Future of Food: How Regenerative Agriculture is Shaping a Healthier Tomorrow

At the risk of oversimplifying the history of regenerative farming, people farmed the same way for countless generations and, even though they wouldn’t have called what they did regenerative farming, they used techniques that dovetail with this agricultural philosophy. 

By the time of World War II, however, farming became what is often called “conventional.” Two ways that conventional farming differed from methodologies of the past include how farmers grew for high yield and used chemical fertilizers to help achieve this goal.

In more recent decades, it’s been apparent that conventional farming has stripped the soil of valuable nutrients and, therefore, crops grown in this environment don’t have as many nutrients, either, to impart to people who eat them. 

As more farmers have returned to regenerative agriculture, though, by planting multi-species cover crops to enrich the soil instead of relying upon chemicals to kill off weeds and as they use other regenerative techniques, soil is regaining its health and ability to produce healthy crops for healthy people. 

Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture

Healthy soil is at the heart of this farming philosophy with positive soil health leading to more nutrient-dense crops to feed the human population. At a macro level, it can also play a key role in capturing carbon in the soil to contribute to a healthier climate and, therefore, planet. As noted in the World Economic Forum in 2023, if 40 percent of global cropland used regenerative farming techniques, this would counteract the effects of 600 million tons of emissions. This is approximately the footprint of the entire country of Germany. 

Said another way, healthy soil leads to healthy crops for healthy people and a healthy planet. 

Feeding a Growing Population

Using information from the World Resources Institute, by 2050, the world’s population will be nearing ten billion, which is about three billion more than there were in 2010. Solutions are clearly needed—and relying on the high yields grown through conventional farming has been problematic.

Regenerative farming, fortunately, uses resources more efficiently because of the higher nutrients in the crops being grown and the land use efficiency. This in turn boosts water efficiency usage, which lowers the burden on the planet’s water reserves. Reduced uses of pesticides will allow for healthy biodiversity in a planet whose climate we’re nurturing.

Regenerative Farming at The Chef’s Garden

At The Chef’s Garden, we embrace the regenerative philosophy throughout the farming process. So, we invite you to join the regenerative agricultural movement by choosing crops grown this way to feed your family. The beauty of this action is that our farm-fresh vegetables are incredibly delicious as well as nutritious. 

We make this easy by creating fresh vegetable boxes where you receive and can enjoy the best of the season. Or, you can build your own box, which is a rewarding and eco-conscious way to connect with your food while supporting regenerative agriculture.