Buying Regenerative

by Janet Richards

If you don’t grow your own food, the best way to support regenerative farming is to buy from a farmer whose growing practices you are familiar with. Though Bob Rodale may have coined the term regenerative to describe a kind of agriculture that improves the soil as a response to our degenerated farmland, this type of farming has its roots in Indigenous cultures where communities grew their own food and had a connection to the soil and ecosystems where they lived (see the related article Healing Grounds).

For many of us, sourcing all our food locally is a goal we work toward, but we still buy at the store and don’t necessarily have information about where the food comes from or how it was grown. I find myself examining labels and feeling good if I find a certification. Some labelling doesn’t come with a certification, for example, “Pasture Raised,” but can hold hope that the producer uses regenerative and humane practices. I look up the producers on the web and sometimes find they are family farms that have a commitment to regenerative farming.

One question I’ve heard a lot is, is it better to buy certified organic? Yes, even if you don’t believe that organic tastes better or is more nutritious (although research shows, on average, organically grown food has 25% more nutrients, especially polyphenols that help reduce inflammation), you are supporting a product line that is committed to not using harmful chemicals. This keeps those chemicals out of the soil and water, but it also protects farm workers. Pesticides and herbicides are found in human urine and fat tissue when we consume non-organic. But the highest health risks are for farm workers, who are directly exposed to chemicals.

Certified organic doesn’t necessarily mean regenerative, which includes farming practices that regenerate the soil such as cover cropping, crop rotation, intercropping, holistic grazing and polycultures. And, regenerative doesn’t necessarily mean certified organic. Even though there is a large overlap in the goals of organic and regenerative farming, many farmers using regenerative practices also use GMOs or synthetic inputs like herbicides.

In 2020, the Rodale Institute put out a label that means both: Regenerative Organic Certified, or ROC. They wanted to go beyond sustainable agriculture to adopt practices that prevent soil degradation, rather than sustaining current degenerative practices, and ultimately to put carbon back in the soil. Their vision includes a healthier society, connecting farmers, consumers and healthcare providers as part of an entire food system.

The ROC certification starts with certified organic and adds crop rotations, year-round cover cropping, organic soil amendments (including compost and manure), reduced tillage systems and animals raised on pasture where they fertilize soil and stimulate root growth. The ROC certification also includes standards for animal welfare and the fair treatment of farm work-ers.

Admittedly, the ROC label is starting small. There are a handful of producers who are certified. None are in Washington State. But I did find one ROC-certified Oregon dairy that sells its yogurt at Payless in Freeland. In the same way that the Certified Organic label has become more and more common, maybe ROC will, too.

Labels mean a higher price tag, another reason to shop from local farmers! Labels are a stopgap; true regeneration requires a connection to the land. We need to transform our food system by supporting farmers in the transition to organic regenerative. For now, buying ROC is way we can move our global culture towards one that embraces stewardship and respect for the land and all living creatures upon it.