7. July 2026

Farmers, food, and public health: James Rebanks on Radical

If you only listen to one thing about James Rebanks, make it this: "Beyond Ultra-Processed Foods: Can Farmers Fix Our Health and the Planet?" — Amol Rajan interviewing Rebanks on the Radical podcast (also aired on BBC Sounds). It's from last year now, but Rebanks has become one of our favourite voices on this subject, and the conversation hasn't dated a bit — well worth getting to know if you haven't already.

Rebanks farms in the Lake District and writes about it with no jargon and no performance — just someone who has thought hard about land and isn't interested in dressing it up. This conversation sits right at the junction of soil, food, and public health: whether the way we farm is quietly shaping the obesity and chronic disease figures the NHS is struggling under, and what changes if farmers are treated as part of the solution rather than a footnote to it.

It's not a comfortable listen in places. It isn't meant to be.

We'll be adding weekly recommendations to Field Notes as we come across them. If you've got a podcast episode that changed how you think about farming or food, we'd love to hear what it was.