Our 2024 wrap up, a year that brought hope but also served as a wake-up call. With skyrocketing temperatures, droughts, fires, and floods, the challenges have been immense. But we were very lucky that we—both online and offline— had the chance to come together with many of the pioneers and builders in regenerative agriculture and food. At the same time, we were reminded that we, as part of nature, are at war with extractive forces.
Our takeaways on ambitious entrepreneurs, the many elephants in the room, role and legacy of farmers, innovation in water cycle restoration, money money money, building new industries. Many deep dives in soil health, starting with chefs, consumer brands driving change and educating consumers, walking the land with regenerative farmers, legends, role of AI and tools. And, finally, some milestones and highlights.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
What we learned in 2024 about ecocide, land access,
crisis, regenerative education,return of inspiration, chefs,
machinery and brands drivingchange.
As we wrap up 2024, we reflecton a year that brought us hope
but also served as a wake-upcall.
With skyrocketing temperatures,droughts, fires and floods, the
challenges have been immense,but we're very lucky that we,
(00:30):
both online and offline, had thechance to come together with
many of the pioneers andbuilders in the regenerative
food and agriculture space.
At the same time, we werereminded that we, as part of
nature, are definitely at warwith extractive forces,
ambitious entrepreneurs, whichare among our favorites.
Among the most listenedepisodes of this year, we had
Martin Reiter and Eric Smith.
Martin, a former senior managerat Wayfair and Airbnb and
(00:55):
author of the Agriculture Primerof 2024.
If you haven't had a chance toread that, definitely find it
online.
We discussed the excitementabout regeneration, where the
Steve Jobs and Elon Musks ofregenerative agriculture are
going to build companies and howwe can attract more talent into
the space.
Eric Smith, the CEO andco-founder of Audacious, who is
building a platform todifferentiate food quality.
(01:17):
We explored measuring qualityand transforming one of the most
complex systems from one drivenby chemicals to one driven by
biology, with abundance as anoutcome.
According to Eric, the key isradical transparency.
Every CEO, high-ranking managerworking in food companies
should be obligated to visit thefarms and farmers they source
(01:38):
from.
So many decisions in theboardrooms would be taken
differently, according toHeather Terry, the CEO and
founder of GoodSend Foods, withwhom we discuss how an exit from
a chocolate company led to afemale-led consumer goods
company and how education ofconsumers is key.
Networks versus change andmulti-crop sourcing Seeds it all
(01:59):
starts with seeds and soil, butmostly seeds.
Our current seed system isfundamentally incapable of
producing seeds adapted to localniches, weather, flavor or
nutrients.
Instead, it caters exclusivelyto large-scale monoculture
systems.
But 97% of global farmers don'toperate in large-scale
monocultures and 70% of our foodcomes from them.
(02:20):
So who grows the seeds forthese farmers?
Nicolas joined us and heco-founded SeedLinked, an
innovative company digitalizingcollaborative breeding.
How can we use technology toenable complexity rather than
reducing everything tomonocultures, as we've done for
decades?
Chris Bloomfield and DanielReisman, the co-founders of
(02:40):
Quali, are enabling regenerativedairy with their virtual cow
guidance system.
We discussed how virtualfencing and cow guidance can
reduce labor and boostproductivity.
Full disclosure we investedwith our syndicate, generation
Re, in goods and foods,seedlings and KOLI, as well as
wild farmed and dirty clean food.
Mentioned later on the manyelephants in the room.
(03:03):
Ecosite is broadly understood asthe mass damage and destruction
of ecosystems, severe harm tonature which is widespread or
long-term.
Yo-yo, executive director ofStop Ecosite International,
argued that criminalizingecocide could change societal
consciousness, bringing it intothe realm of things we simply
don't do.
(03:23):
Ecology without social justiceis just gardening, said Laura
when she came back on the show.
She's the co-founder of SVXMexico and a managing partner at
Regenera Ventures.
She highlighted that LatinAmerica has a critical role to
play in climate resilience andwe discussed how blending
indigenous wisdom withinnovative finance can bridge
the gap between social justiceand ecology.
(03:46):
Deeper than the issues aroundfood is the crisis around land.
The rising cost of landdisconnected from its productive
value has made it inaccessiblefor younger farmers In the US,
where the average farmer is 62years old.
The crisis is urgent.
Ian and Christina, who joinedus from the Farmers Land Trust,
shared why fundamental landownership change into the
(04:07):
commons is gaining momentum in atraditionally very slow-moving
space the role and legacy offarmers Farmers as role models.
Cindy and Annalisa, thefounders of Top 50 Farmers,
argued that one way to changethe status quo where farming is
not desirable is to put thepioneering regenerative farmers
in the spotlight, and byconnecting them with resources,
(04:28):
peers and even corporations,they aim to turn regen farming
into a movement and change thepublic narrative.
Farmers die slowly, saidSebastian Huisman, reflecting on
his journey from a Dutch farmto consulting on large farm
transitions, including workingwith a royal family and wild
farmed.
Innovation in water cyclerestoration Building towers to
(04:49):
trigger rain to help naturesweat and cool Sounds like
sci-fi, but Jesus, a retiredEuropean patent office examiner,
is that serious, as wediscovered in our conversation.
He shared his innovative designfor building katabatic towers
to trigger rain, helpinglandscapes cool and regenerate.
Ali Bin, who's one of the fewexperts globally who can model
(05:09):
and calculate water cyclerestoration, explained how to
quantify concepts like slowing,spreading and soaking water.
What does slow actually mean?
How do we measure it bykilometers per hour or another
metric?
How much regeneration isrequired and where to restore
rivers or trigger rains in agiven landscape?
