Understanding Why Regenerative Agriculture is the Fastest-Growing Green Theme

/by

Products with Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) are experiencing significant growth in today’s marketplace while sales linked to other sustainability certifications are decelerating.

According to the SPINS 2024 trends report, sustainability has not yet reached a tipping point for consumers. Shoppers still view sustainability as an optional “initiative” and not as an imperative movement.

Skepticism is also running rampant as consumers and regulators push back against the rising tide of companies utilizing unsubstantiated green claims, or “greenwashing,” to drive sales.

These factors, along with ongoing economic pressure, have triggered sales deceleration across many sustainability certified products in today’s marketplace.

Among labeling initiatives that continue to gain traction, however, Regenerative Organic Certification is the top performer.

But what’s behind this certification — and what makes it stand out?

KEEP READING ON THE FOOD INSTITUTE

The Costs Of The AfDB’s Feed Africa Initiative To Farmers: A Deep Look At The 40 National Compacts

/by

The African Development Bank’s Dakar II initiative, titled “Feed Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience,” is the latest and most ambitious addition to the Bank’s long-standing “Feed Africa” program. This initiative aims to transform African agriculture and make Africa a breadbasket for the entire world. Implemented as part of the national agricultural development plans of 40 African countries, the initiative has sparked significant debate about its approach and its potential effects. The initiative aims to industrialize African food systems with a proposed budget of $61 billion, primarily from the private sector and development institutions. However, this strategy has been criticized because it risks marginalizing smallholder farmers, harming biodiversity and fostering dependence on multinationals for the purchase of seeds and agrochemicals.

To better understand the Dakar II initiative, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) analyzed each of the 40 “national pacts”, that is to say the global agricultural development plans drawn up by consultants for the program. We examined critical factors, including finance, land allocation, seeds, use of agrochemicals, technology and people, to assess their collective implications for Africa’s smallholder farmers. In this report, we present the main findings and the concerns they raise.

Critics of the initiative, including the Irish president, have expressed concerns about its unique approach and its emphasis on large-scale monoculture, formal seed systems and high-tech solutions such as climate-smart agriculture, digital and precision agriculture, and chemical inputs. These methods are considered beyond the reach of small farmers due to their cost, environmental risks and the threat they pose to their autonomy and traditional practices.

KEEP READING ON AFSA

Global Alliance for Organic Districts (GAOD)

/by

The vision of the Global Alliance for Organic Districts (GAOD) is to co- create a global network able to support the local development of Organic Districts in different territorial contexts and scaling up examples of practical solutions. Our work is based on the principles of Health, Ecology, Fairness and Care.

There are more than 60 Organic Districts in Europe and concrete plans for establishments in Argentina, Taiwan and the Pacific’s.

A major task for us in the coming year is the support of the newly established Organic District in Norway and as an integrated part of Bodø and the county of Nordland as the European Capital of Culture 2024. It is North of the Artic Circle – at 67 degrees north – the land of the midnight sun and northern light. The Sami indigenous culture is central in the region together with small scale agriculture, gathering and harvesting in a close interaction with Artic nature.

Also, this Organic District is the home of Professor Ove D. Jacobsen with his ground breaking work of Ecological Economics. Flowing from this the core of the Nordland Organic District is within the theme of “Local food for local markets”.

Here are some examples on other highlights for our network in 2024:

  • Session 15 February during BioFach in Nuremberg on the topic” Explore the power of Organic Districts and the women shaping their success”
  • 20 years anniversary of the first Organic District “Cilento” in Italy
  • World Conference on Organic Districts 26 July – 4 August in Idanha A Nova, Portugal
  • Conference 14 – 16 August on Nature – Culture- Health in Lofoten, Norway
  • “Peoples Food Summit” 16 October by Regeneration International
  • 21 years anniversary of the research organization “Organic Food Quality and Health” and an international conference 11- 13 November at University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 2nd International School Meal Conference 28 – 30 November in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
  • Organic World Congress 2 – 6 December in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Mexico Drop to Second-Lowest Level Ever Recorded

/by

The estimated number of monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico for winter has reached its second-lowest level ever for the 2023 to 2024 overwintering season. The estimate, based on the size of the butterflies’ hibernating forest area, has dropped by about 59% from the previous year, according to officials.

