Thanksgiving dinner means only one thing for millions of us: turkey. Of the 100 million turkeys on farms around the U.S., 46 million of them will be eaten on Thanksgiving Day. Americans will consume another 22 million turkeys over the Christmas holidays, according to the National Turkey Federation. When turkeys arrive at our supermarkets, plucked […]
Very much looking forward to my talk at the Cotesbach Educational Trust on November 5 on the thorny topic of ‘real’ sustainability.
This talk has a personal resonance as well as a professional one because I first connected with the Trust through my genealogy research.
My 11x great grandfather, John Quarles, a Draper and Merchant Adventurer, was once the ‘lord of the manor’ at Cotesbach in Leicestershire. The story is layered with the kind of ancestral karma that ensured I’d end up in environmental work, since his enclosure of the village – fencing off fields that had traditionally been common land and thereby cutting tenant farmers off from their only means of making a living and feeding their families – is widely credited with kicking off the Midland Revolt of 1607.
I initially corresponded with their friendly archivist and eventually was treated to a wonderful visit of the existing hall and surrounding farmland. Turns out the current owners are passionate about environment, organic and sustainability. So round and round it all goes…
The talk is part of the Reconnect 2020 project and it will be a great way to spend Bonfire Night!
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Quick update: What a fantastic evening – a full house and thanks to all who came. You can access the talk here and read more here. Great questions from an engaged audience! I promised one or two that I would make the .pdf of 80 Reasonable Questions to Ask About Any New Technology available (see here). This is not an original work but something I came across years ago, which I have tweaked and added to and which is useful for lifting you out of furrowed thinking. Some of these questions are also used the CultureShift deck of my Infrequently Asked Questions game.
How Climate Change is Changing the Menu – And What We Can Do About It
What will we eat in the future? What was once an rhetorical musing has now become the critical question of our time as scientists grapple with tricky questions about life—and larders—in a climate-changing world. Agriculture is both a key contributor to climate change and one of the sectors most vulnerable to those changes. That fact alone […]
I’ll be visiting familiar territory in November when I speak at the In-Cosmetics Formulation Summit about the challenges and complexities of ‘natural’ toiletries and cosmetics. The theme of the day is Formulating for the Conscious Consumer and I will be ‘lifting the green veil’ on why natural isn’t always sustainable. Looking forward to an interesting and lively discussion on a topic close to my heart.
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Quick update: It was an interesting day. I learned a lot about where the cosmetics industry is heading – a lot of it was unnerving and parallels the technofix solutions being offered up to food and farming. You can find the full text of my talk here.
About Pat Thomas
I am an award-winning campaigner, journalist and author. A former editor of the Ecologist magazine Pat has run campaigns for Paul McCartney’s Meat-Free Monday, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Neal’s Yard Remedies. In 2011, my work leading the campaign, Cows Belong in Fields, won CIWF the Observer Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year. In 2014 I co-founded the campaigning group, Beyond GM.
I am a qualified psychotherapist and the author more than 40 books for adults and children and I was inducted into Who’s Who in 2014. In addition to my work with Beyond GM, I work occasionally with the film production company Ecostorm. I also currently edit and oversee NYR Natural News – a campaigning natural health website, continue to write in a freelance capacity and make regular public speaking and media appearances.
I have been a trustee of both the Soil Association and the Organic Research Centre in the UK and am currently on the advisory board of GMO Free USA and am a trustee of the investigative media agency, Eyewitness.
To read more about me see here.
Contact Pat
Skype: patti.t16
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Projects, Consultancies and Public Speaking
I am interested in and available for short- and long-term projects/consultancies, and am particularly keen on those that focus on food, sustainability and culture change. I am also an experienced public speaker.
My unique professional experience means I bring a variety of skills to any work I do, including effective and persuasive communication and writing skills, an holistic perspective on sustainability and change, and both intuitive and analytical ability. I am well known in my field and comfortable working in most fora.
Recent projects/consultancies include work with: Stella McCartney ‘Care’ range, Paul McCartney’s Meat Free Monday, Friends of the Earth, Compassion in World Farming, Soil Association, Neal’s Yard Remedies.
Recent public speaking engagements: UK Aware, Oxford University PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Society, Durham Union Society (Durham University), Bristol Festival of Nature, World Preservation Foundation, Women’s Institute.
I'm a highly experienced journalist and award winning campaigner specialising in environment and alternative health. I'm also the author of several books for adults and children and a qualified psychotherapist.
