“WE HAVE DESIGNED WASTE

INTO OUR LIVES, AND WE CAN

By 1918, as the world approached a population of two billion, there was already debate about how to nourish this many people. That same year, German scientist Fritz Haber won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for work that led to producing synthetic fertiliser. It was a game-changer and global agricultural yields began to increase year after year without the need for crop rotation or animal agriculture. Soon we produced more food than we could ever hope to eat so we started to feed grain to animals.

Synthetic NPK fertiliser provides plants with three elements that make them grow almost in front of our eyes: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. What we now realise is that the other 100-plus elements we (and animals) need to live are missing. We have depleted them from our soils and produce largely empty food.

Today we’re starved of micro-nutrients such as manganese, zinc, magnesium, iron... the list is long. Our modern food system gives us compromised produce and, for me, it’s clear to see the effect it’s having on our society.

I think of soil like a bank. If we keep making withdrawals without making deposits, it all eventually runs out. This is why I’m so passionate about zero waste. As McMaster says, “Waste is a failure of the imagination.”

I see this as an incredible opportunity to drive radical change. Silo’s success became a catalyst for positive change and it made everyone realise it was possible.

It was deliberately designed so there was nowhere to hide. Every process, system and method was visible. I wanted the heart of Silo, like a home, to be a kitchen table and installed an 18-seater, which meant conversations could be had and questions could be asked. It was an incredibly creative time – ideas flowed and Silo became a magnet for innovators.

People from all walks of life visited – students, chefs, farmers, politicians, journalists from Japan, Germany, Singapore and even The New York Times. And we welcomed inspiring guests such as Captain Charles Moore, who discovered the great Pacific Garbage Patch, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, pioneering chefs such as Dan Barber and René Redzepi, and food activists like Sandor Katz and Allan Savory.

BECAME A CATALYST FOR POSITIVE