Experts are pointing to extensive heat and drought as well as climate change for the major decline.

Recent years have seen some hope for the migrating monarch butterflies, with a 35% increase in the number of butterflies observed overwintering in Mexico during the 2021 to 2022 season compared to the previous year.

But monarch butterflies face three primary threats, including habitat loss for their breeding and overwintering; the use of pesticides, which can be toxic to the butterflies or can kill their food source, milkweed; and climate change, which can shift their migratory patterns. By the 2022 to 2023 overwintering season, World Wildlife Fund reported a 22% drop in the amount of overwintering monarch butterflies in Mexico.

KEEP READING ON ECOWATCH

Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems: 10th Anniversary Collection

/by

Celebrating 10 years of Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems

Ten years ago we opened Volume 37, Issue 1, with an editorial that announced the change of the name of the journal from the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture to Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems-ASFS (Gliessman 2013). For the past 10 years, our journal has been at the forefront of scholarly publishing in the “Agroecology Movement.” It has been our goal to help define what this movement is about, to advance scholarship at the cutting edge of transdisciplinary research, and to learn with and from peasants, Indigenous peoples, smallholders, and workers across the food system who are leading the way in transforming food systems worldwide toward justice and sustainability. At the time of the name change, the ecological foundations for agroecology had received much scientific attention, but the social and political components—where change is most needed—remained ill-defined and largely ignored by the Western scientific establishment. It became our journal’s goal to link research, practice, and social change.

To celebrate 10 years of ASFS, in this special collection, we have gathered some of our most-read and most-cited papers from the decade, as well as several “editors picks” we feel exemplify the agroecological focus the journal promotes. The collection will be available open access for the next six months, and we hope you will read and share the articles, reviews, and editorials with your colleagues, students, co-organizers, and more. We also invite you to consider contributing to ASFS in the future, as we look to continuously advance agroecology scholarship rooted in a commitment to transformative food systems change and in solidarity with diverse communities who advance agroecology every day in thinking and practice.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Don’t Be Duped: GMO Deregulation Compromises Food Transparency

/by

Next week, the European Union will vote to deregulate GMOs. Deregulating GMOs poses serious risks to consumer freedom of choice and the environment.

Key reasons we must maintain oversight and transparency around genetically engineered foods:

  • Consumer Right to Know: Polls consistently show that most consumers want foods containing GMOs labeled. Deregulation removes the right to make informed choices. Consumers deserve transparency about how their food is produced.
  • Contamination Risks: Deregulation will make traceability and segregation of GMO and non-GMO supply chains difficult, if not impossible. It will also increase the chances of unwanted GMO contamination, putting non-GMO, organic, and regenerative markets at risk.
  • Unintended Consequences: New GMO techniques can make unpredictable genetic changes (off-target effects). Without regulation, potential human, animal, and environmental health risks could go unstudied before widespread exposure.
  • Environmental Impacts: Genetic engineering can create unintentional effects, like fostering herbicide-resistant superweeds. Oversight helps identify ecological risks before they spiral out of control.
  • Reduction of Independent Science: Deregulation marginalizes the role of independent, third-party safety assessments in favor of industry studies. Balanced scientific input is essential to understand impacts.
  • Slippery Slope: Deregulation opens the door to faster and riskier GMO development with less review. This dangerously short-sighted approach undermines sensible precautions that protect our food system.

 

Preserving GMO oversight and labeling upholds the Precautionary principles of social responsibility. Join us in rejecting any attempts to deregulate or redefine GMOs and stand up for environmental health, freedom of choice, and transparency in our global food supply.

READ AND SIGN THE LETTER HERE

IFOAM – Organics International Stands Firm on the Importance of Grower Group Certification Amidst Litigation Pratum v. USDA

/by

IFOAM – Organics International is extremely concerned about the litigation against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated by an organic farmer in the USA.

