Ben Eagle

One Fifth of China’s Soil Contaminated

The title of this post says it all. China’s Environmental Protection Ministry has released a report of an official study conducted between 2005 and 2013, which showed that 16.1% of China’s soil and 19.4% of its arable land are contaminated, principally with excessive levels of cadmium, nickel and arsenic. It is well known that China’sContinueContinue reading “One Fifth of China’s Soil Contaminated”

Sheepwrecked – Environmentalists v Farmers

Over the last week I have been helping out on a farm in the Scottish Borders in the lambing shed (hello to you all at Overlangshaw!) and while I was there I began reading Alan Butler’s book ‘sheep’, a work that sets out an argument for sheep being some of the most important historical actors ofContinueContinue reading “Sheepwrecked – Environmentalists v Farmers”

Our addiction to the car is collective insanity

Originally posted on Freelance Lefty:
Like many other aspects of society under capitalism, the automobile appears to be a standard part of life; something that has been and always will be with us. Learning how to drive and acquiring a car are viewed as obligatory stages of our lives, through which we all must progress…

Whatever happened to 1968? Or, in the ‘Age of Climate Change’ where is the student protest?

On Sunday 2nd March around 400 student protesters were arrested after strapping themselves to the White House fence in protest against TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that, if passed by Barack Obama, would run from Canada to Texas. The marchers chanted ‘’climate justice now’’ and, whilst determined to have their voices heard, were perfectlyContinueContinue reading “Whatever happened to 1968? Or, in the ‘Age of Climate Change’ where is the student protest?”

Forging an Agriculture for All

Here is my latest ‘Activisionary’ article, getting to grips with engaging people in a food culture and analysing current (and future) opportunities for people to get involved with food localism. For more of my work at activisionary please visit http://activisionary.org.uk/author/ben-eagle/ The farmer-philosopher Fred Kirschenmann wrote an essay entitled ‘On Becoming Lovers of the Soil’ inContinueContinue reading “Forging an Agriculture for All”