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Regenerative agriculture has emerged as a significant trend in the food and farming industries. This forward-thinking approach not only revitalises soil health and biodiversity but also aligns with corporate sustainability goals. In this roundtable, FoodBev’s Rafaela Sousa asks some of the F&B industry's leading companies the following question: 

Matt Ryan

Regeneration lead

Nestlé UK and Ireland

Regenerative agriculture is hugely important in creating a more sustainable future for farmers by protecting and restoring resources like soil, water and biodiversity.

It is also critical to protect the ingredients produced by farmers in our supply chain such as wheat and milk. Our business requires millions of litres of milk to make our confectionery products and coffee, so we know we have a responsibility to make a difference.

One way we’re doing this is through our Nestlé Regenerative Milk Plan, delivered in partnership with First Milk. We’re working with more than 85 dairy farmers in Cumbria and Scotland to help them implement regenerative practices that will boost biodiversity and improve soil health. This, in turn, will bring more benefits, such as improved water-holding capacity, greater natural fertility and carbon sequestration.

The journey is one of experimentation and constant adaptation, which we are confident will deliver significant benefits for farmers and communities in the UK.

David Wilkinson

Vice president of agricultural procurement

PepsiCo Europe

Our PepsiCo Positive transformation is an ambition to spread the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across 7 million acres of land used around the world to grow our crops and ingredients. We are making progress on practices such as cover crops and reducing tillage but we are not stopping there.

PepsiCo Europe recently announced a partnership with fertiliser company Yara aimed at providing farmers with crop nutrition programmes to help decarbonise the food value chain and further promote regenerative agricultural practices.

By combining low-carbon footprint fertiliser use, precision farming digital tools and best-practice agronomic advice, we aim to increase nutrient use efficiency, boost yields and reduce the carbon footprint of our farmers' crops. We are championing regenerative agriculture as part of a suite of measures aimed at putting sustainability at the heart of PepsiCo.

Dorothy Shaver

Global nutrition business group sustainability lead

Unilever

There is a critical need to change the way our food is grown, and consumers are looking to food brands to make positive changes to benefit their and the planet’s health.  

The current conventional way of growing crops for food and other industries is water, land and climate-intensive. It is essential to change the way we grow food in order to build resilience to climate change and to regenerate diminishing resources while reducing the impact of food on the climate.   

This is why Unilever is fully committed to implementing regenerative agriculture practices on 1 million hectares of agricultural land by 2030. We have implemented these practices on key crops including rice and tomatoes for Knorr and Kissan and soy for Hellmann’s.

Hannah Cornick

Head of sustainability and social innovation

Danone UK & Ireland

We know that agriculture is at the heart of many challenges for our planet, from climate change and biodiversity loss to soil degradation. So a regenerative approach to farming is essential in helping nature thrive, improving animal welfare and supporting farm resilience and long-term profitability.

The food system has a vital role to play in tackling the challenges we’re facing globally, and at Danone UK & Ireland, we are committed to supporting farmers with the transition to regenerative agriculture. After all, the ingredients in our products come from nature, and we can only succeed if nature is supported to thrive.

Globally we have established projects in 14 countries to support farmers with practices including measuring their carbon footprints and implementing solutions to improve soil health. We are committed to scaling regenerative agriculture by sharing our learnings through our Regenerative Agriculture Knowledge Centre and supporting the development of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative’s Global Regenerative Agriculture Framework.

Andy Griffiths

Head of sustainable procurement

Diageo

We believe we need to fundamentally change how we source raw materials by working collaboratively and holistically to reduce carbon emissions, restore nature and support the livelihoods of farmers across our supply chain. This will, in turn, build the resilience of our supply chain, increase resource efficiency, and help us adapt to climate change. 

We’re focusing our regenerative agriculture pilots in our key sourcing landscapes and have three pilots active across Ireland, Scotland and Mexico, which feed into our Guinness, Scotch whisky and tequila products, respectively. We're also involved in the Landscape Enterprise Network (LENs) in Yorkshire, which focuses on making consistent requests to farmers. A key challenge is helping them balance the numerous and varied demands they receive from the companies they supply.

A collaborative approach is key. We need to share learnings, take a science-based approach and unify the asks we put on our farmers.

Geraldine Bernard

Global agriculture sustainability lead

Heineken Global Procurement

Regenerative agriculture can ease the impact of farming on the planet, and companies like Heineken have the opportunity to drive meaningful change at scale. Agriculture represents 21% of Heineken's total carbon footprint, and investing in regenerative agriculture practices allows us to not only reduce our environmental impact – on carbon, water use and biodiversity – but also to strengthen the resilience of our supply chain for the future. 