Money, money, money.
Do you remember the Dutchfarming protest?
(05:29):
What seems to be really missingin many countries where farmers
protest are clear transitionpaths with numbers.
How much investment is neededper hectare to transition a
dairy farm in the center of theNetherlands or a potato farm in
Germany.
Many region pioneers in thefield rightfully so focused on
innovation and they didn't keepdetailed records of inputs,
costs, machinery and maybe, mostimportantly, hours.
(05:52):
So how do we go about it?
Start and really keep track ofnumbers.
According to Maarten van Dam,for example, the investment cost
of transitioning to a diverseperennial agroforestry system in
the center of the Netherlandsare about 50,000 euros per
hectare and can take about sevenyears.
This estimate includeswholesale prices, tracks all
labor hours and ensures fairwages.
(06:14):
It sounds like a lot, but italso means that transitioning
the whole farming sector in theNetherlands will only require an
investment of about 150 billion, and just looking at the
teacher's pension fund in theNetherlands, which managed over
500 billion, it suddenly soundsdoable.
Paying farmers to changepractices Soil Capital recently
completed a 15 million euroSeries B funding round.
(06:36):
With the CEO and co-founder,chuck DeLitoke, we explored
their approach to paying farmersfor ecosystem services, a
strategy that seems to have hitan inflection point in the last
two years.
On the same topic, why arecompanies like Nestle, microsoft
and Shell investing in carboncredits?
Hank Moyweir, the co-founder ofGrassroot Carbon, argues that
now is the time for ranchers tosign up, not later, to
(06:58):
capitalize on thoseopportunities.
But where does the sciencebehind regenerative grazing
stand?
And what about methaneemissions?
And why is this conversationultimately not just about carbon
Investments in the regenerativerevolution?
We had Mark Lewis back, managingpartner at Trailhead Capital.
He has shifted his focus fromseeking unicorns in the
regenerative space to believingin the inevitability of the
regenerative revolution, andhe's aiming for many really good
(07:21):
financial exits, not justunicorns.
Having invested nearly half oftheir $50 million VC fund into
North American regenerativebusinesses, he shared his
lessons learned, emphasizing thepotential for both financial
and non-financial returns andwhat he would love to invest in
but hasn't yet.
Regeneration is a long-terminvestment, not a short-term
(07:41):
cost.
According to Sonja, theco-founder of the Land Banking
Group, viewing and accountingfor regeneration as an
investment unlocks itstransformative potential, saving
the world maybe all comes downto very smart accountants
Building new industries.
In our regenerative aquacultureseries, supported by the Nest
Family Office, sonja of C6Energy shared her journey of
(08:02):
transforming seaweed farminginto a scalable industry.
Starting with 1,000 footballfields of tropical seaweeds in
Indonesia, c6 is proving thatseaweed can play a crucial role
in sustainable aquaculture,providing food, biofuel and
other products, whileregenerating ocean's ecosystems.
In other episodes we cover thefascinating world of salmon,
(08:23):
with all its issues andopportunities, the king of
sustainable protein mussels,saltwater plants and wrenching
sea urchins to save kelp forests.
Agroforestry in the US Midwest,the belly of the beast.
Trees are the answer, whateverthe question may be.
But how do you create anagroforestry industry in the
American Midwest, a regiondominated by corn and soy
monocultures, where farmlandleases last only one to three
(08:46):
years and trees are virtuallynon-existent?
This area desperately needstrees, not just as a carbon
sequestration tool, but forclimate adaptation, erosion
control, windbreaks, nutrientretention, crop protection and
integrated food production.
Kevin Waltz, the CEO of CanopyFarm Management and former
founder of the Savanna Institute, explains the challenges and
(09:06):
strategies of introducingagroforestry in this landscape.
How do we plant millions oftrees and how do we finance them
, and how do we convince keystakeholders to invest in a
system with such long timehorizons?
Farmers must commit to grantingagroforestry operators access
to their land for 20, 40 or even100 years.
Investors must write checks forhundreds of millions into an
(09:28):
unfamiliar industry, one wherecrops like chestnuts may take
seven to nine years to bearfruits, but could continue
producing for 50 to 100 years ormore.
Brad Huntley, a former equityanalyst looking at companies
like Tyson Foods, is now apartner at Agroforestry Partners
.
He shared how he's buildinginvestor confidence and
financing large-scale treeplanting initiatives.
(09:48):
A bit further south in Brazil,fernando Russo is diving deep in
the coffee and cacaoagroforestry systems With one of
the most active impactinvestors in the regenerative
space who, by the way, alsopartly financed our recent video
course.
We explored deforestation,reforestation, the role of
cattle and, of course, thepotential and why he's in the
water camp, not in the carboncamp.
(10:09):
Start with chefs and soil health, in search of the perfect peach
.
How can we ensure farmers arefairly paid for cultivating
exceptional produce likepumpkins or peaches?
Franco Fubini believes itbegins with creating demand for
flavor, and much of that demandcomes from the world's top chefs
.
For 20 years, franco Frubini'scompany, natura, has been
connecting farmers to over 2,000leading restaurants and
(10:31):
selected supermarkets.
By emphasizing radicalseasonality.
They challenged theconventional idea of four
seasons, recognizing that natureprovides a unique harvest every
day of the year, which means365 seasons in total.
Award-winning chef Anthony Mintis the co-founder of
ZeroFootprint.
He was disappointed by thelimited impact of better
sourcing practices on acres offarmland, and he's now fully
(10:54):
committed to transforming thefood system and believe the key
lies in opt-out mechanisms which, when done well on a county or
regional or even country level,enables a lot of funding to flow
to new hectares and acres andnew regenerative practices, just
like the renewable energy spacehas shown us.
