Insights from Groundswell: The Modern Agricultural Revolution Hinges on Regeneration and Regulation
By: Stella Peters
Introduction
My name is Stella Peters and I’m a rising senior at Georgetown University studying Environmental Studies, Government, Sustainable Business and Italian. My focus on sustainable food systems often takes me to different corners of the world to explore how various countries have developed solutions according to their specific needs, resources and political structures. Global variations in policy-making and financing the regenerative/sustainable transition peak my interest nearly as much as innovative AgTech projects and scientific breakthroughs in seed-saving and bioengineering. Brita and I first met at Climate Farm School’s Italian regenerative agriculture course at Tenuta di Spannocchia in Tuscany last fall during my study abroad at The University of Bologna. Our shared passion for the future of agriculture and regeneration brought us together during this immersive week and now I’m lucky enough to work with Brita, Tom and Phocus’ slew of ingenuitive founders as a new member of the team.
Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival
I recently volunteered at Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival, an inspiring conference focusing on agricultural innovation in the United Kingdom. This annual event - a hybrid Woodstock-meets-regenerative-farming-summit - painted a holistic and vivid picture of the state of land-based innovation in the UK. A demo field hosted technological equipment for farmers’ to explore, while kelp, wool, seed, financing and many other types of booths constituted the main field. Farmers led biodiversity walks, cattle tours and soil quality demos. Speakers and panelists inspired listeners from 8am until nightfall. The sun set late on summer solstice as we sat on hay-bales, eating delicious food from ethical food vendors and listening to musical stylings from musician-turned-farmer Andy Cato of Groove Armada and Wildfarmed.
Discussions ranged from topics as overarching as biodiversity conservation, soil health, and carbon sequestration to the specifics of ultra-processed food, antimicrobial resistance in humans and livestock, environmental toxicity, no till-systems, the principles of regenerative agriculture and even the proper PSI for tractor wheels to cause the lowest soil disturbance whilst maintaining yield.
In a conversation between Andy Cato, founder of Wildfarmed and Henry Dimbleby, we discussed the need for change in the market by meeting consumers where they are, pushing for progress rather than perfection. Wildfarmed's natural flour bread is available in Waitrose - a major grocery retailer in the UK - a more widely accepted consumer option than sourdough, and grown using regenerative practices by farmers within the Wildfarmed network. When Cato was questioned by an audience member about the choice to produce bread without the bran, Dimbleby replied with this interesting anecdote:
"If Dunkin' Donuts used Wildfarmed natural flour for all of their products, the Earth would be a whole lot better off, but the consumer would still be unhealthy. These are two different fights."
Later, we got to hear from a Waitrose representative on a panel discussing UPF reliance and the market transition away from these harmful processed "foods." In essence, legislation is needed to level the playing field among retailers who are seeking to provide a health revolution for their consumers, otherwise the risk is not mitigated. The consumer is calling for better options, and responding well to the Wildfarmed x Waitrose option, but the grocer will only provide those alternatives at scale if legislators level the playing field.
In a panel with Jenny Goodman, we discussed the other end of the spectrum, based on her book Staying Alive in Toxic Times. In this panel, we focused on the level of illness that we've come to live with in this modern world, the augmented cancer rates and occurrence of Type 2 diabetes that were unheard of in our grandparents' generation. Goodman's approach holistically considers toxic exposure in our modern world, like UPFs, carcinogens in sunscreen and synthetic fabrics.
While these speakers and events were largely focused on food systems dilemmas specific to the United Kingdom, the issues they face - regarding the creation of effective regulation to promote, enable, finance and sustain regenerative agriculture - are universal.
Groundswell panelists highlighted two synchronous battles:
1. Bolstering the regenerative conglomerate of modern agriculturists and ensuring that ag products are grown in a way that supports the earth rather than destroying it.
2. Addressing legislators and retailers (consumer facing) to level the playing field and create food/grocery/health/financing systems that implement regenerative outputs in a way that betters human health and reduces environmental toxin exposure.
In the United States and beyond, the most difficult part of integrating a regenerative certification into our agricultural framework (a more holistic and impactful certification than the modern iteration of organic) is the variability of regeneration: regeneration is context based. It’s about the soil that you are living on and the community that you are living in. Basically, it’s challenging to create a certification that focuses on rewarding sameness and conformity to certain standards when the real, effective solutions are so variable between farms. When I spoke with COO of Kiss the Ground Karen Rodriguez a few weeks ago, she brought my attention to Malcolm Gladwell’s concept of the public awareness “tipping point” whereby 13% of the public is aware of a movement. When Kiss the Ground polled an American sample, we were only at 4% awareness of the regenerative movement.
American organizations like Kiss the Ground’s Regenerate America, Patagonia’s Regenerative Organic Certification Program, The Climate Alliance, Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard Project, Climate Farm School and many others represent interest groups who either work to educate the public, increase regenerative awareness, or lobby for a better Farm Bill on the hill. The movement is growing and political advocacy work is as important as civic involvement and education.
The Farm Bill is the United States’ greatest opportunity to use policy to support regenerative tactics and restore our nation’s soil. But does it do enough to support climate and regenerative solutions? The current Farm Bill does not include the word regenerative. Healthy soil is mentioned three times in marker bills. Additionally, AgTech solutions are not currently supported enough in Farm Bill policies. AgTech and regeneration need to come together. For example, Bayer is innovating to make agriculture “more productive and resilient while restoring natural resources” through using regenerative principles to reduce carbon in a pilot program that is about to expand at a larger, more commercial level. Bayer is working with Trinity Agtech to harness highly accurate measuring technology and data analysis to actually measure carbon reduction and sequestration. We can incite systems change only when we graft regenerative and technological solutions. Please forgive my linguistic endorsement of beneficial genetic modification :)
“We can incite systems change only when we graft regenerative and technological solutions”
I hope that my work at Phocus Creative will bolster the success of companies trying to achieve massive, sustainable change in the food system and beyond. For those who are interested to learn more about the political and legislative status of agriculture and regeneration in the US, here are some important links to explore:
Livestock Grazing at Lannock Manor Farm during Groundswell Agriculture Festival