‘Transitions’ is our first holistic, output-based programme in regenerative agriculture and we are proud to share that in June 2024, we achieved our first harvest of barley from this large-scale programme. This regenerative agriculture initiative represents a unique collaboration amongst the agrifood sector, buying different raw materials related to the same crop rotations and farmers.

This global approach is strongly aligned with Heineken's commitment to collaboration with upstream and downstream partners to solve a range of sustainability challenges across the business.

Sandrine Chiron

Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain (CASC) EMEA group sustainability leader

Cargill

Cargill is committed to working alongside farmers to help sustainably meet the demands of a growing population. Our vision is to make regenerative agriculture commonplace across our global supply chains – helping farmers to produce food more sustainably while increasing their productivity and resiliency. 

One of the ways we are doing this is through Cargill RegenConnect, which connects farmers to the growing environmental marketplace by paying them for improved soil health and positive environmental outcomes.

Farmers enrolled in the programme can choose the practices that are best suited to their operation’s unique growing conditions, which includes planting cover crops and implementing reduced- or no-till farming. Enrolled farmers also have access to agronomic experts, who can provide customised guidance on how to implement and optimise regenerative agriculture practices. Cargill RegenConnect has already enrolled nearly 1 million acres across the US and has since expanded to Europe for eligible farmers in France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary.

Michelle French

Senior director of global sustainability programmes

ADM

Regenerative agriculture practices play an important part in land and sustainable stewardship. ADM defines regenerative agriculture as an outcome-based farming approach that protects and improves soil health, biodiversity, climate and water resources while supporting farming business development. Regenerative agriculture is adaptive to local physical conditions and culture, and is based on five principles of land management: 

• Minimising soil disturbance

• Maintaining living roots year-round

• Continuously covering bare soil

• Maximising crop diversity, with an emphasis on crops, soil microbes and pollinators

• Responsibly managing inputs, including nutrients and pesticides

As stewards of the land, farmers have deep connections to the unique needs of their farms, which is why we offer different programmes and incentives to empower farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices that best suit their needs. We then tap these regenerative agriculture efforts, producing solutions like regeneratively grown flour for collaborations with brands like our recently announced partnership with Ooni Pizza Ovens.

Karina O’Gorman

Head of force for good

Innocent Drinks

Regenerative agriculture is important to the food and farming industries because it focuses on restoring soil health, increasing biodiversity, and strengthening the land's resilience. This is particularly close to my heart because these practices not only benefit the environment but also support the long-term viability of farming communities. 

At Innocent Drinks, we are deeply committed to supporting regenerative agriculture within our supply chain, as it is important to me that we make positive contributions to the industries that keep us running with top-quality fresh fruit and veg. To do so, we launched the Farmer Innovation Fund, an exciting venture with a pot of £1 million annually of grants for regenerative agriculture practices available to farmers in our supply chain to help advance innovation in their chosen field (pun intended) but also playing a part in helping to reduce our Scope 3 emissions along the way.

Joanna Lawrence

Senior agriculture sustainability manager

Arla Foods

A big part of the potential of what is talked about when it comes to regenerative agriculture is many of the practices are already being implemented by farmers. As we continue to build our knowledge on this topic, we will only be adding more tools to the toolbox for farmers to continue the climate and nature journey they have already started.

Arla is currently undertaking a four-year pilot project to explore how regenerative practices can be applied within the context of dairy farming systems across both organic and conventional systems. The network has aimed to enable farmers to drive the evolution and implementation of what it means to farm regeneratively and make farmers an integral part of agreeing on relevant principles and practices for success at scale. 

Through the pilot, Arla is collaborating closely with its farmer owners across 24 farms in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands to build understanding, share knowledge and have access to external regenerative experts from the industry. Through the pilot network, Arla will measure, track and document the impact of regenerative farming practices on pilot farm ecosystems to be able to draw specific conclusions that can be shared and applied around the cooperative.

Charlie Angelakos

Vice president of global external affairs and sustainability

McCain Foods

Regenerative agriculture is crucial for adapting to the increasingly unpredictable climate and ensuring sustainable food production through a resilient ecosystem. The importance of this is compounded by the need to increase our food production system by a quarter by 2050 to keep up with global population growth.

