What we learned in 2024 about ecocide, land access crisis, regenerative education, return of inspiration, chefs, machinery and brands driving change

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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Chapters

• 0:42 Regenerative Food & Agriculture Trends
• 15:41 Transforming Agriculture for Regenerative Future
• 21:45 Year-End Highlights in Regenerative Agriculture

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:42

What we learned in 2024 about ecocide, land access, crisis, regenerative education, return of inspiration, chefs, machinery and brands driving change. As we wrap up 2024, we reflect on a year that brought us hope but also served as a wake-up call. With skyrocketing temperatures, droughts, fires and floods, the challenges have been immense, but we're very lucky that we, both online and offline, had the chance to come together with many of the pioneers and builders in the regenerative food and agriculture space. At the same time, we were reminded that we, as part of nature, are definitely at war with extractive forces, ambitious entrepreneurs, which are among our favorites. Among the most listened episodes of this year, we had Martin Reiter and Eric Smith. Martin, a former senior manager at Wayfair and Airbnb and author of the Agriculture Primer of 2024. If you haven't had a chance to read that, definitely find it online. We discussed the excitement about regeneration, where the Steve Jobs and Elon Musks of regenerative agriculture are going to build companies and how we can attract more talent into the space. Eric Smith, the CEO and co-founder of Audacious, who is building a platform to differentiate food quality. We explored measuring quality and transforming one of the most complex systems from one driven by chemicals to one driven by biology, with abundance as an outcome. According to Eric, the key is radical transparency. Every CEO, high-ranking manager working in food companies should be obligated to visit the farms and farmers they source from. So many decisions in the boardrooms would be taken differently, according to Heather Terry, the CEO and founder of GoodSend Foods, with whom we discuss how an exit from a chocolate company led to a female-led consumer goods company and how education of consumers is key.

Speaker 1: 2:27

Networks versus change and multi-crop sourcing Seeds it all starts with seeds and soil, but mostly seeds. Our current seed system is fundamentally incapable of producing seeds adapted to local niches, weather, flavor or nutrients. Instead, it caters exclusively to large-scale monoculture systems. But 97% of global farmers don't operate in large-scale monocultures and 70% of our food comes from them. So who grows the seeds for these farmers? Nicolas joined us and he co-founded SeedLinked, an innovative company digitalizing collaborative breeding. How can we use technology to enable complexity rather than reducing everything to monocultures, as we've done for decades? Chris Bloomfield and Daniel Reisman, the co-founders of Quali, are enabling regenerative dairy with their virtual cow guidance system. We discussed how virtual fencing and cow guidance can reduce labor and boost productivity. Full disclosure we invested with our syndicate, generation Re, in goods and foods, seedlings and KOLI, as well as wild farmed and dirty clean food. Mentioned later on the many elephants in the room.

Speaker 1: 3:36

Ecosite is broadly understood as the mass damage and destruction of ecosystems, severe harm to nature which is widespread or long-term. Yo-yo, executive director of Stop Ecosite International, argued that criminalizing ecocide could change societal consciousness, bringing it into the realm of things we simply don't do. Ecology without social justice is just gardening, said Laura when she came back on the show. She's the co-founder of SVX Mexico and a managing partner at Regenera Ventures. She highlighted that Latin America has a critical role to play in climate resilience and we discussed how blending indigenous wisdom with innovative finance can bridge the gap between social justice and ecology.

Speaker 1: 4:19

Deeper than the issues around food is the crisis around land. The rising cost of land disconnected from its productive value has made it inaccessible for younger farmers In the US, where the average farmer is 62 years old. The crisis is urgent. Ian and Christina, who joined us from the Farmers Land Trust, shared why fundamental land ownership change into the commons is gaining momentum in a traditionally very slow-moving space the role and legacy of farmers Farmers as role models. Cindy and Annalisa, the founders of Top 50 Farmers, argued that one way to change the status quo where farming is not desirable is to put the pioneering regenerative farmers in the spotlight, and by connecting them with resources, peers and even corporations, they aim to turn regen farming into a movement and change the public narrative. Farmers die slowly, said Sebastian Huisman, reflecting on his journey from a Dutch farm to consulting on large farm transitions, including working with a royal family and wild farmed.

