Food & Drink
Women in farming
Soil Association’s Helen Browning explores how diversity in farming can support solutions for climate, nature and health.
8 March 2024
This article first appeared in our World Environment Day 2025 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Backed by influencers and popping up on shows like Clarkson’s Farm, ‘regenerative agriculture’ may look like the new kid on the block when it comes to environmental restoration.
However, it’s rooted in the principles of organic farming – a system of farming that cares for the health of the soil, plants and animals, respects and protects the environment and ecology and is grounded in techniques that have been producing food for hundreds of years.
The aim of regenerative agriculture is to farm in a way that allows the land, soil, water and nutrients to regenerate instead of becoming depleted, as often happens in conventional agriculture.
It offers a practical guide for farmers in the form of five principles: limit soil disturbance, maintain soil cover, avoid monocropping and foster diversity in what is being grown, keep living roots in the soil and integrate livestock and arable systems.
Organic and regenerative farming share a common goal to create a food system that benefits the environment and society, and the tactics above are all excellent ways to restore the land and the environment.
However, the key term to note here is ‘guide’. There is currently no legal framework for what constitutes ‘regenerative farming’, meaning farmers are able to call themselves ‘regenerative’ without all – or even any – of the principles being followed.
While some farmers do work in a truly regenerative fashion, the term is open to greenwashing by corporations that adopt the label while in reality doing very little to help nature.
In its current form, regenerative is an expression of intent – not a legally binding set of standards and principles.
Organic farming, while also being a movement to farm in a more nature-friendly way, comes with a legally defined set of standards.
For a farm to be certified organic, it must undergo a yearly inspection to show it is following these standards.
Fossil fuel-derived fertilisers and artificial pesticides are banned under organic standards; as a result organic farms provide spaces for nature to thrive and are, on average, home to 30% more biodiversity than non-organic farms.
Organic farmers must build fertility for their crops in other ways, such as using natural nitrogen-fixing legumes and composts, which help to build healthy and resilient soil.
Organic farming has the added reassurance of higher animal welfare standards, no routine use of antibiotics and no GMOs.
The standards also cover the whole supply chain, including how food and drink is prepared, exported, imported and eventually sold.
In contrast, regenerative is currently a term that exists only at the farm level, which creates opportunities for greenwashing further along the supply chain.
Another concern with some regenerative, non-organic farms is the frequent incorporation of no-till methods to limit soil disturbance.
Due to this, some regenerative farmers rely on herbicides such as glyphosate to kill off weeds and cover crops.
This can take a heavy toll on the soil, the surrounding environment and, as evidence is increasingly suggesting, our health.
Glyphosate and all other artificial herbicides are banned by organic standards, and many organic farmers already use low- or no-till methods where they are appropriate to the farm environment.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has recognised the potential for the term ‘regenerative’ to be misused.
In November last year it issued guidance to ensure brands do not overclaim how nature friendly they really are.
This includes the stipulation that brands talk about actual outcomes they have achieved now, with relevant statistics, rather than goals they are aiming to achieve in the future.
The guidance also recognises how some brands cherrypick one or two of the regenerative farming principles and then claim to be ‘nature friendly’; it states this kind of tokenism shouldn’t be employed if we are to avoid misleading consumers.
Half of all UK food emissions come from the agricultural system that food is grown in.
The regenerative movement, which aims to combat this and restore nature at the farm level, should certainly be applauded.
It is also worth noting that the term ‘regenerative’ was coined by an organic pioneer in the United States, and many academic studies on regenerative farming are conducted on certified organic farms.
This shared foundation presents an opportunity for regenerative practices to reinforce and amplify the principles of organic agriculture, provided there is no greenwashing.
Harriet Bell, the regenerative farming lead at Riverford, put it best: ‘the best regenerative farmers are organic, and the best organic farmers are regenerative’.
Until there is a legal definition of regenerative, consumers should continue to look for the word ‘organic’ on their food and drink to guarantee it comes from a system that works with and regenerates nature.
Soil Association’s Helen Browning explores how diversity in farming can support solutions for climate, nature and health.
Yeo Valley Organic co-founder Mary Mead OBE reflects on her role in the journey of Britain’s largest organic brand.
Regenerative farming on this family Estate is supporting one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries.
’Regenerative’ is the new buzz word in food and farming – but what does it mean, and how is it different from organic?
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