Real Bread, Real Change: A Conversation about the Real Bread Campaign

February 23 / 2:00-3:15pm ET

What can the Real Bread Campaign teach us about building a similar movement in the U.S.? The Campaign was co-founded in 2008 by Andrew Whitley (author of Bread Matters and co-founder of Scotland The Bread) and Sustain, the food and farming charity that still runs it. The Campaign promotes bread that’s made without 'processing aids' or other additives. On its mission of finding and sharing ways to make bread better for us, our communities and the planet, the Campaign works towards its vision of everyone having a realistic chance to choose Real Bread.  

In this class, Andrew and Chris Young, Real Bread Campaign Coordinator, will share the story of the Real Bread Campaign and explore how its message has taken shape, including:  

• Making healthy, additive-free bread accessible to everyone  

• Supporting independent local bakeries  

• Strengthening connections between farmers, millers, bakers, and communities  

• Advocating for clearer labeling, ethical farming, and sustainable bread production  

Following the presentation, participants will break into small groups to discuss the opportunities and challenges of developing a U.S.-based initiative, then reconvene to share insights and ideas. Come ready to learn, ask questions, and help imagine what a Real Bread movement in the U.S. could look like.  

Why attend:  

• Hear directly from the founders of the Real Bread Campaign  

• Learn what “Real Bread” really means and why it matters  

• Take part in a collaborative conversation about the possibility of building a U.S. movement  

Register today to be part of the conversation. Bring your questions, your curiosity, and your passion for good bread. 

Speakers: 

Andrew Whitley is a co-founder of the Real Bread Campaign and a leading voice in the artisan baking revival. Founder of the organic Village Bakery in the 1970s and director of Bread Matters Ltd, Andrew has spent decades advocating for bread made with integrity—free from unnecessary additives and rooted in local grain, skilled craft, and healthy food systems.  

He is the author of Bread Matters and DO Sourdough, holds an MSc in Food Policy from City University London, and has been credited by the BBC Food & Farming Awards with “changing the way we think about bread.” Through the Real Bread Campaign and his wider work, notably with the food justice charity Scotland The Bread that he co-founded in 2016, Andrew combines vision with practical action to promote bread that supports farmers, bakers, communities, and the environment. 

Chris Young has coordinated the Real Bread Campaign since March 2009. In addition to lobbying for an Honest Crust Act of better loaf composition, labelling and marketing laws in the UK; he created and runs initiatives including: Sourdough September; Real Bread Week; Real Bread For All; Together We Rise, promoting therapeutic/social benefits of bread making; No Loaf Lost surplus reduction guidance; and Lessons in Loaf for schools. He’s the author of the Knead to Know…more microbakery handbook, Slow Dough: Real Bread recipe book and Bake Your Lawn grow-a-loaf guidebook; and edits True Loaf magazine. 

 From 2014-18, Chris also coordinated Sustain's London Food Link network, which included editing The Jellied Eel magazine and helping to launch and run the Urban Food Awards with the Mayor of London’s office. Chris has pulled on his judge’s wig for BOOM Awards, The Cateys, The Great Taste Awards, The Scottish Bread Championship and The World Bread Awards. In 2017, The School of Artisan Food honored Chris with its first Fellowship, and in 2025 he was named joint Person of The Year by Slow Food in The UK.