Let's learn from them and drivereal systems change.
(11:15):
It all starts with soil.
Can we directly link soilhealth to nutrient density in
food?
Thanks to Dan Kittredge'spioneering research, the answer
is yes.
His findings challenge many ofthe assumptions we have about
local, organic and evenregenerative farming practices.
While regenerative agricultureoften claims to produce
nutrient-dense food, this isonly true if it leads to
healthier soil, and in somecases it doesn't.
(11:38):
Dan shared a shocking realityMany crops score alarmingly low
on nutrient density compared totheir potential.
The pessimists might see this asa sign of depleted crops and
failing systems, but the realistor, we might argue, the
optimist sees opportunity.
Some crops could be 10x or even20x more nutrient dense with
proper soil health practices.
The challenge now is, of course, is how to unlock this
(12:00):
potential.
With Jasmine Kettle, we checkedin on the latest soil and
nutrient science and whymanufactured food is not the
solution.
Together with farmer and authorChris, we explored a future
where cheap fossil fuels are nolonger available and the
pathways forward for agricultureand society.
Chris argues that manufacturedfood is not the answer.
Instead, the focus must shifttowards resilient, decentralized
(12:23):
systems rooted in ecologicalprinciples and soil health.
Consumer brands drive changeand educate consumers.
Matthijs Westerhout, the founderof Wilderland, is redefining
the role of native plants, oftendismissed as weeds, by
transforming them into highlydesirable and tasty products.
These plants are now thefoundation of delicious drinks,
herbal teas, kombuchas,fermented teas and even pasta.
(12:45):
Wilderland is not onlyenhancing biodiversity, but also
pays farmers really well moreper square meter than they would
earn from any other crop,proving that farming for nature
can also be profitable.
After 23 years in finance, atleast traded numbers for soil
and bread, he joined forces witha famous DJ and a TV presenter
to create Wild Farmed.
We talked about how you go fromserving hip and expensive
(13:08):
bakers in London to make yourown bread and get it into
supermarket shelves, whileeducating consumers about
regenerative practices.
Just go and follow them onInstagram to see what I mean.
And how does crowd farmingeducate consumers that a farm is
not a screw factory and thatevery fruit is different.
Delivery times depend onharvest and weather.
Juliette shared how they arereaching over 400,000 customers
(13:31):
and how they keep them engagedin the growing process while
educating them about the realrealities of farming.
Jay Albany, ceo of Dirty CleanFood, shares what it takes to
build a successfuldirect-to-consumer business,
essentially buying fromregenerative farmers and
delivering to consumers,restaurants, etc.
Operating in Perth, the mostremote city on the planet.
So many people have gone beforethem and failed.
(13:54):
So what is making this work?
Walking the land with aregenerative farmer a new format
.
We experimented with a newformat this year walking the
land with a regenerative farmerby literally walking the fields
alongside regenerative farmersand recording those
conversations.
Special thanks to MatteoMazzola, felipe Passini and
Andres Yara of Easy the Farm,amadego's Syntropic Farm and the
(14:14):
Stadsgrondemor Market Gardenfor opening up their fields and
sharing their journey with us.
Legends Regenerative educationis the answer.
What does regenerative educationeven mean and why is it so
powerful to focus on educatingpeople?
Edward Muller, the founder ofthe University for International
Cooperation, uci, makes a verystrong case against trying to
(14:35):
convince people entrenched inpower, those in industry,
chemical and fertilizercompanies, ultra-processed food
giants and large institutionslike the UN.
He has tried and failed and hetruly believes in education and
unlearning.
That's why he started his ownuniversity, which has since
pioneered online education inregeneration, starting as early
as 1998.
Yes, there was internet backthen, focusing on scaling
(14:58):
regeneration in Costa Rica andshowing the numbers and data
behind it to reach a tippingpoint.
We talk about his journey andhis inflection points and what
the abundance during COVID hasto do with it.
We had such a wide-rangingconversation that we decided to
split it in two episodes withHenry Dimbleby, the founder of
Brembo Partners, co-founder ofLeon and writer of the food
strategy in the UK.
Henry shared what it was liketo help manage the UK during
(15:24):
COVID, particularly thechallenges of keeping
supermarket shelves stocked andwhy and how he wrote the food
strategy and why it hasn't beenimplemented, plus a deep dive
into the junk food cycle, thecrazy ultra-processed food
addiction we all, or mostly,have fallen victim to, and,
finally, how loving lentils canchange everything.
The return of inspiration and along-term vision.
With Willem Feverda, theco-founder of Commonland, we
(15:45):
explored the vital role ofinspiration and vision in
landscape restoration.
Willem emphasized theimportance of bringing together
farmers, real estate developers,nature conservationists, local
politicians to create a shared20 to 30-year vision for their
landscapes.
No one wants to live in a dyinglandscape where biodiversity
has vanished, communities haveemptied, schools have closed and
(16:05):
shops have shut down.
By inspiring people toreimagine their environments,
commonland seeks to spark thiscollective action for vibrant,
thriving ecosystems.
He even sees signs of thefinancial sector to begin to
invest in green infrastructurenot concrete and asphalt, but
healthy soils, thrivingecosystems and resilient
communities, investing as ifgreat-grandchildren mattered,
(16:27):
with second-generationhigh-density and low-duration
herder.
Chris the Kachana Station, thecustodian of 77,000 hectares
located in the remote, veryrugged upper Kachanment areas of
the Kimberley River system inAustralia Just to give you an
idea of remote Singapore iscloser to them than Perth.