Speaker 1: 5:19

Innovation in water cycle restoration Building towers to trigger rain to help nature sweat and cool Sounds like sci-fi, but Jesus, a retired European patent office examiner, is that serious, as we discovered in our conversation. He shared his innovative design for building katabatic towers to trigger rain, helping landscapes cool and regenerate. Ali Bin, who's one of the few experts globally who can model and calculate water cycle restoration, explained how to quantify concepts like slowing, spreading and soaking water. What does slow actually mean? How do we measure it by kilometers per hour or another metric? How much regeneration is required and where to restore rivers or trigger rains in a given landscape? Money, money, money. Do you remember the Dutch farming protest?

Speaker 1: 6:02

What seems to be really missing in many countries where farmers protest are clear transition paths with numbers. How much investment is needed per hectare to transition a dairy farm in the center of the Netherlands or a potato farm in Germany. Many region pioneers in the field rightfully so focused on innovation and they didn't keep detailed records of inputs, costs, machinery and maybe, most importantly, hours. So how do we go about it? Start and really keep track of numbers. According to Maarten van Dam, for example, the investment cost of transitioning to a diverse perennial agroforestry system in the center of the Netherlands are about 50,000 euros per hectare and can take about seven years. This estimate includes wholesale prices, tracks all labor hours and ensures fair wages. It sounds like a lot, but it also means that transitioning the whole farming sector in the Netherlands will only require an investment of about 150 billion, and just looking at the teacher's pension fund in the Netherlands, which managed over 500 billion, it suddenly sounds doable.

Speaker 1: 7:03

Paying farmers to change practices Soil Capital recently completed a 15 million euro Series B funding round. With the CEO and co-founder, chuck DeLitoke, we explored their approach to paying farmers for ecosystem services, a strategy that seems to have hit an inflection point in the last two years. On the same topic, why are companies like Nestle, microsoft and Shell investing in carbon credits? Hank Moyweir, the co-founder of Grassroot Carbon, argues that now is the time for ranchers to sign up, not later, to capitalize on those opportunities. But where does the science behind regenerative grazing stand? And what about methane emissions? And why is this conversation ultimately not just about carbon Investments in the regenerative revolution?

Speaker 1: 7:42

We had Mark Lewis back, managing partner at Trailhead Capital. He has shifted his focus from seeking unicorns in the regenerative space to believing in the inevitability of the regenerative revolution, and he's aiming for many really good financial exits, not just unicorns. Having invested nearly half of their $50 million VC fund into North American regenerative businesses, he shared his lessons learned, emphasizing the potential for both financial and non-financial returns and what he would love to invest in but hasn't yet. Regeneration is a long-term investment, not a short-term cost. According to Sonja, the co-founder of the Land Banking Group, viewing and accounting for regeneration as an investment unlocks its transformative potential, saving the world maybe all comes down to very smart accountants Building new industries. In our regenerative aquaculture series, supported by the Nest Family Office, sonja of C6 Energy shared her journey of transforming seaweed farming into a scalable industry. Starting with 1,000 football fields of tropical seaweeds in Indonesia, c6 is proving that seaweed can play a crucial role in sustainable aquaculture, providing food, biofuel and other products, while regenerating ocean's ecosystems. In other episodes we cover the fascinating world of salmon, with all its issues and opportunities, the king of sustainable protein mussels, saltwater plants and wrenching sea urchins to save kelp forests.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Agroforestry in the US Midwest, the belly of the beast. Trees are the answer, whatever the question may be. But how do you create an agroforestry industry in the American Midwest, a region dominated by corn and soy monocultures, where farmland leases last only one to three years and trees are virtually non-existent? This area desperately needs trees, not just as a carbon sequestration tool, but for climate adaptation, erosion control, windbreaks, nutrient retention, crop protection and integrated food production. Kevin Waltz, the CEO of Canopy Farm Management and former founder of the Savanna Institute, explains the challenges and strategies of introducing agroforestry in this landscape. How do we plant millions of trees and how do we finance them, and how do we convince key stakeholders to invest in a system with such long time horizons? Farmers must commit to granting agroforestry operators access to their land for 20, 40 or even 100 years. Investors must write checks for hundreds of millions into an unfamiliar industry, one where crops like chestnuts may take seven to nine years to bear fruits, but could continue producing for 50 to 100 years or more. Brad Huntley, a former equity analyst looking at companies like Tyson Foods, is now a partner at Agroforestry Partners. He shared how he's building investor confidence and financing large-scale tree planting initiatives. A bit further south in Brazil, fernando Russo is diving deep in the coffee and cacao agroforestry systems With one of the most active impact investors in the regenerative space who, by the way, also partly financed our recent video course. We explored deforestation, reforestation, the role of cattle and, of course, the potential and why he's in the water camp, not in the carbon camp.

