Episode 6: Regenerative Mac and Cheese
Annie’s Homegrown, a subsidiary of General Mills, announced in 2020 that it was “going beyond organic” and “leading the packaged food industry toward regenerative agriculture” with pictures on the box of the farmers who had produced the ingredients with “regenerative” methods.
In this episode, we bring together two of our frequent guests on this podcast, Dr. Urvashi Rangan and Patty Lovera, to help explain regenerative agriculture, its connection to climate, and why a boxed mac and cheese brand is committing itself to a set of agricultural practices and wanting to tell its customers all about it. We also get into whether or not we can trust “green” commitments like that from big food companies and what we can look for, as consumers, to know whether a company’s claims can be backed up.
Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
"Conventional ag[riculture] does not see the farm as a source of the solution of the problems. It sees the farm as a platform to apply inputs. To get a thing to happen, to grow the thing they want to grow."
Episode Guests
Patty Lovera
Patty Lovera works on food and agriculture policy, with a special focus on animal agriculture. She helped start Food & Water Watch (FWW), serving as their Food and Water Program Director for 14 years.
Dr. Urvashi Rangan
Dr. Rangan is the Chief Science Advisor for FoodPrint, and a toxicologist and public health scientist with 20 years of experience studying the food system. She is a co-chair of the Funders for Regenerative Agriculture and for many years she worked at Consumer Reports, heading up their Food Safety and Sustainability Center.
Deeper Learning
Regenerative Agriculture
With its focus on renewing soil and working within, rather than against, natural systems, regenerative agriculture is more than a sustainable way to farm. It can heal the damage caused by industrial agriculture and build a food system that’s better for people, animals and the environment.
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Top photo by sheilaf2002/Adobe Stock.