is the Policy Director of the Soil Association, the UK organic food and farming organisation, responsible for campaigns, standards and policy. He runs an 890-acre organic farm in Norfolk, with pigs, beef cattle, sheep and arable crops. He is a member of the BBC's Rural Affairs Committee and the Government's Organic Action Plan Group, and was a member of the Department of Education’s School Lunches Review Panel.
He was a Special Lecturer in Biological Sciences, Nottingham University 1984-2002, is on the Board of the EU £12m Research Project 'Quality Low Input Food', and does some environmental consulting, for example with IKEA and ASDA. He was a Labour Government Minister 1974-79, at the Departments of Environment, Industry, and Northern Ireland (covering education and health). He was President or Chair of several conservation ngos, and was Director of Greenpeace UK (1985-2000), and chaired Greenpeace Japan (1995-2001).