The lawsuit alleges that group certification of organic farmers is being used to cover up fraudulent practices and create an uneven playing field between organic American farmers who have an individual responsibility for certification and organic farmers organised in producer groups that are subject to Internal Control Systems (ICSs).

It questions whether USDA has the authority to delegate the responsibility of inspecting every farm every year and questions whether the new regulation provides for an adequate number of third-party inspections of producer group members to meet the intent of the organic legislation.

The litigation highlights widespread misunderstanding about the role and function of grower group certification, which we seek to clarify in the explainer below.

IFOAM – Organics International considers group certification a vital tool for ensuring millions of organic farmers around the world can access global markets whilst ensuring the robust integrity of the products produced. We understand that the USDA’s new regulation for producer groups differs from both the recent EU legislation and IFOAM Norms for grower groups in a few ways, but still support the regulatory recognition of producer groups in the USDA rule [1].

Grower groups play a key role in supporting organic farming and provide organic market access for millions of honest, hard-working smallholder farmers that care for the land and provide ecological benefits. As a result, they should be considered a strong force for good in rapidly scaling climate and nature-friendly farming that mitigates and addresses the biggest crises of our times.

We also recognise the crucial importance of robust governance of ICS. The oversight process for grower groups is different to the process for individual farmers. An appropriate level of rigour must be maintained in both approaches.

KEEP READING ON IFOAM ORGANICS INTERNATIONAL

“Just a Cowboy”

/by

Over the past 20-plus years, my family and I have been fortunate to work on ranches from Nevada to Florida and from Montana to Mexico. I have gained an appreciation for good stockmen in all parts of the country and have learned much from the way they care for their livestock and the range.

In many discussions with these men and women, I have heard a common, self-effacing phrase. “I’m just a cowboy,” they say, in a manner that sells themselves short of their true role and abilities. My purpose in writing this article is to help all of us who care for livestock on the ranch or farm reflect on the value of our daily duties and expound on the great good that our complex efforts produce.

There are three aspects of sustainability that must be considered to assure the future of a livestock operation: namely ecological, financial and social.

KEEP READING ON NOBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Can Humus Rescue the Future? Regenerative Agriculture Offers Openings for the Organic Sector

/by
First of all, the term regenerative agriculture – also known as agroecology – is self-explanatory. It means restoring something that was there originally. A regenerative approach focuses on renaturing the soil and the entire ecosystem that’s so important to climate change. More precisely, this kind of agriculture aims to build up humus – which by now has shrunk to one or two percent of its original level in Europe1, yet is essential for binding CO2.
Organic farmer Benedikt Bösel, with his Gut und Bösel farm in Brandenburg, offers a model business when it comes to regenerative farming. He was one of the first farmers in Germany to convert his farm – which now covers 3,000 hectares – to regenerative agriculture and forestry. In the spring of 2018, two years after he took over the farm from his parents, he encountered a straightforward trigger for changing his approach. “The spring drought was so extreme.
KEEP READING ON BIOFACH

Afsa Launches 21 Seed Case Studies in 10 Countries

/by

In Africa, farmers’ seeds are the basis of agricultural production and diversified and healthy food systems across the continent. Farmer Seed Systems (PSS) are the dominant system for growing food crops and conserving agrobiodiversity for family farmers. They persist and thrive despite well-funded programs that promote corporate seeds and the industrial food and farming regime of which they are a part, while receiving little or no public policy support and being frequently denigrated in discourse. audience.

Seeds are synonymous with culture, tradition, spirituality, cooperation, solidarity and survival; they provide diverse and healthy foods to feed families every day, as well as livelihoods. Today’s seeds embody centuries of knowledge about how to store them, exchange them, plant them, and guide them to fruitful expression. The rich diversity of Africa’s food crops is due to the diversity of ecosystems and local agricultural communities, especially women, the guardians of the seeds.

KEEP READING ON AFSA