For an agriculture that regenerates the soil and the economy

“Dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). It is at the moment Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit and are expelled from the Garden of Eden that God mentions both Adam's obligation to till the earth to earn his bread and his final return to the clay from which he was made. The nourishing earth embraces the entire cycle of life.

Too often, we have lost our connection with nature. While indigenous peoples continue to call her Mother Earth, in the cities of developed countries, we tend to forget the services she renders us. Yet, it is the earth that provides the goods intended for food or the fibers necessary for the textile industry. It is the earth that enchants artists and offers city dwellers the chance to regenerate. It is the earth that helps us fight climate change by absorbing the carbon we emit. Soils, oceans, and trees thus contribute to temperature regulation, while vegetation allows us to counteract erosion and drought.

These fragile balances are under threat. Forests attacked by heat and exhausted soils cannot absorb as much carbon as they would if they were healthy. If we want to preserve our environment—even just to continue benefiting from these resources—it is time to rethink our models of production and consumption. This is not just an ecological or public health issue; it is, first and foremost, an economic one: businesses have an interest in doing so to safeguard their value chains, better address physical, financial, and reputational risks, and, ultimately, perpetuate their activity.

Since the Industrial Revolution, and even more so in the last century, our economic model has forgotten the circularity of the living world. We extract resources from nature far beyond what it can offer. When we consume, we often waste (for example, one-third of food between the farm and the plate). We repair less and less, discarding objects and packaging, creating mountains of waste. The result: plastic accumulates on beaches, in oceans, and even in our bodies. The cycle of life is no longer respected.

Another model is possible, one in which—as in nature—everything is connected and nothing is lost: a model of regeneration that, alone, can guarantee lasting prospects. This is one of the themes addressed by the study just published by SDA Bocconi and 2050Now Lamaison, a platform of French companies present worldwide, titled Regenerating nature means regenerating the economy.

How do we define regenerative agriculture? The study finds that, at the moment, there is no legal definition nor a single unified vision. The chairman of Illy Caffè, Andrea Illy, created the Regenerative Society Foundation to “systemically address the complex, interacting systems that are the environment, climate, society, nutrition, health, and lifestyle,” and proposes this definition of regeneration: “the set of processes to keep the living world in good health through the preservation, renewal, and restoration of natural assets.” Applied to all living organisms in an ecosystem, from microorganisms to human beings, regeneration is based on the 4 "Rs" of a complete circular economy cycle: reduce, reuse, recycle, regenerate.

A June 2024 study by the Rockefeller Foundation, Financing for regenerative agriculture, seeks to present a synthesis of the distinguishing criteria that have emerged globally. In most cases, these criteria overlap, although they are not identical: some include social equity, while others require the limitation of chemical inputs.

French researcher Philippe Grandcolas (CNRS) describes regenerative agriculture as “agricultural practices with fewer negative externalities, which use fewer inputs, are more respectful of landscape diversity, and integrate biodiversity.” Issuing a warning about the proliferation of non-standardized labels and references (for example, in France, the Haute Qualité Environnementale), he invites us to verify that practices presented as regenerative include organic standards, specifically banning the use of pesticides and monitoring inputs or the conversion of environments. For this reason, he prefers the scientific term “agroecology” over regenerative agriculture.

It is interesting that even a luxury group like LVMH is taking an interest in the subject. The stakes are to guarantee production in a context where intensive agriculture leads to soil depletion, the abuse of pesticides, and the disappearance of pollinators: a model that, in a literal sense, is not “sustainable.”

For LVMH, “regenerative agriculture is defined as agriculture capable of regenerating soil health and ecosystem functions (biodiversity, water cycle), ensuring socio-economic stability for stakeholders (farmers, communities), and the production of quality raw materials.” To source the raw materials indispensable to its business, the group has begun implementing regenerative agriculture practices for the production of grapes for Champagne and other spirits; cotton, wool, and leather for fashion and leather goods; as well as palm, beet, and iconic ingredients for Perfumes and Cosmetics.

The effort toward regeneration is not limited to agriculture. In forests, new practices are developing, such as giving up clear-cutting, where an entire area is cleared in one go by heavy machinery that damages the soil. The use of lighter vehicles, or even draft horses, the practice of continuous cover forestry, the maintenance of dead trees, or the preservation of ponds are other ways to let the forest regenerate and be healthier. In this way, it better fulfills its role as a carbon sink while producing wood of higher value. As for the oceans, simply abandoning overfishing—particularly bottom trawling—has a positive effect on the renewal of fish resources.

If we think about it, these good practices are, at heart, self-evident. We undoubtedly need to relearn them, modernizing them, because technology can also play a role in today’s regenerative models. Feeling like an integral part of nature and becoming aware of our fragility is indispensable to reconnecting fully with life, projecting ourselves toward future generations.

This article is also published on SDA Bocconi Insight, in Italian. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.