Modern day agriculture is facing critical challenges as a result of heavy tillage, monoculture farming and pesticide usage. These challenges are worsened by the changing climate making farms increasingly susceptible to floods, erosion, drought and diminished crop yields. The agriculture sector is currently one of the biggest emitters of CO2, losing topsoil and biodiversity at unsustainable rates, and farmers are facing declining profits. While the situation may be critical, there is a potential solution to the challenges of modern day farming, regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is a form of farming that not only “does no harm” but also helps improve the state of the ecosystem. This holistic-based farming style focuses to restore the health of the soil which leads to healthy plants that then leads to a healthy ecosystem. This is achieved through regenerative agriculture’s main principles:

1. Minimize soil disturbance to maintain the benefits to the land from the work of photosynthesizing plants.

2. Maintain crop diversity because different plants mineralize different nutrients.

3. Keep the soil covered to improve the cycling of nutrients, build structure that will accept and hold greater quantities of water, and mitigate soil temperatures and protect against erosion.

4. Keep the roots living year-round to build soil aggregates and mobilize nutrients for current and subsequent crops for years to come.

5. Integrate livestock to disperse seeds, increase gaseous exchange in the soil and encourage the soil biology to flourish.

One of the major outcomes resulting from regenerative agriculture is an increase in organic soil matter making the soil more capable of retaining water. These leads to resilient soil that can withstand flooding and drought. An increase in soil matter also lends to higher crop yields and more nutrient-rich crops. Other outcomes of regenerative agriculture include improved water quantity/quality, supply chain resilience, and economic resilience. Importantly, regenerative agriculture can also help fight climate change by capturing carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering it in the soil. This soil is then repurposed via photosynthesis to create an even richer soil.

Through Our Food Matters Program, Compass Group, R/A’s parent company, is committed to being socially and environmentally responsible and creating a culture of change through its purchasing and menuing of delicious, sustainable and restorative foods. To learn more about regenerative agriculture, check out the documentary Kiss the Ground or the books Dirt to Soil and Drawdown.

1. Miller, Kevin, and Jim Eckberg. “Sustainable Diets: How Regenerative Agriculture and NutrientDense Foods Can Help Support Human and Planetary Health.” Today's Dietitian. 15 Apr. 2021, ce.todaysdietitian.com/GeneralMills#group-tabs-node-course-default1.

2. Smith, Spencer. The Principles of Regenerative Agriculture. https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/the-principles-of-regenerative-agriculture/. Accessed August 18, 2021.