We explore macroherds abovesoil and microherds below soil,
(16:50):
the function as a gardener ofherbivores in a semi-dry country
and the big myth that manyanimals damage the land, how to
rehydrate landscapes, grounding,investing in ecology and,
finally, how human activity isrestraining nature from building
wealth.
We had the great pleasure tohave Scott Pyton, the founder of
the Forest Trust, now known asEarthworm Foundation, on the
(17:11):
show, sharing about supplychains, environmental
regeneration and addressingenvironmental scandals through
his work with major corporationslike Nestle on their no
deforestation commitments.
His motto is never waste.
A good crisis, but don't followambulances.
What does it mean to producedeeply regenerative chicken and
eggs?
Claire and Annie, experts inpoultry welfare and regenerative
(17:32):
agriculture, transitionpioneers in the UK, are working
on the counter narrative to theindustrialized chicken.
We've bred birds to be eitheregg or meat birds and that's
incredibly inefficient andhorrible for animal welfare.
Plus, the poultry industry hasa lot of issues, from lockdowns
because of bird flu to feedingbecause they aren't ruminants,
so they can't just graze Withthem.
We dove deep in where to startwhen you want to integrate
(17:54):
livestock as a farmer?
The untapped potential of AI andtools Tools for the future of
agriculture.
Hence, and usually backbreakingwork.
Smaller scale, diversifiedfarms have historically relied
on hard, labor-intensive work,often involving the entire
villages during harvest time.
Today, that's no longerfeasible in many parts of the
world.
What are the machineries andtools needed?
(18:16):
David of Organic Tools isworking on creating innovative
solutions to make the diversefarms of the world.
What are the machineries andtools needed?
David of Organic Tools isworking on creating innovative
solutions to make the diversefarms of the future possible.
How can AI transformagriculture responsibly?
Abby Rose, the co-founder ofVidaCycle and Farmarama, came
back on the show and shequestioned the tendency of
startups to pursue endlessfunding rounds, often leading to
extractive models.
Yet, despite her reservations,she actually raised some funds
(18:38):
on her own terms.
Instead of traditional venturecapitals, she used a revenue
sharing model with service feesand caps to make sure it aligns
with her long-term vision forthe company.
Not only the global northalthough we do like the term
supporting 100,000 farms inGhana and beyond that have
literally 10 harvests left.
Smallholder maize farmers atthe edge of the Sahara face
(18:59):
brutal circumstances.
In the Sahel, it mostly meansfarmers are growing to eat and
to survive and with climatechange and the current farming
practices of burn and deeptilling, their survival is
literally on the line.
These soils can be depleted ina decade or less, not like in
the global north, where we mighthave 50 or 60 harvests left,
but in a decade or less.
Not like in the global north,where we might have 50 or 60
harvests left, but in a decadeor less.
Behavioral change is crucial,but how do we encourage it
(19:22):
without risking the alreadyfragile livelihoods of these
farmers?
Workafrica, the Ghana-basedagriculture service provider, is
finding the answers.
After successfully closing a7.5 million series B round last
March, work is on track to serveover 100,000 farmers in Ghana,
helping to increase theirincomes and protect their soils.
We had Wark's founder Emilianoon the show.
(19:44):
Africa holds immense potentialfor regenerative agriculture.
With Joachim and Hannes, theco-founders of Routecool, we
explored why the Venture Studiomodel is an exciting and
powerful approach for drivingchange on the continent.
In another conversation withKeith, the CEO and co-founder of
Producers Trust, we underscoredthe importance of investing in
supply chain infrastructure.
(20:05):
By improving processing,sorting and packaging,
small-scale farmers can capturemore value from their crops,
increasing income whilesupporting regenerative
practices.
Some milestones and highlightswe celebrated 300 episodes and
we launched Generation Re In May2024,.
This year we hit a majormilestone our 300th episode.
(20:25):
What began as a simple coffeeconversation with the late Tony
Lovell of SLM Partners has grownbeyond our wildest dreams into
a thriving platform where we canconnect people, ideas,
solutions across theregenerative landscape.
The podcast has become a truebridge, connecting people and
ideas.
But we were missing skin in thegame.
It's great to talk to and aboutgreat companies moving the
(20:46):
needle in the regenerative space, but it's even better to put
your money where your mouth is.
So we founded generation resyndicate together with naeem
lakhani and, of course, a hugeshout out to anthony, emily and
patch their support.
As of today, generation Re hasinvested in 25 deals in total of
1.2 million euros, and werecently closed our largest deal
yet, over 100,000 euros withAntler Bio.
(21:09):
The interview with Maria iscoming soon.
Regenerative Mind Series 2024has also been the year where the
Regenerative Mind Series,supported by Mustard Seed Trust
and hosted by Emma Chow, came toan end.
With Emma, we learned why themind is like soil and how can we
adopt systems thinking lens andwhy it's so imperative for
systems change.
It's great to be on thisjourney with people like Peter
(21:31):
Bick.
Together with Corinne Botman,we organized this screening of
Roots so Deep the first timethis documentary has been shown
outside the US and we showed itin Rotterdam last June and
Judith D Swartz and Alpha Lo,with whom I shared my personal
story through Soilcentric andthe Climate Water Project
platforms.
Other major highlights of thisyear RFSI Europe.
The first edition of RFSIEurope in Brussels was a great
(21:53):
success.
As somebody described it, itwas walking around in Koen's
podcast.
We're excited to join again forthe second edition, happening
on February 26th 27th 2025.
Don't forget to book already.
Use the code KOEN10 to get 10%off, and Groundswell Ag also
mark your agendas already for2025,.
