Natalie Bennett sits in the House of Lords, the upper house of the UK Parliament.

She was leader of the Green Party between 2012 and 2016, and is one of only two Green Party peers in the Lords.

It is a far cry from where it all began. Natalie was born in suburban Sydney to teenage parents and was the first in her family to go to university.

After gaining a degree in Agricultural Science, she went on to have a successful career in journalism before moving into politics in 2006, and leading the Greens during the 2015 General Election. 

In this episode of the Food Matters Live podcast, we learn more about Natalie’s rise to the top of British politics, how a family tragedy had an “indelible” impact on her, why she is so driven to affect change in the world, and what she thinks needs to change in the food industry to ensure a more sustainable future.