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Land of Plenty: A Journey Through the Fields and Foods of Modern Britain
Golden fields, ripening apples, lowing cattle: our idea of the landscape has been shaped by agriculture, as has the land itself. But in a fast-changing world, how does the great British countryside continue to provide the food we eat?
Most people living in Britain today must go back several generations before they find an ancestor who worked on the land. How much do we really know about those who are supplying us with the most essential things in life: our daily bread and butter, meat and fish, fruit and vegetables?
In Land of Plenty Charlie Pye-Smith travels the length and breadth of these isles to explore the little-understood world of British agriculture. From ultramodern indoor dairy units producing millions of litres of milk a year to small, old-fashioned farms making cheese with twenty or thirty cows, and from landowners whose families have farmed the same fields for centuries to tenants who have just joined the industry, Pye-Smith investigates the timeless connection between land and people in the twenty-first century.
Revealing the dairy industry in Somerset and Gloucestershire; beef in the Scottish Borders; sheep in North Yorkshire; pigs and poultry in East Anglia and Hampshire; vegetables in Norfolk; and fruit in Essex and the West Country, Land of Plenty is a colourful and rewarding travelogue that gets to the very heart of modern British life.
“We need to take where our food comes from seriously … Pye-Smith’s investigation is thorough and at times remarkable” – Clive Aslet, The Times
“A brilliantly well observed story of the British countryside, its history and its future … a Rural Rides for the 21st century” – Western Morning News
“Pye-Smith’s writing is approachable … will be enjoyed just as much by someone who has been farming all their life as somebody who knows little about agriculture but is looking for an enjoyable non-fiction read” – Ben Eagle, thinkingcountry.com
“If you are interested in how food gets to you in Britain, be sure to pick up this book” – bookishbeck.wordpress.com
Most people living in Britain today must go back several generations before they find an ancestor who worked on the land. How much do we really know about those who are supplying us with the most essential things in life: our daily bread and butter, meat and fish, fruit and vegetables?
In Land of Plenty Charlie Pye-Smith travels the length and breadth of these isles to explore the little-understood world of British agriculture. From ultramodern indoor dairy units producing millions of litres of milk a year to small, old-fashioned farms making cheese with twenty or thirty cows, and from landowners whose families have farmed the same fields for centuries to tenants who have just joined the industry, Pye-Smith investigates the timeless connection between land and people in the twenty-first century.
Revealing the dairy industry in Somerset and Gloucestershire; beef in the Scottish Borders; sheep in North Yorkshire; pigs and poultry in East Anglia and Hampshire; vegetables in Norfolk; and fruit in Essex and the West Country, Land of Plenty is a colourful and rewarding travelogue that gets to the very heart of modern British life.
“We need to take where our food comes from seriously … Pye-Smith’s investigation is thorough and at times remarkable” – Clive Aslet, The Times
“A brilliantly well observed story of the British countryside, its history and its future … a Rural Rides for the 21st century” – Western Morning News
“Pye-Smith’s writing is approachable … will be enjoyed just as much by someone who has been farming all their life as somebody who knows little about agriculture but is looking for an enjoyable non-fiction read” – Ben Eagle, thinkingcountry.com
“If you are interested in how food gets to you in Britain, be sure to pick up this book” – bookishbeck.wordpress.com
256 pages, Hardcover
Published July 27, 2017
8 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Pye-Smith
25 booksCharlie Pye-Smith is a writer and broadcaster who has contributed to the BBC, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and New Scientist, among others. He has written numerous books, including The Facts of Rural Life, The Other Nile, Travels in Nepal, Rebels and Outcasts, In Search of Wild India and The Subsidy Scandal and he co-authored Working the Land and The Wealth of Communities. He is based in London and reports regularly on global farming and environmental issues for international research and development agencies.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 18, 2017
When people think of farming though they tend to have a rose-tinted image of farmers and those that till the soil, seeing the fields of corn waving in the breeze and the farmer leaning over the gate looking at a field of cows. Most of us would need to go back several generations to find family members who worked as farm labourers, so our disconnect from the land that feeds us is more or less complete. And yet we have shaped the very landscape around us for the past five thousand years and one of the primary reasons behind this was to provide food for people to eat. These days though we have a split population; the majority have no clue where their foods originate from as they obtain all of it in packets from the supermarket and there is a minority who are fully aware of the source of their Sunday roast and may even know what its name was…
Charlie Pye-Smith took a year travelling around the country in a motorhome to take the pulse of British farming. He meets with producers large and small, those who have farmed that patch for generations, new people who are driven by an ideal to produce better food and talks with the owners of some of the largest farms in the UK. The way that some of these people produce our cupboard staples, milk, bread, meats and drinks are all examined under his careful gaze. There is a critique of the system, that is allegedly driven by the consumer, but is actually controlled by the supermarket giants and how farmers are having to diversify just to keep their heads above water financially.
