Regenerative Agriculture and Related Food Product Labeling and Marketing Claims

Regenerative agriculture (RA) generally refers to a sustainable agricultural production system centering on soil health and involving certain agronomic and scientific principles. In some cases, RA often also includes broader efforts to balance environmental, economic, and social welfare principles. The term regenerative in the context of agricultural practices first appeared in the early 1980s and was mainly associated with organic production practices. Regenerative organic agriculture (ROA) combines RA with organic production practices. ROA is often cited as building on RA practices and sometimes used interchangeably with RA. Since the mid-2010s, research and advocacy focused on RA and ROA have increased sharply. Despite the growing popularity of RA and ROA labeling and marketing claims, neither term has been formally codified in either federal or state statutes or regulations. There also is no widely accepted consensus about how to define these terms. Regenerative farming principles have not been formally identified and are not enforceable under existing federal programs or certification standards subject to oversight by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite a lack of consensus about how to define regenerative and the absence of federal enforceable certification standards, several food companies and retailers have adopted policies to label and market some food products as regenerative or as regenerative organic based on criteria developed under private sector (nongovernmental) initiatives. Uncertainty about what is meant by RA and ROA and how to interpret marketing claims about foods labeled as regenerative compared with other sustainable product claims may create challenges for farmers, consumers, researchers, and policymakers. While there are no statutory, regulatory, or formal administrative definitions of RA and ROA, many of the soil-related practices incorporated into private sector initiatives are consistent with soil health principles recommended by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These NRCS conservation practice standards often share with the organic agriculture sector the common goal of optimizing soil health but differ from USDA National Organic Program regulations and federal certification standards that prohibit certain practices and external inputs for products labeled organic (such as the use of certain synthetic chemicals, sewage sludge, and biotechnology). USDA has administered climate and carbon sequestration initiatives that share some practices and goals with private RA and ROA initiatives. Regardless of what practices are required under various private sector initiatives, federal labeling requirements and rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices, such as those under the authorities of FDA and the Federal Trade Commission, still apply. Congress has debated regenerative farming and its potential role in improving soil biodiversity, fertility, and structure or achieving other goals. Congress has conducted hearings on RA, and some Members have introduced bills and resolutions involving RA and ROA, although few bills have attempted to define either term. In the 118th Congress, H.R. 598 would have identified 32 different farming conservation practices considered to be regenerative agricultural practices, or other practices as determined by the USDA Secretary. H.R. 9631 included a definition of regeneratively produced agricultural products and a definition of regeneratively-organically produced agricultural products based on USDA-certified organic production methods. In the 117th Congress, H.Res. 1234 referred to RA as a “system of farming and ranching principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches the soil, and purifies watersheds, all while increasing in-farm fertility.” H.Res. 1234 also expressed “support for regenerative agriculture and other conservation practices to support more sustainable and resilient agriculture, and compensating farmers for providing environmental services” and resolved to “support and fund programs that provide resources to agricultural scientists and other public interest scientists to work with farmers to identify innovations, the replicability of regenerative practices, and sustainable and resilient systems.” To date, Congress has not enacted legislation defining RA or ROA, and no introduced legislation has proposed to establish a federal regulatory framework to oversee marketing claims of foods labeled as regenerative or produced using regenerative agricultural practices. Congress may continue to discuss a next farm bill, and whether to establish federal definitions of RA and/or ROA could be a topic of interest. Congress may consider whether to incorporate farming practices considered to be regenerative into existing USDA conservation standards and product marketing schemes and whether to establish a federal regulatory framework to oversee marketing claims for food products labeled as regenerative. The 119th Congress may also consider related legislative efforts, such as promotion of regenerative farming principles by the Make America Healthy Again congressional caucus, which has a stated goal of “advancing regenerative and precision agriculture and environmental efforts.”