Like bees on a spring day, it seems there is always a buzz in climate and food systems circles around “nature.” We’re told we have to work with nature and that food systems need to go back to being natural. But what does working with mean, why should we do so, what is nature exactly and when was anything natural?

In this exploration of natural and nature, we want food system stakeholders to reflect on the extent to which our often jumbled and contradictory assumptions about the goods and bads of nature feed into ideas about how we should farm, which landscapes we value, what we should eat, how we should organise ourselves and who/what, actually, we are or ought to be as human beings. The various metrics we use to assess the goodness and badness of farming systems, landscapes, life forms, and foods, as well as to reward or penalise particular activities, reflect the attention we pay and the values we afford to different aspects of nature.

We need to understand these assumptions in order to a. recognise inconsistencies and fallacies where they exist and b. appreciate that the ‘facts’ we surround ourselves with and that drive our advocacy and actions are contextualised and informed by the values we hold about different kinds of nature. That these are values doesn’t make them less important but in recognising them as such we are forced to think more carefully about what it is, exactly, we food systems stakeholders agree and disagree about when it comes to the question of “what we ought to do about food.”

Season 3 of Feed, a food systems podcast, kicks off introducing our theme for the season: nature. You can listen to our introductory episode to the series here.

What does it mean to eat natural foods? To farm naturally? Or to call for more nature-based solutions?  In this season of Feed we dive into different understandings of what is "natural", and if these proposed “natural” solutions are actually good for us and the environment?

You can find more Feed episodes exploring power below or on the Feed homepage.

We formally kicked off our theme on working with nature with a 2-part event held on 11 January and 7 February 2024: Regenerative & ultra-processed? What does corporate engagement mean for regenerative agriculture? (Part 1 & Part 2). We also hosted a hybrid event with the Oxford Martin Programme for the Future of Food called "Counting on Nature: How should we value nature in our food systems?" on 2 June 2025.