I am excited to announce that after a couple of years of design, the launch of Regen to Market™ is here and now, live!
Regen to Market™ is a new online platform where New Zealand consumers who recognise the importance of food health to their health can purchase produce exclusively from land verified as regenerating through Ecological Outcome Verification.
As a market partner with Land to Market, all produce supplied will carry the globally recognised Land to Market Seal, ensuring source integrity.
This is a big milestone in New Zealand agriculture, promoting healthy land, animals, and humans.
Let food be thy medicine; let medicine be thy food
It’s incredible how far we get from balance before we realise how far out of balance we are.
What and how we eat is the most important decision we can make for our own health. Yet we have continued to allow convenience and marketing to sway our decision-making on food choices.
Malnutrition is now one of the major contributors to chronic ill health. The lack of food is not the problem, but the lack of nutrients. This is a consequence of how food is farmed and the hyper-processing in production.
But why do we continue to follow this path when we have known the importance of food to health for thousands of years?
Most of us have heard of the Hippocratic Oath, an oath of ethics doctors take at the start of their careers. This is attributed to Hippocrates, a physician who lived 2500 years ago. He is also credited with saying, ‘Let food be thy medicine; let medicine be thy food’. He is considered the father of Western medicine and knew then that dietary choices are directly linked to our overall health and well-being.
These insightful words from Hippocrates emphasise the importance and impact of nutrition on our physical and mental health, highlighting one of the fundamental principles of holistic medicine.
More recently, Weston A. Price completed an amazing study in the 1930s on the impact of processed and non-indigenous food when introduced to Indigenous populations replacing their natural diets.
This created discernible change in health between and within families of the same generation. The health indicators showed up first through dental caries but also in changes to jaw conformation and the impact on health as an outcome. There were even changes to jaw conformation between siblings based on these diet changes.
How far have we moved from nature?
Current research being conducted by Prof Pablo Gregorini from Lincoln University shows just how far from ‘natural’ we have moved. A small trial based on providing diversity and choice of forage plants to farmed animals shows dramatic improvement in the health of all system parts, from the soil through the animals involved in the trial to humans who consume this product.
Results show the potential to remedy many chronic diseases that are increasing in prevalence. Learning from nature to create a systems change in how we produce food can transform our sickness industry into a health and wellness industry. It doesn’t cost much, and boy, do we need that.
It also emphasises how far out of balance we have moved in our current production system and how this has affected the parts; health of soil, pastures and animals.
Don’t miss our discussion with Pablo on our recent EOV webinar series, now available to the public.
Pablo’s work on this topic builds on his work with Fred Provenza, and Fred’s book Nourishment is a must-read for everyone.
“We are what we eat, eats” – Professor Pablo Gregorini
With Regen to Market, farmers and consumers can make a difference
The introduction to Regen to Market™ can now put balance back into our broken food system.
Only produce from land verified as regenerating by Ecological Outcome Verification is eligible for Regen to Market. This produce is differentiated by the Land to Market Seal on the produce.
Consumers are assured their food spending contributes to system health and rewards farms for the critical role they play.
Together, we can make a difference. I hope Regen to Market encourages more farmers to adopt regenerative principles in their farming systems, which make healthy food more accessible to the growing demand of conscious consumers.
Introducing our first supply farm
We are thrilled to introduce our first Regen to Market™ supply farm, Bairnsdale Farm! If your farm is involved in EOV showing an increasing EHI, you are eligible to provide produce through Regen to Market. Produce will be sold under the farm brand and feature the farm/organisation of origin.
Visit Regen to Market to find out how you can make the shift to regenerative farming and the associated beneficial outcomes.
Ecological Outcome Verification makes Regen to Market possible
Ecological Outcome Verification makes Regen to Market™ possible. EOV is an outcomes-based verification conducted through an annual on-farm assessment. This means it is not a tick-box audit but an assessment conducted by trained monitors and real people who visit the property annually to assess the impact of farm management on land health.
Every region, farm, and climate has their own unique biodiversity. EOV allows farmers to “hear” their land, understand what needs to be done, and determine the best way to get there.
Changes in biological indicators at the soil surface give insight into the impact of management on land health. The insights gained through this assessment provide feedback to farmers to help them make management decisions to improve ecological health. Our monitors play a key role in supporting farmers in the decision-making process.
The quality of the EOV programme is assured by the training provided to our growing group of monitors. Each monitor is required to complete annual refresher training, and all results are checked before being recorded in the global Data Platform overseen by The Savory Institute.
You can meet some of our exceptional team members online through our website.
In other news – Farmer’s Footprint NZ website is now running!
After a slow start, the non-profit initiative Farmer’s Footprint NZ is underway.
Our future health depends on growing healthy, nutritious food and on farmers who produce food in a natural, toxin-free way, bringing health to our food system, environment and community.
Farmer’s Footprint NZ will introduce you to these farmers and share what they are doing to build a regenerative future for us all. We all have a stake in this and a role to play.
You can join the movement supporting the transition to a regenerative future by subscribing to our newsletter, following us on social media, donating, or becoming a sponsor if you’re a brand or business.
All funds are used to promote regenerative stories, accelerate regenerative food systems, and restore human and planetary health.
Explore the ways you can get involved HERE.
The Ata team and I are proud to be affiliated with Farmer’s Footprint NZ and Regen to Market™. Whether you are a consumer, farmer, or advocate for regenerative health, we hope these platforms can provide you with value while collectively realising a healthy, thriving future for us all.