#121 - Why Agriculture’s Hottest Term Has No Clear Definition

Author

Anthony Corsaro
September 30, 2025

Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum

What does it take to grow regen demand? Who’s doing the work?

Are you headed to the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum?

Join AC for this engaging breakout session!

Event Details: 📅 October 7 - October 8 📍 Minneapolis, MN

RFSI By Day, MAD! By Night!

Kick off RFSI with us at The Luminare for an evening of community, celebration, and connection. We’re thrilled to co-sponsor this special night bringing together farmers, investors, innovators, and allies who are driving the regenerative transition in food and finance.

What to Expect:

  • 🍸 Specialty cocktails & local craft beer

  • 🍪 Regenerative cookies

  • 🚚 Optional dinner

  • 🎶 Music by a top DJ

Event Details: 📅 October 7 📍 The Luminare, 770 SE 9th Street, Minneapolis, MN

The Battle Over ‘Regenerative’

Credit: Observer

The debate over what “regenerative” really means is heating up, with competing certifications and no single regulated definition leaving farmers and consumers in the dark. While some certifiers insist organic must be the baseline, others take a more flexible “big tent” approach.

Nespresso Launches First Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Coffee

Credit: Nestle Nespresso SA

Nespresso will be the first brand to launch coffee certified under the Rainforest Alliance’s new Regenerative Agriculture Standard, with beans from farms in Costa Rica and Mexico. The seal, debuting on Nespresso products in 2026, aims to boost farmer resilience, restore ecosystems, and give consumers a clear way to support regenerative practices.

Farmwell

🫐 Is turning regeneratively grown aronia berries from its Upstate New York farm into USDA Organic and Regenerative Organic Certified® drinks. Recently rebranded and named a NEXTY Award finalist, Farmwell is blending farm-to-can authenticity with antioxidant-rich innovation across four SKUs.

Seven Sundays

🤝 Is expanding its partnership with the Soil & Climate Initiative (SCI) to support 15 farmers managing 2,400+ acres in their transition to regenerative agriculture. The collaboration provides soil health testing, agronomic support, and verification tools to help farmers improve profitability while restoring ecosystem health.

Lundberg Family Farms & Dr. Bronner's

🌍 Are demonstrating that Regenerative Organic Certified® practices can scale profitably while delivering major climate and health benefits. Together with 320+ brands and 67,000 farms worldwide, the movement now spans nearly 20 million acres, showing regenerative organic is moving from niche to mainstream.

New Belgium Brewing, Root Shoot Malting, & Olander Farms

🌾 Prove that climate-smart barley can both sequester carbon and maintain premium brewing quality, removing more than 4,000 tons of CO₂ in a Colorado pilot project. Verified to ISO greenhouse gas standards, the results point to a scalable model for low-emissions beer supply chains from grain to glass.

HowGood & Kiss the Ground

🚀 Release the 2025 Regenerative Agriculture Industry Map, showing 1,192 organizations across 49 countries now publicly aligned with regeneration — a fivefold increase since 2019. Farms have overtaken CPG companies as the largest category, underscoring both grassroots adoption and corporate integration in this rapidly scaling movement.

Dr. Bronner's

👏 Has helped launch the Purpose Pledge, a new initiative aimed at redefining what it means to be a purpose-led business, with 20 natural product companies piloting the process in 2025. The pledge sets commitments across 10 areas, aiming to raise the bar for corporate responsibility beyond existing certifications.

Seven Sundays

🏭 Has acquired its longtime manufacturing partner Birch Packaging, bringing blending, packing, and kitting operations fully in-house after a decade of collaboration. The move gives the fast-growing cereal brand greater flexibility, quality control, and speed to innovate as it expands into 10,000 new retail doors with products like Protein Oats, Little Crispies, and Oat Granola.

Maker’s Mark

🥃 Managing director Rob Samuels shared how bourbon and regenerative farming are deeply linked, with practices like no-till, cover cropping, and crop rotation improving both soil health and flavor. Through partnerships with Regenified™ and the Maker’s Mark Regenerative Alliance, the brand is helping farmers, distilleries, and restaurants adopt regenerative practices.

ADM

🌱 Has fast-tracked regenerative agriculture, partnering with 28,000 farmers to convert more than 5 million acres globally, surpassing its 2025 goal a year early. Through its regenerations program, backed by partners like PepsiCo, Campbell’s, and General Mills, ADM is scaling regen with farmer-first incentives and cross-value chain collaboration.

Rainforest Alliance

☕️ Launches a new Regenerative Agriculture certification for coffee, building on decades of sustainability work to push brands and farmers toward greater climate resilience and ecosystem restoration. The program offers premiums, training, and long-term incentives to help farmers adopt regenerative practices, with cocoa, tea, and citrus next in line for certification.

CMI Orchards

🌳 Has launched CMI SOARS: Sustainable Orchards and Regenerative Solutions, a program advancing measurable sustainability across the tree fruit industry. With greenhouse gas inventories, regenerative practices, and transparent storytelling, SOARS aims to deliver verified carbon credits, healthier orchards, and a stronger retail value proposition for regeneratively grown fruit.

🧉 Yerba Madre is hiring a Shopper Marketing Manager

🌾 Lundberg Family Farms is looking for a Brand Manager

🥭 Sol Organica is hiring a Digital Marketing Coordinator

🍷 Bonterra Organic Estates is looking for a Procurement Analyst & Financial Analyst

🌻 Simple Mills is hiring a Senior Associate - Sustainability & Mission

🌱 Row 7 is looking for a CPG Innovation Manager

🥩 Force of Nature Meats is hiring a Controller & Social Media - Community & Content Manager

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