We are supposedly nine meals from a breakdown in society, so we all have a critical interest in the way that our food is produced. Pye-Smith’s book does pass a sympathetic but critical eye over the process and actually meet the people who herd the sheep, make cider, grow hundreds of tonnes of potatoes and milk the cows. There are discussions about the Common Agricultural Policy that has provided subsidies and in some cases financial lifelines to farmers. He does touch briefly on the sustainability of the industry, but there was very little on the environmental havoc the industrial style of farming has wreaked in the pursuit of the lowest price and greatest profit. This is still a book that deserves a wider audience because of the subject matter, partly as people are far more interested in what they put in their mouths nowadays. It should also be used to open the debate about the food industry especially with the growing uncertainty in a post-Brexit Britain and all that entails.
Charlie Pye-Smith took a year travelling around the country in a motorhome to take the pulse of British farming. He meets with producers large and small, those who have farmed that patch for generations, new people who are driven by an ideal to produce better food and talks with the owners of some of the largest farms in the UK. The way that some of these people produce our cupboard staples, milk, bread, meats and drinks are all examined under his careful gaze. There is a critique of the system, that is allegedly driven by the consumer, but is actually controlled by the supermarket giants and how farmers are having to diversify just to keep their heads above water financially.
We are supposedly nine meals from a breakdown in society, so we all have a critical interest in the way that our food is produced. Pye-Smith’s book does pass a sympathetic but critical eye over the process and actually meet the people who herd the sheep, make cider, grow hundreds of tonnes of potatoes and milk the cows. There are discussions about the Common Agricultural Policy that has provided subsidies and in some cases financial lifelines to farmers. He does touch briefly on the sustainability of the industry, but there was very little on the environmental havoc the industrial style of farming has wreaked in the pursuit of the lowest price and greatest profit. This is still a book that deserves a wider audience because of the subject matter, partly as people are far more interested in what they put in their mouths nowadays. It should also be used to open the debate about the food industry especially with the growing uncertainty in a post-Brexit Britain and all that entails.
July 27, 2017
Charlie Pye-Smith is a farming and environmental commentator with many previous titles to his name. To research this survey of modern food production, he spent a year traveling around the British countryside in a motor home, interviewing farmers and manufacturers and learning how things are likely to change when Brexit takes effect. In the face of surpluses and falling profits, he suggests that in the future farmers will need to diversify. Questioning received wisdom, he also proposes that animal welfare might be more achievable in larger-scale operations and that environmentally friendly techniques like crop rotation might actually lead to higher yields.
Many of the farms the author visits have survived due to their adaptability. For instance, the Belchers of Leicestershire found they could double their profits if they processed their cattle, pigs and lambs themselves and sold the meat at farmer’s markets. Likewise, the Blands, dairy farmers in Cumbria, branched out after they lost their whole herd to foot-and-mouth disease in 2001: Now they produce ice cream from their Jersey cows and run a successful tea room. On the other hand, specializing in a heritage product can also be an effective strategy. In Yorkshire, the author meets farmers who have been raising sheep locally for centuries. “It’s all about eating the view … linking Swaledale sheep to a beautiful upland landscape. Eat our lamb and you’re helping to protect the Dales,” is the message.
Pye-Smith also looks into pig welfare and plowing techniques for cereal crops. In a chapter on fruit, he tells the recent story of apples and strawberries through cider and jam production, respectively. A section on vegetables centers on potatoes. I learned a number of facts that surprised me:
The book strikes an appropriate balance between the cutting-edge and the traditional, and between caution and optimism. Although Brexit will lead to a total loss of farmers’ EU subsidies and a drop in the number of Eastern Europeans coming over to pick produce, there may be potential benefits too. As one large-scale vegetable farmer opines, “we should see Brexit as a great opportunity to promote home-grown food production.” I appreciated how open the author is to organic and conservation agriculture, but he also doesn’t present them as magical solutions. For the most part, I sensed no hidden agenda, though he is perhaps pro-grouse shooting and seems dismissive of city journalists like George Monbiot who claim to know better than the real countryside experts.
This is most like a condensed, British version of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Pye-Smith makes the same sort of investigations into food production methods, including tiny snippets from his own life along the way. Crucially, the book is readable throughout, never sinking into tedious statistics or jargon. The author’s black-and-white photographs, three to five per chapter, are a nice addition. In essence this is a collection of stories about a way of life that faces challenges but is not doomed. I was reassured to hear that people increasingly care about where their food comes from. Martin Thatcher of Thatchers cider says “People have become more discriminating. They are now much more interested in what they’re eating and drinking than they were in the past, and how it’s produced.” If you, too, are interested in how food gets to you in Britain, be sure to pick up this book.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Many of the farms the author visits have survived due to their adaptability. For instance, the Belchers of Leicestershire found they could double their profits if they processed their cattle, pigs and lambs themselves and sold the meat at farmer’s markets. Likewise, the Blands, dairy farmers in Cumbria, branched out after they lost their whole herd to foot-and-mouth disease in 2001: Now they produce ice cream from their Jersey cows and run a successful tea room. On the other hand, specializing in a heritage product can also be an effective strategy. In Yorkshire, the author meets farmers who have been raising sheep locally for centuries. “It’s all about eating the view … linking Swaledale sheep to a beautiful upland landscape. Eat our lamb and you’re helping to protect the Dales,” is the message.