Speaker 1: 10:42

Start with chefs and soil health, in search of the perfect peach. How can we ensure farmers are fairly paid for cultivating exceptional produce like pumpkins or peaches? Franco Fubini believes it begins with creating demand for flavor, and much of that demand comes from the world's top chefs. For 20 years, franco Frubini's company, natura, has been connecting farmers to over 2,000 leading restaurants and selected supermarkets. By emphasizing radical seasonality. They challenged the conventional idea of four seasons, recognizing that nature provides a unique harvest every day of the year, which means 365 seasons in total. Award-winning chef Anthony Mint is the co-founder of ZeroFootprint. He was disappointed by the limited impact of better sourcing practices on acres of farmland, and he's now fully committed to transforming the food 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 and new regenerative practices, just like the renewable energy space has shown us. Let's learn from them and drive real systems change.

Speaker 1: 11:48

It all starts with soil. Can we directly link soil health to nutrient density in food? Thanks to Dan Kittredge's pioneering research, the answer is yes. His findings challenge many of the assumptions we have about local, organic and even regenerative farming practices. While regenerative agriculture often claims to produce nutrient-dense food, this is only true if it leads to healthier soil, and in some cases it doesn't. Dan shared a shocking reality Many crops score alarmingly low on nutrient density compared to their potential.

Speaker 1: 12:17

The pessimists might see this as a sign of depleted crops and failing systems, but the realist or, we might argue, the optimist sees opportunity. Some crops could be 10x or even 20x more nutrient dense with proper soil health practices. The challenge now is, of course, is how to unlock this potential. With Jasmine Kettle, we checked in on the latest soil and nutrient science and why manufactured food is not the solution. Together with farmer and author Chris, we explored a future where cheap fossil fuels are no longer available and the pathways forward for agriculture and society. Chris argues that manufactured food is not the answer. Instead, the focus must shift towards resilient, decentralized systems rooted in ecological principles and soil health. Consumer brands drive change and educate consumers.

Speaker 1: 13:04

Matthijs Westerhout, the founder of Wilderland, is redefining the role of native plants, often dismissed as weeds, by transforming them into highly desirable and tasty products. These plants are now the foundation of delicious drinks, herbal teas, kombuchas, fermented teas and even pasta. Wilderland is not only enhancing biodiversity, but also pays farmers really well more per square meter than they would earn from any other crop, proving that farming for nature can also be profitable. After 23 years in finance, at least traded numbers for soil and bread, he joined forces with a famous DJ and a TV presenter to create Wild Farmed. We talked about how you go from serving hip and expensive bakers in London to make your own bread and get it into supermarket shelves, while educating consumers about regenerative practices. Just go and follow them on Instagram to see what I mean. And how does crowd farming educate consumers that a farm is not a screw factory and that every fruit is different. Delivery times depend on harvest and weather. Juliette shared how they are reaching over 400,000 customers and how they keep them engaged in the growing process while educating them about the real realities of farming. Jay Albany, ceo of Dirty Clean Food, shares what it takes to build a successful direct-to-consumer business, essentially buying from regenerative farmers and delivering to consumers, restaurants, etc. Operating in Perth, the most remote city on the planet. So many people have gone before them and failed. So what is making this work? Walking the land with a regenerative farmer a new format. We experimented with a new format this year walking the land with a regenerative farmer by literally walking the fields alongside regenerative farmers and recording those conversations. Special thanks to Matteo Mazzola, felipe Passini and Andres Yara of Easy the Farm, amadego's Syntropic Farm and the Stadsgrondemor Market Garden for opening up their fields and sharing their journey with us. Legends Regenerative education is the answer.

