RR News Update: August 1, 2019

Raising Regenerative looks at the discussion of the climate crisis in the second Democratic Presidential candidate debates, Cargill’s pledge to take on sustainability issues in the beef market, a new contest from Indigo Agriculture, a podcast with RFSI Forum keynote speaker David Montgomery and much more.

 

In The Headlines:

Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate Climate in a New Way
The second Democratic debates featured a much stronger dialogue about what candidates might do if they took up residence in the Oval Office including some prime time recognition for soil sequestration and regenerative agriculture.
Read more here

Cargill Pledges to Tackle Climate Impact of Beef Business
The agribusiness giant unveiled plans to cut the emissions intensity across its North American beef supply chain by 30 percent as part of its BeefUp Sustainability program that also targets greener grazing management.
Read more here

Terraton Challenge Seeks to Draw Down Carbon Dioxide to Soil
Indigo Agriculture is looking for innovators and entrepreneurs with solutions that will accelerate the sequestration into the soil of one trillion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Up to $3 million in funded contracts are the prize.
Read more here

 

Deal Activity:

Carbon Gold Seeks Strategic Investment Partner
Carbon Gold, the carbon-rich soil amendments company, is seeking investment from a strategic partner to accelerate growth in new and existing markets. The product, which uses biochar, is seen as viable for tree care, commercial crops, and sports turf.
Read more here

Regenerative-Focused Baby Food Company Closes $1.5 M Round
Serenity Kids, a baby food company on a mission to provide quality nutrient-dense baby foods, support regenerative agriculture, and help enable small American family farms to succeed, has closed a $1.5 million funding round led by Wild Ventures.
Read more here

 

Interesting Opinions:

Impossible Foods, Impossible Claims
In its mission statement, Impossible Foods claims it will “drastically reduce humanity’s destructive impact on the global environment” by using plant-based proteins. “But just because it’s not meat,” the author opines, “doesn’t mean it’s a planetary panacea.”
Read more here

Regenerating Rural Communities with Regenerative Agriculture
Jonathan Lundgren of Blue Dasher Farm sees a comparison between where farming is now and where it was in the 1930s, just before modern technology was introduced on farms. Can we create a similar fundamental change in approach to bring about a resilient and profitable system?
Read more here 

 

What We’re Reading:

What If Crop Insurance Rewarded Conservation?
As extreme weather has forced farmers to rely more heavily on crop insurance, some have embraced regenerative practices to make their land more resilient. A task force is working to create a new kind of crop insurance that rewards regenerative agricultural practices.
Read More

Last Call for a Food Systems Revolution
The FAO’s Scaling Up Agroecology Initiative aims to use ecological and social concepts and principles in agricultural production systems to find ways to feed close to 10 billion people by 2050. Can we change the way we feed ourselves quickly enough?
Read More

What We’re Listening to:

A Geological Perspective On Regenerative Agriculture with RFSI Forum Keynote David Montgomery

On his Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf welcomes David Montgomery, Professor of Geomorphology at the University of Washington. They discuss soil regeneration, pulling from David’s experience developing new topsoil in dead, stony ground and his deep dive into the science behind it.
Listen here.

David Montgomery will be the keynote presenter at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum in Oakland September 30 – October 1.
Learn more and browse the full agenda and speaker faulty here.

 

In Case You Missed It:

An Interview with Soil Wealth Report Author David LeZaks

Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture Across Asset Classes is a landmark report that identifies existing investments to regenerative agriculture and food and points toward a growing opportunity to address some significant challenges in the food system. Raising Regenerative News interviewed one of the report’s authors, Dr. David LeZaks of Delta Institute.

Read more here

David LeZaks and and fellow Soil Wealth report author, Joshua Humphries, will discuss the Soil Wealth report and recommendations for advancing investment in this sector at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum in Oakland September 30 – October 1.
Learn more and browse the full agenda and speaker faulty here.

 

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