Tackling the food crisis - Diggers then and now

Winstanley, a quietly radical '70s film about the Diggers, gets a rare screening at Borderlines on Friday 5 March. Led by Gerrard Winstanley in the bloody aftermath of the Civil War, the Diggers set about challenging the rule of law and the hegemony of landowners by reclaiming common land in order to grow crops.

In the face of impending food shortages it's all happening again. Radio 4's Costing the Earth at 9pm this evening focuses on the new Diggers, groups of people from Todmorden in West Yorkshire to a farming initiative in Oxfordshire and a National Trust estate near Gateshead who are literally taking matters into their own hands.

Should make for a fascinating comparison!