Yale Food System Symposium 2023 - Reimagining "Regenerative": Nourishing the Whole

"Regenerative" agriculture—and regeneration broadly—is having a moment in the food system space. The approach and movement has gained popularity for its emphasis on building soil health and sequestering carbon, and many have also embraced it for its spiritual and societal dimensions of restoring ecosystem health, producing healthier foods, and nourishing communities. Regenerative agriculture has no widely accepted definition, so it has come to mean a lot of different things to different people. This openness has lent the movement to criticism of its risk for co-option, particularly by corporate interests that will reduce regenerative principles to reductionist practices in order to make claims that drive a profit. Another major criticism of regenerative agriculture has been the movement's failure to recognize the Indigenous origins of the principles and practices that it elevates.

As the regeneration food movement continues to grow, we return to the question: what is regeneration? Who gets to decide what it is? How will our food systems be shaped by its principles, practices, and narratives? We explore these questions in more during the 2023 Food Systems Symposium: Reimagining "Regenerative": Nourishing the Whole.

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