"Regenerative beef. Regenerative breakfast cereal. Even regenerative whiskey. Americans can now choose from a huge variety of foods and potables that producers claim are grown or raised with regenerative methods, which promise to improve soil and reduce climate impacts. As it turns out, you may not be able to drink or eat your way to climate absolution-at least not without understanding what, exactly, is regenerative and what is not."
"USDA has not created a definition. They have not created a list of practices that are regenerative practices," said Anne Schechinger, who researches the climate impacts of agriculture for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization."
"I like to say we're really in this gold-rush era of regenerative certifications and claims, because everyone, essentially, is rushing to label their food products, to label conservation practices-anything a farm is doing-as regenerative."
Consumers can buy products labeled regenerative across diverse categories, from beef to breakfast cereal and whiskey. Producers claim regenerative methods improve soil health and reduce climate impacts. Federal agencies such as the USDA and FDA have not established an official definition or list of regenerative practices, enabling broad and inconsistent marketing. Observers characterize the market as a 'gold-rush era' of regenerative certifications as farms and companies rush to apply the label to products and conservation actions. Agriculture and food production contribute nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely from livestock and land cleared for grazing and feed, and climate events increasingly highlight food and agriculture topics.
Read at Inside Climate News
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