Raising Regenerative News - June 17, 2021 | Regenerative Food Systems Investment

Leading Off: Will Regenerative Investments Pay?

The Right Way to Spend Patient Capital for Food Reform
A new CREO Syndicate report stresses that investments across many asset classes need to be combined to help regenerative ag scale. But the analysis doesn’t address two fundamental questions. Is regenerative agriculture an investor’s best bet for improving food systems? And if so, what can investors do to make regenerative transitions attractive to farmers? Read more

Reaping the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture
The environmental benefits of regenerative agriculture investments are impressive. In a USDA study, Farmland LP’s first fund demonstrated $21.4 million in net ecosystem service value benefits using regenerative farm management practices at scale. Read more

Steward Has Raised Over $4M For Small Farms — Here’s How
Steward, an online crowd-sourced investment company geared toward financing the growth of farms practicing regenerative agriculture, has provided loans and has invested more than $4 million into 40+ projects, from an organic strawberry U-pick in Georgia to a biodynamic vineyard in Switzerland. Read more

Systemic Solutions to Systemic Problems:

Welcome to the Era of Regenerative Finance
Our complex, systemic problems are proving resistant to simple solutions, and each one has its own web of complexities to unwind. One thing they all have in common, though, is that you can’t fix a broken [name any system] with a broken finance system. That’s why regenerative finance — a concept that’s been percolating at the edges of impact investing and sustainable business since at least 2015 — is emerging as an essential strategy. Read more

Rooted in Health – An RFSI Virtual Event:

Investing at the Intersection of Regenerative Ag & Human Health

RFSI’s Sarah Day Levesque had a chance to discuss the Rooted in Health program with two people instrumental in bringing the event together: David LeZaks of Croatan Institute and Tina Owens of Danone North America. Hear what we have in store for you next week at Rooted in Health.

Food Industry & Climate Change:

Food Brands Have an Opportunity To Be Stewards of the Environment
Emissions from food production are vastly underestimated, claims a new study. But its lead author is ultimately optimistic the industry can address its environmental problems. Read more

The Food Industry Must Lead On Climate Before Activists Eat Their Lunch
The oil industry has long been under scrutiny for its role in climate change. Activists now are eyeing the food industry as the next entrant to the environmental rogue’s gallery. The industry should get ready for the hammer to come down, unless they own up to their own role in climate change and be far more aggressive about reducing it. Read more

McCain commits to regenerative agriculture across all farms by 2030
The UK’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products has committed to ensuring that every potato grown across its 370,000 acres worldwide is done so using regenerative agricultural practices by 2030. Read more

Policy’s Role in Building A Resilient Food System:

The Food System is a Critical Infrastructure Investment
Congress is considering two massive investments in America’s infrastructure that take aim at the intersecting challenges of economic prosperity, public health, racial justice, and the climate crisis. As we work to address the biggest challenges of our day, we must not forget the urgent need to transform the food system. Read more

The Farm Subsidy Paradox
Subsidies put growers on a vicious treadmill whereby they plant more commodities while draining the resources that support their livelihood. Many farmers make decisions based on the incentives provided by subsidies. And rather than invest in growing specialty crops, the government encourages commodity monocultures. Read more

Policy’s Role in Advancing the Regen Ag-Human Health Connection

At next week’s Rooted in Health event, a panel of food systems policy experts will spend an hour exploring the role for policy in working with private sector investment to move ecological and human health outcomes of regenerative agriculture forward. Be sure to join us June 22-23 for this discussion and more! Learn more and REGISTER

Why Bill Gates Bought So Much Farmland … and What It Means For American Food:

Bill Gates Tells Reddit Why He’s Bought So Much Farmland
If we had a dollar for every time someone asked us why Bill Gates was buying up so much farmland and what he’s doing with it…. Here’s what Bill told Reddit back in March. Read on to see what others are reporting. Read more

A Look at All of the Foods That Come from Bill Gates’ Farmland
Known for his philanthropic work solving the world’s most pressing public health and climate problems, Bill Gates has suggested that he will not treat his American farmland investments as part of his broader plans to save the planet. Read more

Bill and Melinda Gates’ Empire of Dirt
The Gateses aren’t the only one-percenters with dirt in their portfolios. Farmland has taken off as an “asset class,” finance speak for a type of investment that Wall Street salespeople urge wealthy people to include in their well-balanced portfolios. The basic pitch: “Buy land—they aren’t making it anymore.” Wealthy investors are snapping up large tracts of farmland—and sowing discontent. Read more

Opinion: Bill Gates Plans to Change Our Food. What’s on the Menu? via U.S. Right to Know