Sustain sessions to look out for at Groundswell festival 2026

With another year planned of lively discussions on food, farming and nature, Sustain is looking forward to returning to the festival this 1 and 2 July.

Sustain will be holding several sessions exploring how we can build a fairer, more sustainable food system, from farm to fork.

Don’t miss these insightful conversations bringing together farmers, policymakers and food system leaders.

Farming in transition: Building a fair and sustainable future

Location: Big Top

Date and time: Thursday 2 July 2026

Speakers: 

• Kath Dalmeny, CEO of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming
• Martin Lines, CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network
• Will Bax, Secretary and Keeper of the Records (CEO), Duchy of Cornwall
• Alistair Carmichael MP, Chair of the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee
• Chaired by Andrew Meredith, Editor of Farmers Weekly

About this session: 

This is the moment to seize the opportunities for a stronger and better UK agri-food sector that delivers on health, environment, and resilient food supply.

Every farmer at Groundswell is living with the same uncertainty: a Farming Roadmap that has just landed, a Land Use Framework reshaping what land is for, and a Food Strategy still being written. Behind the policy documents are real questions about whether any of it adds up to a transition farmers can actually build a future on. This panel puts those questions directly to the people with the insight to answer them.

We’ll be putting key questions to our panel – and to the room:

• Is current policy from Defra and beyond delivering the transition farmers need?
• What needs to happen on policy and in politics between now and 2030?
• What does regenerative agriculture need from the new Prime Minister – and are we, as a sector, influential enough to get better and faster action from those that lead the government?

No farmer left behind: Solidarity across supply chains

Location: Grass Tent
Date and time: Wednesday 1 July, 12:00 - 12:55

Speakers: Maximiliano Manzoni, Consenso; Fabiola Torres, Salud Con Lupa; Lily O’Mara, Sustain; Ruth Westcott, Sustain 

About this session: Farmers and indigenous communities across Latin America are living with the compounding impacts of climate change and corporate power, and increasingly, so are farmers in the UK. While environmental defenders in South America are fighting to protect forests from destruction driven by demand for soy feed, communities across the UK are fighting the spread of factory farming. This panel brings together journalists and campaigners from Uruguay, Peru and the UK, chaired by Sustain, to connect perspectives across the supply chain and explore what acting in solidarity between communities in the UK and South America may look like in practice.

Making every link: supporting nature-friendly farmers in supply chains

Location: Farming with Nature stage
Date and time: Wednesday 1 July, 13:00 – 14:00

Speakers: Ben Andrews, Farmer; Josiah Meldrum, Hodmedod Ltd; Kiloran O'Leary, Sustain; Tom Pearson, Farmer; Vicki Hird, The Wildlife Trusts.

About this session: This session will explore how supply chains can better support nature-friendly farming practices from field to fork. Speakers will discuss how to create more transparent, resilient and fair trading relationships that reward farmers for delivering environmental and social benefits. The discussion will highlight practical examples of how businesses, policymakers and producers can work together to transform supply chains so that nature-friendly farming can thrive.

How do we regenerate school meals with home-grown produce

Location: The Workshop
Date and time: Wednesday 1 July, 16:00-16:55

Speakers: Andrew Cowan, Bury Council; Barbara Crowther, Sustain; Katherine Langton, Langton's Farm; Myles Bremner, Bremner & Co; Zosia Walczak, Growing Communities.

About this session: This session will examine how school food can be transformed by reconnecting menus with local, seasonal and sustainably produced ingredients. Bringing together voices from farming, education and policy, the discussion will explore opportunities to support British producers while improving children’s health and access to fresh food. It will highlight the role of public procurement and local supply chains in delivering better outcomes for farmers, communities and the environment.

More panels, workshops and discussions with the Sustain alliance and partners 

Culture Roots Collective BPOC gathering 

Location: Esmee Fairbairn tent
Date and time: Thursday 2 July, 13:00 – 14:00

About this session: An informal gathering for Black and People of Colour (BPOC) attending Groundswell to meet the team behind Culture Roots Collective – a hub to amplify Global Majority voices and issues around the food and farming sector. Come along for a chat, soft drinks and cake and find out more about this inspiring initiative and explore a photo exhibition of people of colour in agriculture across the UK. 

A celebration of young women working in farming and food

Location: Emergent Generation tent
Date and time: Thursday 2 July, 14:00 – 15:00
Speakers: Ila Malhotra Gregory, Sustain; and Emergent Generation members Elva King; Neave Anderson; Veronica White; Daneille Semple

About this session: Join a conversion with five inspirational young women working in the farming and food sector. Hear about their journey, ideas, successes and practices, and how they're carving their own career path.

Community power from farm to fork: Advancing food justice and equitable food access

Location: Root & Reason tent
Date and time: Wednesday 1st July – 3pm

Speakers: Fergus Lyon, Hannah Gibbs, Katherine Langton, Martin Chadwick

About this session: Led by Fergus Lyon (Professor of Enterprise and Organisations at Middlesex University), this session explores how communities and growers can build alliances to transform local food systems, ensuring dignified, equitable access to nutritious, culturally relevant food. It highlights regenerative approaches that strengthen grower livelihoods, improve demand predictability, and increase citizen choice.

To view the full programme, visit the Groundswell website.