Pye-Smith also looks into pig welfare and plowing techniques for cereal crops. In a chapter on fruit, he tells the recent story of apples and strawberries through cider and jam production, respectively. A section on vegetables centers on potatoes. I learned a number of facts that surprised me:
Over half Britain’s potatoes are turned into crisps and chips
“Outdoor-reared” pork is not necessarily the ideal because cold, wet winters are tough on piglets and sows
Cider coming into fashion over the last 10–15 years is largely thanks to Magners’ advertising campaigns
Nowadays the average Briton spends just 10% of their income on food, as opposed to 33% in the 1950s.
The book strikes an appropriate balance between the cutting-edge and the traditional, and between caution and optimism. Although Brexit will lead to a total loss of farmers’ EU subsidies and a drop in the number of Eastern Europeans coming over to pick produce, there may be potential benefits too. As one large-scale vegetable farmer opines, “we should see Brexit as a great opportunity to promote home-grown food production.” I appreciated how open the author is to organic and conservation agriculture, but he also doesn’t present them as magical solutions. For the most part, I sensed no hidden agenda, though he is perhaps pro-grouse shooting and seems dismissive of city journalists like George Monbiot who claim to know better than the real countryside experts.
This is most like a condensed, British version of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Pye-Smith makes the same sort of investigations into food production methods, including tiny snippets from his own life along the way. Crucially, the book is readable throughout, never sinking into tedious statistics or jargon. The author’s black-and-white photographs, three to five per chapter, are a nice addition. In essence this is a collection of stories about a way of life that faces challenges but is not doomed. I was reassured to hear that people increasingly care about where their food comes from. Martin Thatcher of Thatchers cider says “People have become more discriminating. They are now much more interested in what they’re eating and drinking than they were in the past, and how it’s produced.” If you, too, are interested in how food gets to you in Britain, be sure to pick up this book.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
June 27, 2025
An interesting exploration of different types of farming practice - both small and large; livestock and arable. He seems to favour a mixed kind of farming with organic soil quality maintenance and ecosystem biodiversity. He tends to visit mostly successful farmers and says little about rural poverty. The reader could easily get the impression that many farmers are wealthy landowners. Perhaps they are. Some balance would have been good. And he hardly mentions vegetarianism......
December 29, 2018
I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did; it is so informative and interesting with clearly defined chapters focused on particular aspects of farming. When I picked up Land of Plenty, I didn't know a lot about farming but I certainly know a bit more now!
I was reading Land of Plenty when I went on a trip to the Ouseburn Valley and the guide made a comment about animals from the far east being brought to graze on the banks of the Ouseburn before being sent to slaughter, like it was a little health farm for them. Thanks to Charlie Pye-Smith I knew why the farmers did this...I'm not going to tell you as it will spoil the amazement you will experience when reading it for yourself.
As a long time vegetarian, I did shudder at the passages on slaughter for the Halal and Kosher markets but found that farmers also found this barbaric and shocking. Farmers may slaughter animals too but they care about their stock and aim to be as humane as possible. I actually enjoyed reading about the cows and there's even a photo of four cows awaiting slaughter, which made me smile with its similarity to any four girlfriends gathering together for a group photo.
Land of Plenty is very current with references to Brexit and what it means for UK farmers; perhaps not the doom and gloom that we are told in the news but rather that farmers must become better at what they do with improved quality being passed to the consumers along with closer links to the public as farmers open up their arms to embrace exciting entrepreneurial activities.
A book about UK farming is not complete without mentioning the foot and mouth horror of 2001, which I remember quite clearly. It was so refreshing to see how some farmers coped with this by looking for alternative means of survival of their farm rather than closing up shop after the death of their herd.
Although I'm a beer drinker, I also really enjoyed the chapter about cider. From beef to cider, you can see that this book really encompasses every single aspect of farming that you can imagine. Each chapter is filled with interesting facts and personal stories that add to the human interest and give a wonderful insight into the life of a UK farm.
