From "Sustainable" to "Regenerative" - the Future of Food
By André Leu and Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association
This week, the paywalled site PoliticoPro reported that the US
Secretary of Agriculture wants "farmers and agricultural interests to
come up with a single definition of sustainability in order to avoid
confusing the public with various meanings of the term in food and
production methods."
We agree with Secretary Tom Vilsack that the word "sustainability" is
meaningless to consumers and the public. It's overused, misused and it
has been shamelessly co-opted by corporations for the purpose of
greenwashing.
But rather than come up with one definition for the word
"sustainable" as it refers to food and food production methods, we
suggest doing away with the word entirely. In its place, as a way of
helping food consumers make conscious, informed decisions, we suggest
dividing global food and farming into two categories: regenerative and
degenerative.
(Photo: Organic Carrots via Shutterstock)
