How Regenerative Organic Can Save The Planet- And The Food Industry.

A coalition of brands is proving that Regenerative Organic agriculture can scale up to address climate change. Companies adopting Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC™) practices are simultaneously expanding their environmental footprint and boosting their financial performance.

New data points to a compelling business case for regenerative organic products, which have already generated 45% growth this year, with retail sales up $20 million.

This 24% jump hints that consumer appetites for climate-friendly products extends far beyond niche markets and that popular sentiment is transforming into retail sales. Such sustainable products have outperformed the rest of the market by almost 10 percentage points from 2021-2024. Products making such claims averaged 28% cumulative growth over the past 5 years, 40% higher than products without such claims. (NIQ/McKinsey).

Why is this happening?

Over 70% of consumers see environmental responsibility as more important than 2 years ago and 90% see eco-friendliness as a key decision criteria. Over 78% of consumers aged 18-24 believe the current food system is not sustainable and a major cause of the climate crisis. (GLOW/NIQ).

“With growing concern over how climate and pollution impact personal health, shoppers are actively seeking products that reflect their values,” according to Sherry Frey, Vice President of Thought Leadership, Total Wellness at NIQ.

According to NIQ, a full 58% of U.S. consumers now believe that issues like climate change and pollution are direct threats to their current and future well-being and 65% of consumers want companies’ sustainability practices to be more visible. Over 49% think sustainable products make a difference and 50% are interested in buying sustainable products. And while 64% are willing to pay higher prices for such products, even as household budgets get stretched by inflation, research from investment bankers at Whipstitch Capital shows that lower income consumers would buy more sustainable products if they had the cash, strengthening the case for living wages and expanded food access programs like SNAP/WIC, as well as justifying the potential upside for more brands to certify under regenerative organic frameworks.

With support from more than 320 brands, 67,000 smallholder farms across 46 countries are using regenerative organic farming practices on nearly 20 million acres. The Regenerative Organic Alliance develops and promotes regenerative organic agricultural practices that rebuild soil health, respect animal welfare, and create social fairness. Along with A Greener World’s Regenerative Standard, ROC™ is one of the few frameworks that considers labor practices and workers’ rights. These regenerative practices, which vary according to crop, climate, and ecosystem, can help rebuild soil health, sequester carbon, restore biodiversity, and even revitalize rural economies.

• Lundberg Family Farms is a leading ROC™ brand known for its California-grown rice and rice-based products, has converted all of the organic rice it grows to ROC™ and reports 65% of its consumers are actively seeking ROC™ products, creating clear market differentiation.
• Dr. Bronner’s, family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, has been committed to ROC™ for seven years and has partnered with suppliers to work with 18,000+ smallholder farmers and convert 52,000 acres to ROC™ .

ROC™ prohibits the use of persistent synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which contribute to the climate crisis.

Lundberg Family Farms, which grows regenerative organic rice in California’s Sacramento Valley, keeps millions of pounds of chemicals off the land each year by drowning and drying up weeds instead of dousing their fields with chemicals.

According to Brita Lunderg, Lundberg Family Farms Communications Manager, some of these practices are effective at their farms, “In our organic and regenerative organic fields, we drown and dry up weeds instead of dousing our fields with chemicals. We kept an estimated 3.2 million pounds of chemicals off the land in 2024 thanks to our organic and regenerative organic farming practices.”

A recent study from researchers at UC Davis indicates that this “Dry Up” method of regenerative organic weed management can help reduce global warming potential (GWP) by 49%.

Further research shows the potential climate benefits of organic farming:

• “On average, organic farms use less energy, emit fewer greenhouse gasses, and improve soil carbon sequestration compared to conventional farms. Long-term trials conducted by the USDA found that organic farms can sequester, on average, 400-600 more pounds of carbon per acre than conventional farms, including conventional no-till farms.”
• “Organic fields have also been found to have 30-50% greater soil aggregation and ten times higher water infiltration than conventional fields. The fact that organic fields can take up and hold more water allows them to be more resilient to extreme weather events—intensifying due to climate change—including drought and floods.”
• “By not using synthetic pesticides, organic farms also protect essential biodiversity. On average, organic farms host 50% more living organisms than conventional farms. The increased populations of beneficial insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and soil organisms on organic farms maintain the web of life and ensure that we can feed ourselves and future generations.
• Additionally, organic farming protects people—farmers, farmworkers, rural communities, consumers—from the health impacts of these toxic pesticides, safeguarding human health and wellbeing.”
• Organic Farming Practices Use Less Energy
  • Organic production uses 45% less energy than conventional.
  • Conventional systems emit nearly 40% more greenhouse gases (GHG) per pound of crop produced than organic systems. (Rodale Farming Systems Trial)
• Organic Farms Reduce Emissions
  • Organic farms use around 50% less new reactive nitrogen, a potent greenhouse gas.
  • Organic production greatly reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by prohibiting the use of almost all synthetic inputs and requiring careful nutrient management that reduces overuse of fertilizers.
  • Organic farming systems emit about 40% less N2O than conventional production does.

“Regenerative organic farming practices can draw down carbon instead of releasing it and enhance ecosystem biodiversity instead of degrading it,” said Craig Stevenson, CEO, Lundberg Family Farms. “People say it can’t be done at scale, but we’re bringing ROC™ rice to every category of our portfolio. It’s not just a business strategy; it’s a long-term investment in the health of both people and the planet.”

“Regenerative Organic agriculture is reaching the scale needed to deliver meaningful climate impact,” says Christopher Gergen, CEO of the Regenerative Organic Alliance. “Nearly 20 million acres are already under regenerative organic management, and with accelerating adoption rates and growing consumer demand creating clear market incentives, the movement is shifting from an emerging practice to a mainstream business and climate strategy.”

Despite federal policies that are propping up chemical intensive conventional agriculture and cutting funding to food safety, food access, and regional and local food production, Regenerative Organic Certified brands are proving that sustainable farming can achieve both profitability and environmental impact at scale.