Excellent article Stuart, thank you. I'm one of many who picked up & shared the Nestle story. I admire the principles behind regen ag, but if there aren't boundaries the vultures will circle. I am sometimes asked to recommend regenerative farms; it's a difficult question to answer. Consumers just about understand current food labels. I would pick up a bunch of organic carrots, but regen farmed...I'm not so sure, despite Wild Farmed & their marketing.
I was attending your talk at Oxford’s Makespace this Spring -thanks to Henry!
I am working on urban-rural interface, in terms of nutrient cycle, cost of living, and potential of economic engines to identify and improve balance in human systems.
Thank you for writing this piece Stuart. As Helen said we were discussing Wildfarmed and Nestle a few weeks ago when the news broke. I am a baker and worked with Wildfarmed from the start. They have always had very aggressive marketing but I appreciated their desire to raise awareness around farming and soil health.
It is incredible hard to run an independent business right now, I was running a bakery up until 6 months ago. I have spent a lot of the last year questions the ethics of growth, how is it possible to scale up whilst keeping a strict ethos.
I continued to use Wildfarmed as they moved into supermarkets understanding the practice that their goal is the most people using their flour the better. Nestle is too far. Supporting and allowing a company to use your name in the hopes of boosting their eco credentials whilst they cause huge harm in the world is not something I can support.
I can also almost guarantee Nestle and the supermarkets will get a far better price than the independent bakeries they supply.
I would love to see further discussion and as you say much clearer parameters of how these things work what deals are being made and what % of regen farming is in a product before people can use the label.
Stuart, this really resonated. @Emily Cuddeford and I were having the same conversation the other day about the Wildfarmed and Nestlé deal, and it feels like a lot of people in the regen space are circling the same tension you lay out here.
I’m a huge supporter of regenerative farming, and I say that as someone who farmed pigs using regenerative methods, so I’m not coming at this from a distance. But I’ve always worried that without clearer definitions and guardrails, “regen” becomes an open goal for corporate capture, with the lowest hanging fruit dressed up as transformation. Your point about applying “regenerative” to whole farm systems rather than individual products feels especially important, otherwise a single ingredient ends up doing reputational heavy lifting for an otherwise harmful portfolio.
Genuinely curious where you land on what good governance looks like in practice. Is it a labelling standard tied to specific practices and outcomes, or something broader that sits alongside health and UPF regulation so we are not trading off planet against people.
I hear the 'whole farm' argument but maybe an element of transition has to be allowed for, perhaps through an agreed transition plan. Unfortunately, particularly with several certification schemes in play already, this sort of regulation and inspection plays once more into the hands of the bug guys who can afford the resources needed to play the game. I have no answers other than buying locally from farms I can visit.
There's also an issue that I hope (and would expect) Wildfarmed to have taken into account.
The demand from Nestle will presumably be huge. A single dominant customer results in that single dominant customer acquiring enormous power over the supplier.
A mosaic of many customers making smaller individual purchases will generally result in a more secure company.
Monocrop vs diverse planting has lessons in business too.
A good point John makes! I find it hard to imagine how Wildfarmed, especially given their ethos, can fulfil such an enormous supply order. And even if they can, the potential consequences are troubling...
Excellent article Stuart, thank you. I'm one of many who picked up & shared the Nestle story. I admire the principles behind regen ag, but if there aren't boundaries the vultures will circle. I am sometimes asked to recommend regenerative farms; it's a difficult question to answer. Consumers just about understand current food labels. I would pick up a bunch of organic carrots, but regen farmed...I'm not so sure, despite Wild Farmed & their marketing.
I was attending your talk at Oxford’s Makespace this Spring -thanks to Henry!
I am working on urban-rural interface, in terms of nutrient cycle, cost of living, and potential of economic engines to identify and improve balance in human systems.
Who is an expert and a facilitator?
Political economists? Artists and influencers?
(In a right place at a right time, correct?)
Thank you for writing this piece Stuart. As Helen said we were discussing Wildfarmed and Nestle a few weeks ago when the news broke. I am a baker and worked with Wildfarmed from the start. They have always had very aggressive marketing but I appreciated their desire to raise awareness around farming and soil health.
It is incredible hard to run an independent business right now, I was running a bakery up until 6 months ago. I have spent a lot of the last year questions the ethics of growth, how is it possible to scale up whilst keeping a strict ethos.
I continued to use Wildfarmed as they moved into supermarkets understanding the practice that their goal is the most people using their flour the better. Nestle is too far. Supporting and allowing a company to use your name in the hopes of boosting their eco credentials whilst they cause huge harm in the world is not something I can support.
I can also almost guarantee Nestle and the supermarkets will get a far better price than the independent bakeries they supply.
I would love to see further discussion and as you say much clearer parameters of how these things work what deals are being made and what % of regen farming is in a product before people can use the label.
Stuart, this really resonated. @Emily Cuddeford and I were having the same conversation the other day about the Wildfarmed and Nestlé deal, and it feels like a lot of people in the regen space are circling the same tension you lay out here.
I’m a huge supporter of regenerative farming, and I say that as someone who farmed pigs using regenerative methods, so I’m not coming at this from a distance. But I’ve always worried that without clearer definitions and guardrails, “regen” becomes an open goal for corporate capture, with the lowest hanging fruit dressed up as transformation. Your point about applying “regenerative” to whole farm systems rather than individual products feels especially important, otherwise a single ingredient ends up doing reputational heavy lifting for an otherwise harmful portfolio.
Genuinely curious where you land on what good governance looks like in practice. Is it a labelling standard tied to specific practices and outcomes, or something broader that sits alongside health and UPF regulation so we are not trading off planet against people.
I hear the 'whole farm' argument but maybe an element of transition has to be allowed for, perhaps through an agreed transition plan. Unfortunately, particularly with several certification schemes in play already, this sort of regulation and inspection plays once more into the hands of the bug guys who can afford the resources needed to play the game. I have no answers other than buying locally from farms I can visit.
The farming question and the food system question aren't always the same question. That's what makes cases like this so difficult.
If this is actually just for the sake of good press, does that make it one of the most expensive PR campaigns in all of history?!
There's also an issue that I hope (and would expect) Wildfarmed to have taken into account.
The demand from Nestle will presumably be huge. A single dominant customer results in that single dominant customer acquiring enormous power over the supplier.
A mosaic of many customers making smaller individual purchases will generally result in a more secure company.
Monocrop vs diverse planting has lessons in business too.
Regards, John.
(Comment.mirrored on LinkedIn).
A good point John makes! I find it hard to imagine how Wildfarmed, especially given their ethos, can fulfil such an enormous supply order. And even if they can, the potential consequences are troubling...
I was at Groundswell on Thursday and caught a glimpse of you signing your book.