Speaker 1: 14:56

What does regenerative education even mean and why is it so powerful to focus on educating people? Edward Muller, the founder of the University for International Cooperation, uci, makes a very strong case against trying to convince people entrenched in power, those in industry, chemical and fertilizer companies, ultra-processed food giants and large institutions like the UN. He has tried and failed and he truly believes in education and unlearning. That's why he started his own university, which has since pioneered online education in regeneration, starting as early as 1998. Yes, there was internet back then, focusing on scaling regeneration in Costa Rica and showing the numbers and data behind it to reach a tipping point. We talk about his journey and his inflection points and what the abundance during COVID has to do with it.

Speaker 1: 15:41

We had such a wide-ranging conversation that we decided to split it in two episodes with Henry Dimbleby, the founder of Brembo Partners, co-founder of Leon and writer of the food strategy in the UK. Henry shared what it was like to help manage the UK during COVID, particularly the challenges of keeping supermarket shelves stocked and why and how he wrote the food strategy and why it hasn't been implemented, plus a deep dive into the junk food cycle, the crazy ultra-processed food addiction we all, or mostly, have fallen victim to, and, finally, how loving lentils can change everything. The return of inspiration and a long-term vision. With Willem Feverda, the co-founder of Commonland, we explored the vital role of inspiration and vision in landscape restoration. Willem emphasized the importance of bringing together farmers, real estate developers, nature conservationists, local politicians to create a shared 20 to 30-year vision for their landscapes. No one wants to live in a dying landscape where biodiversity has vanished, communities have emptied, schools have closed and shops have shut down. By inspiring people to reimagine their environments, commonland seeks to spark this collective action for vibrant, thriving ecosystems. He even sees signs of the financial sector to begin to invest in green infrastructure not concrete and asphalt, but healthy soils, thriving ecosystems and resilient communities, investing as if great-grandchildren mattered, with second-generation high-density and low-duration herder.

Speaker 1: 17:04

Chris the Kachana Station, the custodian of 77,000 hectares located in the remote, very rugged upper Kachanment areas of the Kimberley River system in Australia Just to give you an idea of remote Singapore is closer to them than Perth. We explore macroherds above soil and microherds below soil, the function as a gardener of herbivores in a semi-dry country and the big myth that many animals damage the land, how to rehydrate landscapes, grounding, investing in ecology and, finally, how human activity is restraining nature from building wealth. We had the great pleasure to have Scott Pyton, the founder of the Forest Trust, now known as Earthworm Foundation, on the show, sharing about supply chains, environmental regeneration and addressing environmental scandals through his work with major corporations like Nestle on their no deforestation commitments. His motto is never waste. A good crisis, but don't follow ambulances. What does it mean to produce deeply regenerative chicken and eggs? Claire and Annie, experts in poultry welfare and regenerative agriculture, transition pioneers in the UK, are working on the counter narrative to the industrialized chicken. We've bred birds to be either egg or meat birds and that's incredibly inefficient and horrible for animal welfare. Plus, the poultry industry has a lot of issues, from lockdowns because of bird flu to feeding because they aren't ruminants, so they can't just graze With them. We dove deep in where to start when you want to integrate livestock as a farmer?

