Regen1

In May 2020, Foodmuse joined a larger team of subject matter experts assembled to create an open source initiative, led by The Lexicon, with support from Food at Google. The goal of the accelerator is to identify best principles and practices for one target region - in this case Northern California- and to establish a shared, market-driven strategy that helps regional food purchasers support a locally-based regenerative agriculture model.

By sequestering carbon in the soil, regenerative farming practices can play a vital role in helping to mitigate climate change. To date, the widespread adoption of regenerative farming practices has been limited by two key factors: price-effective measurement protocols that can accurately identify the range of co-benefits provided by these practices, and a marketplace prepared to pay a premium for these services. Therefore, building more regenerative farming systems will require a holistic multi-stakeholder, science-based, market-driven approach that includes actors across the value chain; this includes producers, distributors, scientists, conservationists, food service companies, restaurants, and consumers. 

To address this challenge, we were assigned to one of the accelerator’s four workstreams: The Business Case. This accelerator will contemplate a more rapid adoption of regenerative practices in developing a dedicated “regenerative” designation for supply chain purchasing tools. This will be a crucial first step for unlocking new markets and funding sources that support farmers as they continue their journey to deepen their commitment to regenerative farming practices.