July 2nd and 3rd, we had such amemorable fireside chat with
(22:17):
John Kempf, who stated theincumbent agronomy system has
the benefit of history, thebenefit of being the status quo
and the benefit of being easy.
If it were not for those things, it would probably be illegal.
As we look ahead, here's to aregenerative, nutritious and
peaceful year for all of us.
Let's continue to build, work,invest and regenerate together.
What we learned in 2024 about ecocide, land access,
crisis, regenerative education,return of inspiration, chefs,
machinery and brands drivingchange.
As we wrap up 2024, we reflecton a year that brought us hope
but also served as a wake-upcall.
With skyrocketing temperatures,droughts, fires and floods, the
challenges have been immense,but we're very lucky that we,
(00:30):
both online and offline, had thechance to come together with
many of the pioneers andbuilders in the regenerative
food and agriculture space.
At the same time, we werereminded that we, as part of
nature, are definitely at warwith extractive forces,
ambitious entrepreneurs, whichare among our favorites.
Among the most listenedepisodes of this year, we had
Martin Reiter and Eric Smith.
Martin, a former senior managerat Wayfair and Airbnb and
(00:55):
author of the Agriculture Primerof 2024.
If you haven't had a chance toread that, definitely find it
online.
We discussed the excitementabout regeneration, where the
Steve Jobs and Elon Musks ofregenerative agriculture are
going to build companies and howwe can attract more talent into
the space.
Eric Smith, the CEO andco-founder of Audacious, who is
building a platform todifferentiate food quality.
(01:17):
We explored measuring qualityand transforming one of the most
complex systems from one drivenby chemicals to one driven by
biology, with abundance as anoutcome.
According to Eric, the key isradical transparency.
Every CEO, high-ranking managerworking in food companies
should be obligated to visit thefarms and farmers they source
(01:38):
from.
So many decisions in theboardrooms would be taken
differently, according toHeather Terry, the CEO and
founder of GoodSend Foods, withwhom we discuss how an exit from
a chocolate company led to afemale-led consumer goods
company and how education ofconsumers is key.
Networks versus change andmulti-crop sourcing Seeds it all
(01:59):
starts with seeds and soil, butmostly seeds.
Our current seed system isfundamentally incapable of
producing seeds adapted to localniches, weather, flavor or
nutrients.
Instead, it caters exclusivelyto large-scale monoculture
systems.
But 97% of global farmers don'toperate in large-scale
monocultures and 70% of our foodcomes from them.
(02:20):
So who grows the seeds forthese farmers?
Nicolas joined us and heco-founded SeedLinked, an
innovative company digitalizingcollaborative breeding.
How can we use technology toenable complexity rather than
reducing everything tomonocultures, as we've done for
decades?
Chris Bloomfield and DanielReisman, the co-founders of
(02:40):
Quali, are enabling regenerativedairy with their virtual cow
guidance system.
We discussed how virtualfencing and cow guidance can
reduce labor and boostproductivity.
Full disclosure we investedwith our syndicate, generation
Re, in goods and foods,seedlings and KOLI, as well as
wild farmed and dirty clean food.
Mentioned later on the manyelephants in the room.
(03:03):
Ecosite is broadly understood asthe mass damage and destruction
of ecosystems, severe harm tonature which is widespread or
long-term.
Yo-yo, executive director ofStop Ecosite International,
argued that criminalizingecocide could change societal
consciousness, bringing it intothe realm of things we simply
don't do.
(03:23):
Ecology without social justiceis just gardening, said Laura
when she came back on the show.
She's the co-founder of SVXMexico and a managing partner at
Regenera Ventures.
She highlighted that LatinAmerica has a critical role to
play in climate resilience andwe discussed how blending
indigenous wisdom withinnovative finance can bridge
the gap between social justiceand ecology.
(03:46):
Deeper than the issues aroundfood is the crisis around land.
The rising cost of landdisconnected from its productive
value has made it inaccessiblefor younger farmers In the US,
where the average farmer is 62years old.
The crisis is urgent.
Ian and Christina, who joinedus from the Farmers Land Trust,
shared why fundamental landownership change into the
(04:07):
commons is gaining momentum in atraditionally very slow-moving
space the role and legacy offarmers Farmers as role models.
Cindy and Annalisa, thefounders of Top 50 Farmers,
argued that one way to changethe status quo where farming is
not desirable is to put thepioneering regenerative farmers
in the spotlight, and byconnecting them with resources,
(04:28):
peers and even corporations,they aim to turn regen farming
into a movement and change thepublic narrative.
Farmers die slowly, saidSebastian Huisman, reflecting on
his journey from a Dutch farmto consulting on large farm
transitions, including workingwith a royal family and wild
farmed.
Innovation in water cyclerestoration Building towers to
(04:49):
trigger rain to help naturesweat and cool Sounds like
sci-fi, but Jesus, a retiredEuropean patent office examiner,
is that serious, as wediscovered in our conversation.
He shared his innovative designfor building katabatic towers
to trigger rain, helpinglandscapes cool and regenerate.
Ali Bin, who's one of the fewexperts globally who can model
(05:09):
and calculate water cyclerestoration, explained how to
quantify concepts like slowing,spreading and soaking water.
What does slow actually mean?
How do we measure it bykilometers per hour or another
metric?
How much regeneration isrequired and where to restore
rivers or trigger rains in agiven landscape?
Money, money, money.
Do you remember the Dutchfarming protest?
(05:29):
What seems to be really missingin many countries where farmers
protest are clear transitionpaths with numbers.
How much investment is neededper hectare to transition a
dairy farm in the center of theNetherlands or a potato farm in
Germany.
