Routes to Sustain: Sustainable Farming Coordinator

Read about how Will's early experiences of the natural world and passion for people, food and the environment lead to him to a career in sustainable farming. 

What is your role at Sustain?

I’m the Sustainable Farming Coordinator at Sustain, where I help to run the sustainable farming campaign - one of the longest-standing campaigns in the alliance. Our goal is to advocate for policies that ensure our farming system produces nutritious food that nourishes the public, while respecting the livelihoods of farmers, restoring nature, and sequestering carbon.

In short, we push for government policies that move us towards an agroecological farming system.

What made you choose a career in sustainable food and farming?

I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of ecology, food, and farming. Both of my parents were ecologists, so as a kid I spent a lot of time learning about the natural world. As I grew older, I became more interested in how farming sits within that picture.

For me, sustainable food and farming bring together so many of my interests - the environment, delicious food, and people’s everyday lives. Almost everyone finds food and farming an emotive subject, which makes the sector incredibly engaging.

What was your route to Sustain? 

I had quite a meandering route to working in policy. My first degree was in plant sciences and biology, and I didn’t initially plan on a desk-based job. After my Bachelors, I studied winemaking and vineyard management in France.

I then spent several years working in the wine industry in France, Lebanon and the UK, making wine and managing vineyards. That experience gave me a real grounding in farming: the challenges, the highs and lows, and the realities of working on the land.

Over time, though, I became increasingly concerned about the wider agricultural system. I saw how even relatively sustainable farms were surrounded by intensive agriculture, with practices like herbicide drift from neighbouring farms damaging vines. It made me realise that individual farms can only do so much if the policies and environment around them don’t work to change the farmed landscape as a whole.

That pushed me to move into policy and campaigning, and ultimately brought me to Sustain. It’s more desk-based than vineyard work, but it’s been fantastic to be part of such a purposeful campaign.

What do you like about your job?

What I love most is the people. Every day I get to have conversations with passionate, committed individuals who care deeply about food, farming, and the environment. It’s great to be part of a community that is values-driven and genuinely engaged in building a better food system.

I also enjoy the challenge of working in a fast-changing political environment. It can be frustrating at times, but it means there’s never a dull day - and being part of a movement that is constantly adapting and pushing for change is really exciting.

What do you find frustrating?

Politics can be incredibly capricious. Food, farming, and the environment often feel like afterthoughts in government, despite being central to issues like health, economic growth, and climate resilience. DEFRA in particular is too often seen as a kind of second-tier department.

It’s frustrating because farming, food, and the natural world are some of the most important foundations of our society, but unfortunately rarely treated as priorities in our political system. That disconnect is one of the hardest parts of the job.

What advice would you give to anyone passionate about sustainable food systems and wanting to work in this sector?

Get your hands dirty. Whether it’s volunteering, WWOOFing, or spending a month on a farm, experiencing the day-to-day graft of land work invaluable. It shows you the hard work that goes into producing food, but also how rewarding it can be.

That experience gives you insight into the mindset of farmers and growers, and a real appreciation of the challenges they face, which is essential for anyone wanting to work in this field.

What are your hopes for the future?

My big hope is that we get the right policies in place - ones that truly connect how we farm, the food that’s produced, and the wider food environment.

We need a systemic approach, from farm to fork, that addresses both the public health crisis and the farming crisis. These two issues are deeply interlinked, and we won’t solve one without tackling the other.

I hope government recognises this and acts accordingly. And I hope the wider movement continues to come together, building a strong and coherent case for change that can’t be ignored.