Beware misleading ‘regenerative’ claims on food
Source: EWG / By Scott Faber (EWG), Anne Schechinger (EWG), Kacey Langston (EWG)
Some food companies are making “regenerative” claims on their product packages or in their advertising – but these statements may not be everything they seem to be.
It can be tough for consumers to know when to trust a company’s claim that food has been produced with truly regenerative practices, such as cover crops.
The best guarantee a food has been produced with these practices is to choose foods with the Agriculture Department’s organic seal, which are subject to federal standards. Or select foods that are “Regenerative Organic” certified or “Demeter” certified. Both are private, non-for-profit, third-party certifications.
Any food package or food advertising can include regenerative claims.
Foods bearing the USDA Organic, Regenerative Organic, or Demeter seal may not use synthetic fertilizers and toxic pesticides. These claims are also subject to routine audits, unlike many other “regenerative” claims.
Some of these private certification schemes require adoption of one or more regenerative practices. Others are “outcome based” and rely on soil tests. While improving soil health is key, the results of these soil tests and other measurements are rarely released to the public.
Even when companies require adoption of regenerative practices, they may only be required for a year or two. By contrast, foods grown on farms making USDA Organic, Regenerative Organic or Demeter claims must maintain certain practices continuously.
Foods certified as Regenified, for example, can be grown with synthetic fertilizers and toxic pesticides. To earn this certification, though, farmers must improve soil health and are subject to on-farm audits and soil tests. But none of the soil tests or audit results are publicly available.
Like Regenified, food verified by Land to Market can also be grown with synthetic fertilizers and toxic pesticides. Land to Market uses a proprietary measurement tool to determine when farms are regenerative, though the results are not available to consumers.
Soil Regen, a private verification program, also permits synthetic chemicals on food that can carry or advertise Regeneratively Grown and Regeneratively Verified claims. A special test is required for a food to qualify. And farmers must adopt at least one regenerative practice.
Farmers must submit supporting documents but on-farm audits are not required. And none of the documents or test results are available to the public, so it’s hard to know what practices are being used and whether they’re truly regenerative.
What should consumers look for?
When evaluating regenerative certifications and claims, consumers should consider whether:
Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are permitted and, if so, with what limits
Farms must adopt certain practices and if so, for how long
Farms are expected to make continuous improvements in soil health
Farms must perform soil tests, subject themselves to on-farm audits, and publicly disclose the results of tests or audits.
USDA Organic, Regenerative Organic, Demeter and Certified Regenerative by A Greener World not only ban or limit the use of synthetic chemicals. These certifications are also both practice-based and outcome-based. So farmers have to adopt certain practices and show improvement in soil health. All of these certifications require on-farm audits.
Consumers might choose to place less confidence in Regenified, Leading Harvest, Land to Market (Savory Institute), EOV (Savory Institute), Soil Regen, and Soil and Climate Initiative because they all permit the use of synthetic chemicals. Only two require that certain practices be adopted.
Other certifications deserve even more consumer scrutiny, including marketing claims like “regeneratively raised” and “raised using regenerative agricultural practices.”
The USDA allows these “voluntary marketing claims” to be used on meat and dairy products without third-party verifier visits to farms and ranches to see whether promised practices are being adopted. And almost no information about these claims is released to the public.
When reading labels, consumers should look for the USDA Organic seal or other trustworthy certifications. And when reviewing advertising, consumers should remember to ask whether the food is subject to third-party certifications. They should also ask whether the certification is linked to both on-farm practices and outcomes, how those outcomes are measured, whether the results are public, and whether the farm is subject to audits.