Many region pioneers in thefield rightfully so focused on
innovation and they didn't keepdetailed records of inputs,
costs, machinery and maybe, mostimportantly, hours.
(05:52):
So how do we go about it?
Start and really keep track ofnumbers.
According to Maarten van Dam,for example, the investment cost
of transitioning to a diverseperennial agroforestry system in
the center of the Netherlandsare about 50,000 euros per
hectare and can take about sevenyears.
This estimate includeswholesale prices, tracks all
labor hours and ensures fairwages.
(06:14):
It sounds like a lot, but italso means that transitioning
the whole farming sector in theNetherlands will only require an
investment of about 150 billion, and just looking at the
teacher's pension fund in theNetherlands, which managed over
500 billion, it suddenly soundsdoable.
Paying farmers to changepractices Soil Capital recently
completed a 15 million euroSeries B funding round.
(06:36):
With the CEO and co-founder,chuck DeLitoke, we explored
their approach to paying farmersfor ecosystem services, a
strategy that seems to have hitan inflection point in the last
two years.
On the same topic, why arecompanies like Nestle, microsoft
and Shell investing in carboncredits?
Hank Moyweir, the co-founder ofGrassroot Carbon, argues that
now is the time for ranchers tosign up, not later, to
(06:58):
capitalize on thoseopportunities.
But where does the sciencebehind regenerative grazing
stand?
And what about methaneemissions?
And why is this conversationultimately not just about carbon
Investments in the regenerativerevolution?
We had Mark Lewis back, managingpartner at Trailhead Capital.
He has shifted his focus fromseeking unicorns in the
regenerative space to believingin the inevitability of the
regenerative revolution, andhe's aiming for many really good
(07:21):
financial exits, not justunicorns.
Having invested nearly half oftheir $50 million VC fund into
North American regenerativebusinesses, he shared his
lessons learned, emphasizing thepotential for both financial
and non-financial returns andwhat he would love to invest in
but hasn't yet.
Regeneration is a long-terminvestment, not a short-term
(07:41):
cost.
According to Sonja, theco-founder of the Land Banking
Group, viewing and accountingfor regeneration as an
investment unlocks itstransformative potential, saving
the world maybe all comes downto very smart accountants
Building new industries.
In our regenerative aquacultureseries, supported by the Nest
Family Office, sonja of C6Energy shared her journey of
(08:02):
transforming seaweed farminginto a scalable industry.
Starting with 1,000 footballfields of tropical seaweeds in
Indonesia, c6 is proving thatseaweed can play a crucial role
in sustainable aquaculture,providing food, biofuel and
other products, whileregenerating ocean's ecosystems.
In other episodes we cover thefascinating world of salmon,
(08:23):
with all its issues andopportunities, the king of
sustainable protein mussels,saltwater plants and wrenching
sea urchins to save kelp forests.
Agroforestry in the US Midwest,the belly of the beast.
Trees are the answer, whateverthe question may be.
But how do you create anagroforestry industry in the
American Midwest, a regiondominated by corn and soy
monocultures, where farmlandleases last only one to three
(08:46):
years and trees are virtuallynon-existent?
This area desperately needstrees, not just as a carbon
sequestration tool, but forclimate adaptation, erosion
control, windbreaks, nutrientretention, crop protection and
integrated food production.
Kevin Waltz, the CEO of CanopyFarm Management and former
founder of the Savanna Institute, explains the challenges and
(09:06):
strategies of introducingagroforestry in this landscape.
How do we plant millions oftrees and how do we finance them
, and how do we convince keystakeholders to invest in a
system with such long timehorizons?
Farmers must commit to grantingagroforestry operators access
to their land for 20, 40 or even100 years.
Investors must write checks forhundreds of millions into an
(09:28):
unfamiliar industry, one wherecrops like chestnuts may take
seven to nine years to bearfruits, but could continue
producing for 50 to 100 years ormore.
Brad Huntley, a former equityanalyst looking at companies
like Tyson Foods, is now apartner at Agroforestry Partners
.
He shared how he's buildinginvestor confidence and
financing large-scale treeplanting initiatives.
(09:48):
A bit further south in Brazil,fernando Russo is diving deep in
the coffee and cacaoagroforestry systems With one of
the most active impactinvestors in the regenerative
space who, by the way, alsopartly financed our recent video
course.
We explored deforestation,reforestation, the role of
cattle and, of course, thepotential and why he's in the
water camp, not in the carboncamp.
(10:09):
Start with chefs and soil health, in search of the perfect peach
.
How can we ensure farmers arefairly paid for cultivating
exceptional produce likepumpkins or peaches?
Franco Fubini believes itbegins with creating demand for
flavor, and much of that demandcomes from the world's top chefs
.
For 20 years, franco Frubini'scompany, natura, has been
connecting farmers to over 2,000leading restaurants and
(10:31):
selected supermarkets.
By emphasizing radicalseasonality.
They challenged theconventional idea of four
seasons, recognizing that natureprovides a unique harvest every
day of the year, which means365 seasons in total.
Award-winning chef Anthony Mintis the co-founder of
ZeroFootprint.
He was disappointed by thelimited impact of better
sourcing practices on acres offarmland, and he's now fully
(10:54):
committed to transforming thefood system and believe the key
lies in opt-out mechanisms which, when done well on a county or
regional or even country level,enables a lot of funding to flow
to new hectares and acres andnew regenerative practices, just
like the renewable energy spacehas shown us.
Let's learn from them and drivereal systems change.
(11:15):
It all starts with soil.
Can we directly link soilhealth to nutrient density in
food?
Thanks to Dan Kittredge'spioneering research, the answer
is yes.
