Regenerative as an Organic Add-on?

The Business of Food

by Jennifer Barney

Regenerative as an Organic Add-on?
3-min read

Last week I talked about the excitement and complexity of regenerative ag. The optics on regenerative are that consumers believe in it and are increasingly interested in the claim.  
 
Big food like General Mills and Cargill are investing in regenerative ag by partnering with farmers to transition their farms to organic, which is a three-year process, and by contributing funds to support regenerative practices such as crop rotation, cover crops, and reduced/no tilling to name a few. General Mills has been expanding its organic business to meet consumer demand for some time, and they are the second largest producer of natural and organic packaged foods. 
 
But is organic a prerequisite for regenerative? 
 
Definitions please
I like the way Barb Stuckey President of Mattson puts it: organic is about what you’re NOT doing and regenerative is about what you ARE doing. For example, organic says don’t spray synthetic chemicals and regenerative says do plant cover crops. The insinuation of regenerative coming in behind organic is that the one is dependent on the other. 
 
Talking to Cannon Michael, sixth-generation farmer and authority on sustainable farming in California, he believes organic is a way for brands to sell the message of regenerative, because consumers are already proven to pay more for organic. However, Cannon is quick to point out that not all conventional farming is the same, and in some cases can be better for the environment than organic. 
 
How can that be?
 
Organic is a substitution of inputs - it’s not a farming approach. 
Farmers take into consideration a variety of techniques on how they plant, water, feed, maintain, and harvest. Organic certification does not concern itself with these farming approaches, rather on prohibiting the use of synthetic chemicals and GMOs.

At Bowles Farming, being highly diversified with all these different crops and varietals means they have fewer acres of each crop. Bowles doesn’t qualify for the big volume discounts on inputs that some monoculture farms in the Midwest enjoy, and in addition, here in California the cost of inputs is higher due to extra approval required by the California EPA. Cannon is really selective in how and what he applies and for organic, there aren’t as many options. In one instance on Bowles Farm the organic insecticide was more harmful than the conventional one. This can happen because organics aren’t as selective in their chemistry, so depending on the crop they can actually kill the beneficial insects (like ladybugs) whereas a highly selective (soft chemistry) conventional spray doesn’t disrupt the harmony and only targets the biting bugs. 
 
Regenerative is a method not an outcome
Regeneratively farmed products and ingredients cannot be tested in a lab to say they have achieved some measure of sequestration out in the field. The data behind how much and how long soil can capture and retain carbon is still being collected, and early results indicate not all practices are monolithic across all climates and farmland. People have to be made to believe in the good practices regenerative farmers employ, and films like Kiss the Ground are attempting to jolt the public into believing. The educated consumer will look for brands that make regenerative claims, and that back them up with certifications, with or without USDA organic.
 
Getting regenerative certified
The leading regenerative certifier is Regenerative Organic Alliance with their Regenerative Organic Certified™program. Certification involves submitting a host of governing documents and then an inspection. Like USDA Organic, ROC relies on third-party certifying bodies (these are the guys you pay) to ensure you are farming organically AND regeneratively. It takes three years of farming organically on previously conventional land to get certified organic, so this is no quick process. Brands that source ROC ingredients get to put their seal on the packaging.

Savory Institute’s Land to Market regenerative certification is decoupled from organic, also has a seal, and is specific to animal products - meat, dairy, wool and leather. 

Other certifiers – where’s the seal?
Other certifiers not tied to organic are Food Alliance and A Greener World. Each conducts their own audits – no third-party hand-off – and both have lists of certified producers for brands to connect to. Neither currently have a seal for labeling on pack. (If anyone knows of other certifiers that have labels to put on pack, please let me know.)
 
In addition to soil management, regenerative also concerns itself with animal welfare. Next week I’ll be talking to Stephanie Alexandre of Alexandre Family Farms, the first certified regenerative and organic dairy in the U.S. by both the Savory Institute and the Regenerative Organic Alliance.

All my best,
Jennifer

P.S. Read my tips on teams in this New Hope piece below

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I'd love to hear from you - get in touch at jennifer@3rdandbroadway.com