Conscious consuming

One example is to consume more locally, even though this presents challenges of its own. As Boudewijn Tooren of Herenboeren states: ‘We don’t grow macaroni but we all want to eat it from time to time.’ In the community of Herenboeren, Boudewijn notices a vast difference in consumption habits. ‘The “light greens”, are the people who do not shy away from buying extra goods at the supermarket. They are overwhelmed by the abundance of our summer harvests and do not always realise that this is the supply for the whole year. The “dark greens” rarely set foot in the supermarket. Instead, they pickle, ferment, and freeze meals for the entire winter. The majority sits somewhere in between these two.’ Although Boudewijn would never tell someone to not buy strawberries for a Christmas dessert, the main food system in The Netherlands frustrates him. ‘We are the second biggest agricultural exporter in the world. We produce food, sell it abroad, and use the money to buy imported food.’

If any company knows how to link farmers and consumers with a collective interest in regenerative agriculture, South Africa-based company ‘Grounded’ does. Stephie Mendelsohn, Head of Impact at Grounded, explains how they see and play their role in the small but quickly growing regenerative agriculture value chains. ‘The primary area where we aim to have an impact is agro-processing. Food processing companies are the linchpin between regenerative farms and the consumer market. They have a say in how they want their goods to be produced, and as such they can nudge farms into regenerative farming practices.’ In this way, the regenerative agriculture producers supported by Grounded, have a guaranteed outlet for processing their products. Next to this, Grounded links traders in search of regenerative products, to reliable producers and processors. “Middlemen are often seen as dirty players in the market, but they actually perform an important role in creating important networks that otherwise are difficult to foster. So we work directly with medium-scale, sustainable brands who are looking for honest products. We help them to find their way in the regenerative agriculture value chains, and with the logistics to get regenerative products to consumers.’ In regenerative consuming choices, Stephie sees a huge opportunity. ‘Through conscious consumption, we consciously choose what system to invest our money in. And every rand or euro in the system has a multiplier effect in every link of the chain. It’s similar to what happens in the soil if you really take care of it.’