His findings challenge many ofthe assumptions we have about
local, organic and evenregenerative farming practices.
While regenerative agricultureoften claims to produce
nutrient-dense food, this isonly true if it leads to
healthier soil, and in somecases it doesn't.
(11:38):
Dan shared a shocking realityMany crops score alarmingly low
on nutrient density compared totheir potential.
The pessimists might see this asa sign of depleted crops and
failing systems, but the realistor, we might argue, the
optimist sees opportunity.
Some crops could be 10x or even20x more nutrient dense with
proper soil health practices.
The challenge now is, of course, is how to unlock this
(12:00):
potential.
With Jasmine Kettle, we checkedin on the latest soil and
nutrient science and whymanufactured food is not the
solution.
Together with farmer and authorChris, we explored a future
where cheap fossil fuels are nolonger available and the
pathways forward for agricultureand society.
Chris argues that manufacturedfood is not the answer.
Instead, the focus must shifttowards resilient, decentralized
(12:23):
systems rooted in ecologicalprinciples and soil health.
Consumer brands drive changeand educate consumers.
Matthijs Westerhout, the founderof Wilderland, is redefining
the role of native plants, oftendismissed as weeds, by
transforming them into highlydesirable and tasty products.
These plants are now thefoundation of delicious drinks,
herbal teas, kombuchas,fermented teas and even pasta.
(12:45):
Wilderland is not onlyenhancing biodiversity, but also
pays farmers really well moreper square meter than they would
earn from any other crop,proving that farming for nature
can also be profitable.
After 23 years in finance, atleast traded numbers for soil
and bread, he joined forces witha famous DJ and a TV presenter
to create Wild Farmed.
We talked about how you go fromserving hip and expensive
(13:08):
bakers in London to make yourown bread and get it into
supermarket shelves, whileeducating consumers about
regenerative practices.
Just go and follow them onInstagram to see what I mean.
And how does crowd farmingeducate consumers that a farm is
not a screw factory and thatevery fruit is different.
Delivery times depend onharvest and weather.
Juliette shared how they arereaching over 400,000 customers
(13:31):
and how they keep them engagedin the growing process while
educating them about the realrealities of farming.
Jay Albany, ceo of Dirty CleanFood, shares what it takes to
build a successfuldirect-to-consumer business,
essentially buying fromregenerative farmers and
delivering to consumers,restaurants, etc.
Operating in Perth, the mostremote city on the planet.
So many people have gone beforethem and failed.
(13:54):
So what is making this work?
Walking the land with aregenerative farmer a new format
.
We experimented with a newformat this year walking the
land with a regenerative farmerby literally walking the fields
alongside regenerative farmersand recording those
conversations.
Special thanks to MatteoMazzola, felipe Passini and
Andres Yara of Easy the Farm,amadego's Syntropic Farm and the
(14:14):
Stadsgrondemor Market Gardenfor opening up their fields and
sharing their journey with us.
Legends Regenerative educationis the answer.
What does regenerative educationeven mean and why is it so
powerful to focus on educatingpeople?
Edward Muller, the founder ofthe University for International
Cooperation, uci, makes a verystrong case against trying to
(14:35):
convince people entrenched inpower, those in industry,
chemical and fertilizercompanies, ultra-processed food
giants and large institutionslike the UN.
He has tried and failed and hetruly believes in education and
unlearning.
That's why he started his ownuniversity, which has since
pioneered online education inregeneration, starting as early
as 1998.
Yes, there was internet backthen, focusing on scaling
(14:58):
regeneration in Costa Rica andshowing the numbers and data
behind it to reach a tippingpoint.
We talk about his journey andhis inflection points and what
the abundance during COVID hasto do with it.
We had such a wide-rangingconversation that we decided to
split it in two episodes withHenry Dimbleby, the founder of
Brembo Partners, co-founder ofLeon and writer of the food
strategy in the UK.
Henry shared what it was liketo help manage the UK during
(15:24):
COVID, particularly thechallenges of keeping
supermarket shelves stocked andwhy and how he wrote the food
strategy and why it hasn't beenimplemented, plus a deep dive
into the junk food cycle, thecrazy ultra-processed food
addiction we all, or mostly,have fallen victim to, and,
finally, how loving lentils canchange everything.
The return of inspiration and along-term vision.
With Willem Feverda, theco-founder of Commonland, we
(15:45):
explored the vital role ofinspiration and vision in
landscape restoration.
Willem emphasized theimportance of bringing together
farmers, real estate developers,nature conservationists, local
politicians to create a shared20 to 30-year vision for their
landscapes.
No one wants to live in a dyinglandscape where biodiversity
has vanished, communities haveemptied, schools have closed and
(16:05):
shops have shut down.
By inspiring people toreimagine their environments,
commonland seeks to spark thiscollective action for vibrant,
thriving ecosystems.
He even sees signs of thefinancial sector to begin to
invest in green infrastructurenot concrete and asphalt, but
healthy soils, thrivingecosystems and resilient
communities, investing as ifgreat-grandchildren mattered,
(16:27):
with second-generationhigh-density and low-duration
herder.
Chris the Kachana Station, thecustodian of 77,000 hectares
located in the remote, veryrugged upper Kachanment areas of
the Kimberley River system inAustralia Just to give you an
idea of remote Singapore iscloser to them than Perth.
We explore macroherds abovesoil and microherds below soil,
(16:50):
the function as a gardener ofherbivores in a semi-dry country
and the big myth that manyanimals damage the land, how to
rehydrate landscapes, grounding,investing in ecology and,
finally, how human activity isrestraining nature from building
wealth.
