Regenerative farming
Intensive farming has so depleted the world’s soils that the United Nations has warned we could have just 60 harvests left. In response, some food brands are asking producers to transition to regenerative agriculture. This term covers a raft of techniques that restore soil quality, with the added benefit of sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gases, thus delivering a win win: food that’s better for the planet and for people.
In an interview with Pebblemagazine, Guy Singh-Watson, founder of the UK’s Riverford Organic Farmers, explained that “food grown in healthy soil is healthier. It’s better balanced nutritionally, with fewer toxins. If you’re growing your own food that’s the reason you want to get to grips with the soil near you. I’ve met farmers who won’t eat the produce that’s grown on their own farms.”
Danone is now leading a coalition of 19 major companies, including Nestlé, Unilever and Kellogg Company, to push for regenerative agriculture, aiming to reinvent our food system and restore diversity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, just nine plants account for two-thirds of the world’s crop production, a key factor in the depletion of soil quality.
General Mills has also announced a major commitment to regenerative agriculture, promising to adopt the techniques on a million acres of farmland in the United States by 2030. The company has also donated $650,000 to Kiss the Ground, a non-pro t organization that trains farmers to use soil health practices to make land more resilient. General Mills brand Annie’s Homegrown is also helping to raise awareness of soil health via its Soil Matters campaign, which has featured on limited-edition packs of products made with ingredients grown using regenerative practices.
The opportunity to combat climate change has led outdoor brand Patagonia to partner with Hopworks Urban Brewery in Oregon and launch its own Long Root beer brand. The beer is brewed with a trademarked novel grain called Kernza that removes more carbon from the atmosphere than other grains, requires less water and pesticides, and helps prevent soil erosion, thanks to those eponymous long roots.
Why it’s interesting: In the future, food brands that adopt regenerative agriculture practices can be a powerful force in the fight against climate change, combating greenhouse gases and restoring soil quality.