Speaker 1: 18:30

The untapped potential of AI and tools Tools for the future of agriculture. Hence, and usually backbreaking work. Smaller scale, diversified farms have historically relied on hard, labor-intensive work, often involving the entire villages during harvest time. Today, that's no longer feasible in many parts of the world. What are the machineries and tools needed? David of Organic Tools is working on creating innovative solutions to make the diverse farms of the world. What are the machineries and tools needed? David of Organic Tools is working on creating innovative solutions to make the diverse farms of the future possible. How can AI transform agriculture responsibly?

Speaker 1: 18:59

Abby Rose, the co-founder of VidaCycle and Farmarama, came back on the show and she questioned the tendency of startups to pursue endless funding rounds, often leading to extractive models. Yet, despite her reservations, she actually raised some funds on her own terms. Instead of traditional venture capitals, she used a revenue sharing model with service fees and caps to make sure it aligns with her long-term vision for the company. Not only the global north although we do like the term supporting 100,000 farms in Ghana and beyond that have literally 10 harvests left. Smallholder maize farmers at the edge of the Sahara face brutal circumstances. In the Sahel, it mostly means farmers are growing to eat and to survive and with climate change and the current farming practices of burn and deep tilling, their survival is literally on the line. These soils can be depleted in a decade or less, not like in the global north, where we might have 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 decade or less. Behavioral change is crucial, but how do we encourage it without risking the already fragile livelihoods of these farmers? Workafrica, the Ghana-based agriculture service provider, is finding the answers. After successfully closing a 7.5 million series B round last March, work is on track to serve over 100,000 farmers in Ghana, helping to increase their incomes and protect their soils.

Speaker 1: 20:15

We had Wark's founder Emiliano on the show. Africa holds immense potential for regenerative agriculture. With Joachim and Hannes, the co-founders of Routecool, we explored why the Venture Studio model is an exciting and powerful approach for driving change on the continent. In another conversation with Keith, the CEO and co-founder of Producers Trust, we underscored the importance of investing in supply chain infrastructure. By improving processing, sorting and packaging, small-scale farmers can capture more value from their crops, increasing income while supporting regenerative practices.

Speaker 1: 20:47

Some milestones and highlights we celebrated 300 episodes and we launched Generation Re In May 2024,. This year we hit a major milestone our 300th episode. What began as a simple coffee conversation with the late Tony Lovell of SLM Partners has grown beyond our wildest dreams into a thriving platform where we can connect people, ideas, solutions across the regenerative landscape. The podcast has become a true bridge, connecting people and ideas. But we were missing skin in the game. It's great to talk to and about great companies moving the needle in the regenerative space, but it's even better to put your money where your mouth is. So we founded generation re syndicate together with naeem lakhani and, of course, a huge shout out to anthony, emily and patch their support. As of today, generation Re has invested in 25 deals in total of 1.2 million euros, and we recently closed our largest deal yet, over 100,000 euros with Antler Bio. The interview with Maria is coming soon.

Speaker 1: 21:45

Regenerative Mind Series 2024 has also been the year where the Regenerative Mind Series, supported by Mustard Seed Trust and hosted by Emma Chow, came to an end. With Emma, we learned why the mind is like soil and how can we adopt systems thinking lens and why it's so imperative for systems change. It's great to be on this journey with people like Peter Bick. Together with Corinne Botman, we organized this screening of Roots so Deep the first time this documentary has been shown outside the US and we showed it in Rotterdam last June and Judith D Swartz and Alpha Lo, with whom I shared my personal story through Soilcentric and the Climate Water Project platforms.

Speaker 1: 22:21

Other major highlights of this year RFSI Europe. The first edition of RFSI Europe in Brussels was a great success. As somebody described it, it was walking around in Koen's podcast. We're excited to join again for the 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 for 2025,. July 2nd and 3rd, we had such a memorable fireside chat with John Kempf, who stated the incumbent agronomy system has the benefit of history, the benefit 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 a regenerative, nutritious and peaceful year for all of us. Let's continue to build, work, invest and regenerate together.