the farm of Jim Beary. Luckily, Lake District Farmers Head of Purpose and Sustainability Phil Scott can help out as the trio discuss life at Gaythorn Hall, a farm in the far east of Cumbria that falls within the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. From his home among the flocks of sheep and herds of cows – as well as smaller numbers of pigs and chickens – Jim tells us about his past experiences in farming – including a ‘horrifying’ time on an arable farm as a crop sprayer – and his determination to do things less intensively and more sustainably to create high-quality food. We learn about the benefits of working with LDF, how to adapt to circumstances and the environment, how Jim has learned from his mistakes, soil resilience, and more sustainable feed types. You can see Jim’s Instagram account at @farmer_beary Listen to Jan and Paul’s first farm visit here: https://pod.co/transforming-tomorrow/down-on-the-farm-part-one

Paul and Jan have finally made it to the farm! But where is the sustainability? Are farmers really invested in biodiversity? We are on Cartmel Fell, in South Cumbria, to meet Fiona Daley, who along with husband Dave owns and runs Hodge Hill Farm, where a new-born calf is among the audience. Fiona and Dave have a small herd of Belted Galloway cows and are members of the LDF network. LDF Head of Purpose and Sustainability Phil Scott joins everyone in the barn to discuss key sustainability issues. Why did Dave and Fiona return to farming seven years ago with a determination to do things differently/ What is the significance of regenerative farming, wildlife and nature – and of sharing best practices across farms? And what is the wince-inducing difference between a bull and a steer? We even talk farming numbers, as it turns out Fiona is a qualified accountant.

Is net zero meat possible? Or is it a pipedream? The Pentland Centre are working with Lake District farmers to move towards net zero meat production. Discover the unique challenges facing farmers in the Lake District; find out how farmers are cooperating with Lancaster research; and learn the differences between Net Zero, Carbon Neutral and Carbon Positive. Dr Laura Giles, the Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate working with Lake District Farmers, joins Jan and Paul to discuss her work – and tell us what her role means and how it operates. Laura is working with LDF to understand how livestock farmers in the Lake District can work towards Net Zero meat production (the project is not making wild claims of Net Zero meat). This takes in soil science, farming practice, and even accounting – to Jan’s delight. Watch a film showcasing some of the work taking place on the KTP here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZmmOGboCbE Find out more about the LDF work in the introductory podcast: https://pod.co/transforming-tomorrow/lake-district-farmers

We’ve learned all about farming – and soil! – now we discover how farming and sustainability go together. Do farmers care and how do they show it? Jan and Paul talk sustainability with Lake District Farmers’  Phil Scott about the organisation’s sustainability ambitions. As seagulls and buzzards circle, they look at how LDF think about sustainability in their own operations and those of the farmers in their networks, and the overall impact of their work. Phil explains the efforts reflect engagement with communities, proper discussions with farmers around their practices, and a real understanding of the natural environment of the Lake District. Plus we look at the key issue of how eating meat can fit into a sustainable lifestyle.

There is more carbon in soil than in the Earth’s atmosphere! But how has human activity has changed soils over the centuries? Professors Jess Davies and John Quinton, from Lancaster Environment Centre, bring their expertise to focus on the work being done with the Lake District Farmers. They tell Jan and Paul about the effects farmers have on their land – and how they have affected it over the past centuries – and what might happen in the future. Using science, they can advise on the best path forward. Plus, a bonus mention of Pliny the Elder! Find out more about the Sustainable Soils research group in Lancaster Environment Centre here: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/sustainable-soils/

Join us as we start our journey looking at meat farming in the UK’s Lake District. As we explore how sustainable farming can be, we meet the Lake District Farmers (LDF). Jan and Paul travel to Ulverston – or Oolverston as Jan would have it – to meet LDF’s Phil Scott and find all about the organisation and its work with farmers across Cumbria. LDF work with a network of around 50 farmers to process and sell high-quality meat. But how does this network benefit the farmers? Why do top chefs want their products? Why are they working with Lancaster University – and how? And what are the challenges facing the Lake District’s fell farmers?

Over the next six weeks on Transforming Tomorrow, we will be taking a deep dive into the Towards Net Zero Meat Production project. This is a collaboration between Lancaster University - including the Pentland Centre - and the Lake District Farmers organisation. Jan and Paul will be speaking to experts in Lancaster, the Lake District Farmers, and farmers in Cumbria (on their farms) to find our more. Take a sneak peek here.

Professor Henrik Österblom, Director of the Anthropocene Laboratory at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, comes to the podcast with possibly the best job title so far. Henrik is one of Jan’s favourite super-scientists, and he joins Jan and Paul from Stockholm. But just what does Anthropocene mean, and how does it tie in with sustainability? How is the world changing due to human activity? How have we affected the behaviour of animals – do frogs really eat lightbulbs? What are the empirics of hope? Are there positive signs that we can tackle the challenges we face? How does art and creativity fit into sustainability science? And just what is Henrik’s favourite seabird (and Jan and Paul’s)? Find out more about the Anthropocene Lab and its work here: https://www.anthropocenelab.se/   And you can discover the Sounds of Science book Henrik talks about here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780443152672/the-sounds-of-science 

We’ve discussed modern slavery on a global scale before, but now Dr Divya Jyoti joins Jan and Paul to bring the issue closer to home. Divya’s research has taken her to the factory floor, and to the city of Leicester – where there were once claims of 10,000 people living in modern slavery – and has led her to shine a light on left-behind people, those often-forgotten people in our societies. What has Divya learned from her work in Leicester? What have been the effects on the city of the allegations and investigations? Have people paid enough attention to the impacts on the communities? Find out more about Divya’s work on modern slavery in the fashion industry here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/spotlight/modern-slavery/

In 2023, around 6.8 million people in the UK were in severely insecure work – little over a firth of the working population. Work Foundation Director Ben Harrison dials in from London to discuss the issue. Ben tells Jan and Paul about how the Work Foundation works as it tries to influence policy across the UK. He covers issues of flexible working, how economic changes in recent years have affected working patterns, and the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic. What are decent and insecure work? How does the Work Foundation’s Insecure Work Index function, and what does it tell us? Are particular groups and parts of the country more affected by insecure work? What responsibilities do employers have towards their employees during times of financial hardship? Discover more about the Work Foundation’s research and activities on insecure work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/our-work/insecure-work/

Dr Joanne Larty joins Jan and Paul to enlighten them on her work with businesses in Cumbria on sharing best sustainability practice.  Through Project INSPIRE, Joanne and her team are speaking to pioneering companies across Cumbria to discover how they are tackling sustainability challenges, how it ties into the history and landscape of the county, and how their practices can be spread.  What issues do business face? How can they move to a new way of operating? And, most importantly to Paul, how do you really pronounce Furness, and why does everyone get it wrong?  Discover more about Joanne’s work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/joanne-larty  Read more about Project Inspire here: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_19/14/