While you may have seen new products on store shelves that market regenerative agriculture, many of the ideas behind it have been practiced by farmers and Indigenous communities around the world for thousands of years - working with nature, caring for the soil, and understanding that healthy land is essential to healthy communities.

In the 1970s, Robert Rodale began using the term regenerative organic to describe an approach to farming that went beyond simply sustaining resources. The goal was - and still remains - to continually improve the health of the soil and the ecosystems that depend on it.

Today, regenerative agriculture brings these long-standing principles together with modern research and a deeper understanding of soil health. Rather than simply taking from the land year after year, regenerative farming aims to leave the soil, farm, and surrounding ecosystem healthier for the generations that follow.

Conventional agriculture has traditionally placed a strong emphasis on maximizing crop production and efficiency. While many conventional farmers use practices that protect and improve their soil, some intensive farming systems can deplete soil health over time.

Regenerative agriculture takes a different approach: it treats healthy soil as the foundation of a productive farm. Rather than simply maintaining the land, the goal is to improve soil health, biodiversity, water retention, nutrient cycling, and the farm's resilience over time.

Regenerative practices can include diverse crop rotations, cover crops, keeping living roots in the soil, minimizing soil disturbance, and protecting the soil with plant residue. The specific practices vary by farm, climate, and crop - but the goal is the same: to leave the land healthier than we found it.

Because sustaining the land isn't always enough.

Sustainable agriculture asks an important question: How do we continue producing food without depleting the resources we depend on?

But regenerative agriculture takes that idea one step further by asking: How can we leave this land healthier than we found it?

That means looking beyond the crop itself to the health of the soil, the microorganisms beneath our feet, water, biodiversity, and the long-term resilience of the farm.

Healthy soil is more than dirt - it's a living ecosystem. It supports plant growth, cycles nutrients, holds and filters water, and provides a habitat for an enormous community of organisms. When soil is healthy, farms are better equipped to remain productive and resilient over time. 

That's what makes regeneration different. It's not simply about maintaining what we have. It's about restoring and improving the foundation that makes food production possible.

Absolutely—but look beyond the words on the package.

As regenerative agriculture becomes more widely recognized, you'll see more products using terms like regenerative and regeneratively grown. Since there isn't one universal definition or certification for regenerative agriculture, it's worth looking for brands that are transparent about where their ingredients come from and how they're grown.

One certification to look for is Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC). ROC is a rigorous third-party certification built around three pillars: soil health, animal welfare, and fairness for farmers and workers.

But certification isn't the only way to learn about how your food is grown. Look for brands that can tell you who grows their ingredients, where they come from, and what regenerative practices are being used on the farm.

The more we ask where our food comes from - and how it was grown - the more we can support farmers who are working to build healthier soil, stronger farms, and a more resilient food system.

Want to learn more about Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC)?

ROC is a third-party certification built on three pillars: soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness for farmers and farm workers. It uses USDA Certified Organic as a baseline and adds additional requirements around those three areas. 

Explore Regenerative Organic Certified® →