Concise and informative, Land of Plenty is a surprisingly riveting read and one of the best non-fiction books I have read for a long time.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
I was reading Land of Plenty when I went on a trip to the Ouseburn Valley and the guide made a comment about animals from the far east being brought to graze on the banks of the Ouseburn before being sent to slaughter, like it was a little health farm for them. Thanks to Charlie Pye-Smith I knew why the farmers did this...I'm not going to tell you as it will spoil the amazement you will experience when reading it for yourself.
As a long time vegetarian, I did shudder at the passages on slaughter for the Halal and Kosher markets but found that farmers also found this barbaric and shocking. Farmers may slaughter animals too but they care about their stock and aim to be as humane as possible. I actually enjoyed reading about the cows and there's even a photo of four cows awaiting slaughter, which made me smile with its similarity to any four girlfriends gathering together for a group photo.
Land of Plenty is very current with references to Brexit and what it means for UK farmers; perhaps not the doom and gloom that we are told in the news but rather that farmers must become better at what they do with improved quality being passed to the consumers along with closer links to the public as farmers open up their arms to embrace exciting entrepreneurial activities.
A book about UK farming is not complete without mentioning the foot and mouth horror of 2001, which I remember quite clearly. It was so refreshing to see how some farmers coped with this by looking for alternative means of survival of their farm rather than closing up shop after the death of their herd.
Although I'm a beer drinker, I also really enjoyed the chapter about cider. From beef to cider, you can see that this book really encompasses every single aspect of farming that you can imagine. Each chapter is filled with interesting facts and personal stories that add to the human interest and give a wonderful insight into the life of a UK farm.
Concise and informative, Land of Plenty is a surprisingly riveting read and one of the best non-fiction books I have read for a long time.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
August 20, 2018
A fascinating insight into the modern day agricultural revolution with a little socioeconomics thrown in. It also touches on the last agricultural revolution, the introduction of the tractors and for someone who loves social and economic history this pleased me no end. I found some of it stating the obvious, such as the comments regarding animal welfare and not leaving livestock out in all weathers I would like to think common sense prevails and that all living creatures need access to buildings etc.
December 24, 2017
It's nice to see a book about farming which looks at the UK and doesn't employ all the scaremongering tactics of other books about the state of food an farming. There really are some very positive things that some farmers are doing to improve the environment and make their farming more sustainable.
March 8, 2019
Land of Plenty takes the readers on a journey through the fields and foods of Modern Britain. The book shows where the food that people eat comes from and how it is produced in these times. The world that we live in is dominated by technology and machines, and the agrarian world that supplies our food has receded in a corner. It has become almost invisible but it exists. In this book, Charlie Pye-Smith brings this same world into the spotlight.
The author travels to different farms across the land of Britain and records the experience of the farmers that he comes across. Besides the general farming issues that farmers face, this book also talks about Brexit and how Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is going to impact the farming world. The author briefly covers the areas of dairy farming, fruit and vegetable production, and finally how all these products find a place in the food industry.
The book is interspersed with statistical data that really makes the reader sit up. Industrialization and technical advancements have always impacted the farming world and mostly in a negative way.
But it’s not all facts and data, and farming stories. There is a romantic element in the book as the author writes beautiful and poetic descriptions of countryside. I enjoyed reading these very much.
I loved stories that the farmers shared. There was one farmer who speaks of how because of mechanization and the consequent reduction in manual labor on the farms, he feels a sense of loneliness of his farm. Most farmers had farming as a legacy and traced their ancestry through the changes made on their farms over the time. Still others talked about the dark future that they could see.
I enjoyed reading this book. It is very informative and delightful at the same time. I’d suggest to read this book at a slow pace in order to enjoy it thoroughly,
My Rating: **** (4/5)
*Originally published on https://booksnmyself.wordpress.com
The author travels to different farms across the land of Britain and records the experience of the farmers that he comes across. Besides the general farming issues that farmers face, this book also talks about Brexit and how Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is going to impact the farming world. The author briefly covers the areas of dairy farming, fruit and vegetable production, and finally how all these products find a place in the food industry.
The book is interspersed with statistical data that really makes the reader sit up. Industrialization and technical advancements have always impacted the farming world and mostly in a negative way.
But it’s not all facts and data, and farming stories. There is a romantic element in the book as the author writes beautiful and poetic descriptions of countryside. I enjoyed reading these very much.
I loved stories that the farmers shared. There was one farmer who speaks of how because of mechanization and the consequent reduction in manual labor on the farms, he feels a sense of loneliness of his farm. Most farmers had farming as a legacy and traced their ancestry through the changes made on their farms over the time. Still others talked about the dark future that they could see.
I enjoyed reading this book. It is very informative and delightful at the same time. I’d suggest to read this book at a slow pace in order to enjoy it thoroughly,
My Rating: **** (4/5)
*Originally published on https://booksnmyself.wordpress.com
November 21, 2024
takeaway from this book - cider is better for the planet than lager - who's the willy woofter now, guy at the pub who questioned my beverage choice?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews