G. HARVEY

For years weve been told that traditional foods are unhealthy because of their saturated fat content. In place of grass-fed meat, grass-fed dairy products, and eggs from hens running on pasture, we now mostly eat grain-fed meat and processed factory foods and weve witnessed an epidemic of disease, from type-2 diabetes to heart disease and cancer. Modern agriculture has locked us into an unhealthy, vicious circle, with degraded foods pouring from an overstretched, impoverished landscape. Theres a simple remedy: the grass-fed movement. We can make sure that the meat, dairy foods and eggs we buy come from animals grazing on or running in pasture, as they always used to. This will also put life back into our soils and wildlife back onto our farmland. Graham Harvey, agricultural advisor to BBC Radio 4s The Archers, lays out all the arguments for grass-fed food why its good for us, and why its good for the planet.

For years we ve been told that traditional foods are unhealthy because of their saturated fat content In place of grass fed meat grass fed dairy products and eggs from hens running on pasture we now mostly eat grain fed meat and processed factory foods and we ve witnessed an epidemic of disease from type 2 diabetes to heart disease and cancer Modern agriculture has locked us into an unhealthy vicious circle with degraded foods pouring from an overstretched impoverished landscape There s a simple remedy the grass fed movement We can make sure that the meat dairy foods and eggs we buy come from animals grazing on or running in pasture as they always used to This will also put life back into our soils and wildlife back onto our farmland Graham Harvey agricultural advisor to BBC Radio 4 s The Archers lays out all the arguments for grass fed food why it s good for us and why it s good for the planet

As hilarious, charming, eccentric, informative, addictive and delightful as the show itself STEPHEN FRYMuch-loved radio drama The Archers has been at the heart of British life for over seventy years, and the momentous events and changes of this time have all found a place in Ambridge. For more than three decades, scriptwriter Graham Harvey was the man behind the shows farming storylines, writing over 600 episodes and crafting some of its most memorable moments: the Great Flood, the trashing of Brians GM crop, the loss of the Grundy family farm.In this book Graham interweaves personal memories of these moments with extracts from the scripts he created, offering behind-the-scenes details of how key characters and plotlines were developed, keeping pace with the real changes taking place in village and farm life. He also explores the part the show played in setting Britain on its disastrous transition from small-scale, sustainable farming to industrial agriculture. Could it now help guide the nation back to the nature-friendly, planet-saving methods we so desperately need?Underneath the Archers relates a personal drama, too: how Graham uncovered his fathers dark, wartime secret, the trauma which was to blight their family life. The insecurities of his youth gave Graham a deep attachment to the fictional community he was creating. The reassurance he found was in a love for England: its land, its soil, its farming culture a love that found its perfect expression in the world of Ambridge and its inhabitants.