We had the great pleasure tohave Scott Pyton, the founder of
the Forest Trust, now known asEarthworm Foundation, on the
(17:11):
show, sharing about supplychains, environmental
regeneration and addressingenvironmental scandals through
his work with major corporationslike Nestle on their no
deforestation commitments.
His motto is never waste.
A good crisis, but don't followambulances.
What does it mean to producedeeply regenerative chicken and
eggs?
Claire and Annie, experts inpoultry welfare and regenerative
(17:32):
agriculture, transitionpioneers in the UK, are working
on the counter narrative to theindustrialized chicken.
We've bred birds to be eitheregg or meat birds and that's
incredibly inefficient andhorrible for animal welfare.
Plus, the poultry industry hasa lot of issues, from lockdowns
because of bird flu to feedingbecause they aren't ruminants,
so they can't just graze Withthem.
We dove deep in where to startwhen you want to integrate
(17:54):
livestock as a farmer?
The untapped potential of AI andtools Tools for the future of
agriculture.
Hence, and usually backbreakingwork.
Smaller scale, diversifiedfarms have historically relied
on hard, labor-intensive work,often involving the entire
villages during harvest time.
Today, that's no longerfeasible in many parts of the
world.
What are the machineries andtools needed?
(18:16):
David of Organic Tools isworking on creating innovative
solutions to make the diversefarms of the world.
What are the machineries andtools needed?
David of Organic Tools isworking on creating innovative
solutions to make the diversefarms of the future possible.
How can AI transformagriculture responsibly?
Abby Rose, the co-founder ofVidaCycle and Farmarama, came
back on the show and shequestioned the tendency of
startups to pursue endlessfunding rounds, often leading to
extractive models.
Yet, despite her reservations,she actually raised some funds
(18:38):
on her own terms.
Instead of traditional venturecapitals, she used a revenue
sharing model with service feesand caps to make sure it aligns
with her long-term vision forthe company.
Not only the global northalthough we do like the term
supporting 100,000 farms inGhana and beyond that have
literally 10 harvests left.
Smallholder maize farmers atthe edge of the Sahara face
(18:59):
brutal circumstances.
In the Sahel, it mostly meansfarmers are growing to eat and
to survive and with climatechange and the current farming
practices of burn and deeptilling, their survival is
literally on the line.
These soils can be depleted ina decade or less, not like in
the global north, where we mighthave 50 or 60 harvests left,
but in a decade or less.
Not like in the global north,where we might have 50 or 60
harvests left, but in a decadeor less.
Behavioral change is crucial,but how do we encourage it
(19:22):
without risking the alreadyfragile livelihoods of these
farmers?
Workafrica, the Ghana-basedagriculture service provider, is
finding the answers.
After successfully closing a7.5 million series B round last
March, work is on track to serveover 100,000 farmers in Ghana,
helping to increase theirincomes and protect their soils.
We had Wark's founder Emilianoon the show.
(19:44):
Africa holds immense potentialfor regenerative agriculture.
With Joachim and Hannes, theco-founders of Routecool, we
explored why the Venture Studiomodel is an exciting and
powerful approach for drivingchange on the continent.
In another conversation withKeith, the CEO and co-founder of
Producers Trust, we underscoredthe importance of investing in
supply chain infrastructure.
(20:05):
By improving processing,sorting and packaging,
small-scale farmers can capturemore value from their crops,
increasing income whilesupporting regenerative
practices.
Some milestones and highlightswe celebrated 300 episodes and
we launched Generation Re In May2024,.
This year we hit a majormilestone our 300th episode.
(20:25):
What began as a simple coffeeconversation with the late Tony
Lovell of SLM Partners has grownbeyond our wildest dreams into
a thriving platform where we canconnect people, ideas,
solutions across theregenerative landscape.
The podcast has become a truebridge, connecting people and
ideas.
But we were missing skin in thegame.
It's great to talk to and aboutgreat companies moving the
(20:46):
needle in the regenerative space, but it's even better to put
your money where your mouth is.
So we founded generation resyndicate together with naeem
lakhani and, of course, a hugeshout out to anthony, emily and
patch their support.
As of today, generation Re hasinvested in 25 deals in total of
1.2 million euros, and werecently closed our largest deal
yet, over 100,000 euros withAntler Bio.
(21:09):
The interview with Maria iscoming soon.
Regenerative Mind Series 2024has also been the year where the
Regenerative Mind Series,supported by Mustard Seed Trust
and hosted by Emma Chow, came toan end.
With Emma, we learned why themind is like soil and how can we
adopt systems thinking lens andwhy it's so imperative for
systems change.
It's great to be on thisjourney with people like Peter
(21:31):
Bick.
Together with Corinne Botman,we organized this screening of
Roots so Deep the first timethis documentary has been shown
outside the US and we showed itin Rotterdam last June and
Judith D Swartz and Alpha Lo,with whom I shared my personal
story through Soilcentric andthe Climate Water Project
platforms.
Other major highlights of thisyear RFSI Europe.
The first edition of RFSIEurope in Brussels was a great
(21:53):
success.
As somebody described it, itwas walking around in Koen's
podcast.
We're excited to join again forthe second edition, happening
on February 26th 27th 2025.
Don't forget to book already.
Use the code KOEN10 to get 10%off, and Groundswell Ag also
mark your agendas already for2025,.
July 2nd and 3rd, we had such amemorable fireside chat with
(22:17):
John Kempf, who stated theincumbent agronomy system has
the benefit of history, thebenefit of being the status quo
and the benefit of being easy.
If it were not for those things, it would probably be illegal.
As we look ahead, here's to aregenerative, nutritious and
peaceful year for all of us.
Let's continue to build, work,invest and regenerate together.
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