Pete Riley was born in Reading and graduated with a BSc(Hons) in Ecological Science from the University of Edinburgh.
He briefly worked for the Countryside Commission on recreational cycling projects before beginning a 16 year association
with sustainable food production research projects in the Vale of Evesham.
He helped established one of the first local vegetable distribution projects in the UK based on a three acre holding.
Following this he worked as a research consultant on waste minimisation and recycling in Leeds for five years.
Pete has been an active member of the Friends of the Earth network since the 1970s. In the 1980s he investigated contamination
of the Rivers Severn and Avon with organochlorine compounds and mercury which led to the successful prosecution of a major
chemical company. He also investigated sales of DDT in the Vale of Evesham at a time when there was a voluntary ban in place.
He joined Friends of the Earth's Real Food Campaign team in 1997 and has been Senior Campaigner since 1999. He is based in
Friends of the Earth's Northern Office in Leeds and lives near Barnsley in South Yorkshire.