What is the link between healthy land, healthy products, healthy gut, healthy people and healthy ecosystems?
Technology can expose such a link, in a way that is immediate and accessible to everyone, and convince consumers to change their food habits once and for all
A revolution of the agri-food industry must involve an understanding of the nutrients that are present, or absent, in food
Farmers have the keys to our health, and if they do not change practices on the ground now, we will have to resort to medicines later!
Farmers today are not paid based on the nutrients they put on the market, there is a lack of incentives and adequate compensation connected to the quality of the food that they produce. Changing this is part of the overall impact of “Regenerative Agriculture” (RegenAg)
It is a system of agricultural practices and principles that increases ecosystem health, increases soil organic matter, sequesters CO2, combats soil erosion, retains water, improves nutrients in foods, which almost become a by-product of the planet’s restoration
To achieve large-scale restoration that encompasses entire landscapes it is necessary to go beyond individual farms and direct efforts at the entire ecosystem, with planning that makes use of current technologies
One technology innovation is using satellite imagery to digitally simulate entire growth plans for crops, assisting in sowing and cropping decisions, assessing soil in real time and increasing the field’s yield and sustainability
Virtual fencing, thanks to the use of GPS collars, allows remote monitoring and control of herds, avoiding the use of physical barriers. In combination with automated animal husbandry practices, livestock can be managed capturing more CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere than is emitted
Paying the right price for nutrient-rich foods is not sufficient for the imposing transition required to regenerate our soils. Farmers must be paid for the ecosystem services such as the increase in biodiversity and the soil’s increased water retention capacity and carbon storage
It is necessary to invest substantial capital to fund the transition of the agricultural system. Funds in climate bonds, green bonds, crowdfunding platforms and mixed financing schemes, investors are discovering the huge potential that we have below our feet
Other elements to consider include the role of technology in support of farmers (drones, robots, software), the restoration of nutrients to the soil (through insects and algae, for example), new developments in the fields of composting, biochar, bio-fertilisers, growing alternative proteins, and correct animal husbandry
Equally crucial will be the decommodification of food, so that farmers are paid fairly to produce nutrient-dense foods
Would you support regenerative agricultural practices by buying only RegenAg foods?