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Jumping on new agriculture bandwagon

SYLVAIN CHARLEBOIS sylvain.charlebois@dal.ca @scharleb Sylvain Charlebois is professor in food distribution and policy, and senior director of the Agrifood Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

Regenerative agriculture is making some noise of late. So much so that some companies are making it a priority.

Mccain Foods, the world's largest producer of french fries, has just committed to limiting its climate footprint, saying all its fries will come from farms using regenerative agriculture by 2030.

For consumers, this is supposed to mean that, within nine years, Mccain will only be buying potatoes from farms using more sustainable agricultural practices. In its plan, Mccain commits to farming techniques that promote biodiversity and more plant cover on fields, practices that minimize soil disturbance and maximize crop diversity to increase water efficiency, protect against erosion, capture more carbon and create greater resilience to droughts and floods.

Six principles were presented. Farmers will be expected to minimize soil disturbance and use less fertilizer and pesticides. In the potato business, these would be significant steps. This could potentially reduce yields for partnering farmers and increase the cost of their products. In essence, as these shifts require some form of accounting, it could mean more paperwork for Mccain's suppliers.

Changing practices for a stronger planet is where we all are these days, and Mccain is trying to make its own contribution. No problem there.

DETAILS LACKING

On the surface, it may sound like a bold move but few details were given as far as specific targets go. Without any specific metric to make the company more accountable, Mccain's announcement reads very much like those of other companies that have jumped on the regenerative agriculture bandwagon.

Pepsico, Nestle and General Mills have committed to initiatives like Mccain's. These companies mean well and generally want to make a difference as they all face welldeserved skepticism.

Canadians are growing more impatient toward bold promises made by the food industry. Most recently, the Retail Council of Canada backed away from its promise on cage-free eggs by 2025 and the phasing out of gestation stalls for pregnant pigs by 2022. It argued this could not be done, even though a promise was made a few years ago. Other companies like Starbucks have also failed to deliver on environmentally focused objectives in recent years, giving way to more collective cynicism.

In agriculture, the same thing. The pandemic got people thinking differently about food supply chains. Most Canadians went from wanting a transparent food industry to one in which they could understand how it functions. One piece is certainly how and where agricultural commodities are grown, here and elsewhere.

UNITED NATIONS

Mccain and other companies are fully aware that Canadians do not expect private land managers to act in the best interest of society without the proper incentives to encourage that action. Making ecological stewardship the norm is a top priority for many anti big-agriculture interest groups these days, as we get closer to the United Nations Food Systems Summit, which will take place this year. The focus will be to set a path to reach the UN'S sustainable development goals by 2030. Major agribusiness companies like Mccain are expected to provide some answers, and quickly. This is likely why many companies are choosing 2030 as a target; it is all about the UN goals.

But skepticism is a two-way street. For some, regenerative agriculture is a feel-good slogan flexible enough to bend to a listener's preconceived environmental biases. As the term regenerative agriculture has only been thrown around for a few years, it has set the record for rapid eco-stewardship watering down of what it really means. Principles can be set in many ways, without specific, measurable goals.

Despite all that, Mccain's move is not trivial. Such a call will resonate not only with consumers but also within the company's network. Mccain is known for its skillful methods within its supply chain. Farmers and its broader network were likely consulted thoroughly before the announcement.

The regenerative agriculture call is very much about setting the field up for some new collaborative work with partners, with a different focus on natural resource management. In doing so, inputs, actions and performances will all need to be measured, and Mccain knows more work is needed on that front. Extraordinary claims will always require extraordinary evidence.

So, if you are not buying Mccain's commitment, you are likely not alone. But this call is more about preparing its ecosystem for changes in years to come. As Mccain befriends the concept of regenerative agriculture, it will also need to define what this means for its network.

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2021-06-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281887301251541

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