Approaches for Pursuing Regenerative Organic Agriculture for Food & Beverage Brands
There are a number of financial and technical barriers associated with transitioning agricultural systems based on conventional production practices to regenerative organic.
It is clear that overcoming these barriers will require a new level of collaboration and coordination among food system stakeholders including food & beverage brands.
Flexibility and context-specific solutions as well as increased trust underpin successful transition.
Why do we need to focus on sustainability in our food system?
Our food systems include a variety of influences and factors that affect our food security and diets. It also has a profound impact on carbon emissions, water use and quality, ecosystem services, and biodiversity.
According to a recent report from the World Economic Forum:
Global food systems need to shift rapidly to more sustainable forms of production as part of broader food system transformation efforts. Food systems accounted for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, over 80% of tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss and 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, often from already- stressed river basins and groundwater reserves.
Source: World Economic Forum. (2024). 100 Million Farmers: Breakthrough Models for Financing a Sustainability Transition. Accessed on 2/12/24 from https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_100_Million_Farmers_2024.pdf
Regenerative organic offers a variety of sustainability benefits
Brands have a role to play in helping drive adoption of regenerative organic production practices. There are a number of documented barriers associated with transitioning agricultural systems based on conventional production practices to regenerative organic. These barriers can be placed in two categories:
Technical: Access to relevant expertise (e.g. agronomic, training, labor, equipment, etc.), reliable farm data and metrics.
Financial: Affordability and level of up-front investment, delay between investment and accrual of benefits, cost uncertainty.
It is clear that overcoming these barriers will require a new level of collaboration and coordination among food system stakeholders. Flexibility and context-specific solutions as well as increased trust underpin successful transition.
So what roles should downstream value chain stakeholders including food & beverage brands play in overcoming these barriers and supporting this necessary transition?
Credible approaches for pursuing regenerative organic agriculture for food & beverage brands
Like many other goods in our economy, many of the environmental and social impacts associated with food & beverage products occur upstream in the value chain - in manufacturing inputs (e.g. fertilizer and fuel) and during production (farming and processing).
As consumer-facing brands continue to set sustainability and ESG goals related to these areas of impact, addressing these effectively requires robust action throughout their supply chains.
For example, any food & beverage company attempting to reduce their Scope 3 emissions in pursuit of a science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal will need to transform how their ingredients are produced.
Ways food & beverage companies can support the transition to regenerative organic agriculture
Prioritization
Find the ingredients that are the primary drivers of impact for relevant sustainability issues (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, deforestation, human rights and labor abuses, etc.), devote in-house R&D resources to addressing impacts.
Supply Chain Engagement
Launch pilot programs and proof of concept projects, deploy existing solutions, identify lower-impact ingredient options, deploy venture capital for joint investments.
Demand Creation
Establish sustainable sourcing commitments, update procurement standards, innovate on contract and payment terms, support carbon insetting or operational changes that reduce emissions.
Public Policy Advocacy
Public funding, research investments, incentives, technical assistance, and regulations play a critical role in supporting (or preventing) more regenerative agriculture.
Sector Collaboration
Individual companies have limited ability to support a rapid and broad transition to regenerative organic production through individual action alone.
Sources
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EPA (2023). “Organic Farming.” Accessed at https://www.epa.gov/agriculture/organic-farming on 1/5/24.
Rainforest Alliance (2023). “The Indigenous Roots of Regenerative Agriculture.” Accessed at https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/insights/the-indigenous-roots-of-regenerative-agriculture/ on 1/5/24.
Regenerative Organic Certified. (2023). Framework for Regenerative Organic Certified Version 4.1. Accessed at https://regenorganic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Regenerative-Organic-Certified-Framework.pdf on 1/7/24.
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https://medium.com/@ethansoloviev/regenerative-agriculture-continuum-4346f78dde3e
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