Intensive farming has led to significant challenges such as soil degradation, water scarcity and biodiversity loss, particularly in potato farming, the world's third most important food crop. At McCain, we recognise the need for a planet-friendly approach to potato farming that aims to restore ecosystems and reduce emissions.

Through our McCain Farms of the Future initiative, we are merging cutting-edge research with regenerative practices to reimagine the way we grow a potato that is better for both farmlands and the planet. The commercial-scale farms also showcase how regenerative farming practices and ag-technology innovations can be implemented at scale. This initiative has already resulted in increased yields, carbon sequestration, soil protection and enhanced biodiversity.  

Our goal is to implement regenerative practices across 100% of the global acreage that grows potatoes for McCain by 2030. We are proud to report significant progress, with over half of our global potato farming partners already on board and 28% advancing towards comprehensive adoption of regenerative farming.

By providing technical support, educational assistance and financing solutions, we are accelerating the transition to sustainable farming and building a resilient future for food production.  

Francesca Angiulli

Group sustainability director

Puratos

Regenerative agriculture has enormous potential to create resilient and productive agricultural systems for the upcoming years and future generations. This approach to farming can enhance soil health, increase biodiversity and reduce carbon emissions, thereby contributing to the decarbonisation of the food supply chain and aligning with the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases below 2°C.

As a responsible player in the food industry, Puratos is contributing to this vital movement by incorporating regenerative methods into our operations, having initiated regenerative agricultural pilots a few years ago. Our commitment is evident in our production of sourdoughs using ingredients sourced from regenerative farming in Belgium, Australia, the UK, Italy and Turkey. We are also exploring these sustainable practices for sugar beet used in our products, such as cake mixes, aiming to extend our impact on the ecosystem.

Moreover, we are signatories of the EU’s Mission Soil Manifesto, which aligns with our dedication to championing soil health and sustainable food systems. By integrating regenerative agriculture into our business model, we at Puratos are not just following a trend; we are actively contributing to a movement that promotes environmental stewardship and sustainability within the food sector.

Nathalie Sadin

Corporate sustainability manager

Beneo

Implementing regenerative agricultural methods can enhance biodiversity, reduce soil erosion and improve soil fertility so that crop cultivation remains future proof amidst the challenges imposed by climate change and the demands of future generations can be met. At Beneo, we are convinced that it is key for farmers and the industry to collaborate closely so that ingredients can be sourced more sustainably and farmers made more resilient for the future. 

This is why we are proud to be part of the Climate Farming Project, where we joined forces with beet sugar producer, Raffinerie Tirlemontoise, and ingredient company, Puratos. This ambitious initiative supports Belgian farmers in implementing more sustainable farming practices and promotes regenerative agricultural principles that contribute to enhancing soil health and reducing environmental impact. Running until 2025, it involves 15 pilot farms and includes sugar beet, wheat and chicory cultivation according to various regenerative farming methods in an area the size of more than 1,100 football fields. The results can be used to expand these practices to other farmers working with Beneo.

Edd Lees

Co-founder

Wildfarmed

The hospitality industry uses an enormous amount of flour, made mostly by conventional farming. But a switch to regenerative farming means a switch to less carbon, enabling both farmers and hospitality businesses to be part of a significant environmental change.

There are early adopters in this sector leading the charge, experiencing how a regenerative supply chain significantly reduces their environmental impact and offers customers a better end product. Together, we can invest in the future of UK soil and, in turn, work towards the UK’s sustainability targets.

Bob Gordon

Director

Zero Carbon Forum

The food system contributes a third of global carbon emissions and is uniquely exposed to risk from increasingly frequent extreme weather events as a result of climate change. Regenerative agriculture has the opportunity to address both challenges simultaneously – it can radically reduce emissions and enhance biodiversity, at the same time as building resilience through improved soil health, protecting against supply chain interruptions and crop price volatility.  

Zero Carbon Forum is working with hospitality operators and food producers to encourage and enable greater uptake of regenerative practices in our value chains. Hospitality operators want to build resilience and reduce emissions, but they need greater product availability, at affordable prices, with quantifiable benefits – particularly in terms of carbon reduction opportunity.  

Whilst there are some encouraging signs of growth in regenerative agriculture, there is still a long way to go. The bulk of our food system still relies on intensive production; a fragile system which is decimating biodiversity, destroying soils and delivering poor levels of nutrition.

Want to learn more about regenerative agriculture? Read FoodBev's sustainability feature here.

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