Influencing the food transition and scaling regenerative agriculture

Our journey so far and what we are trying to achieve

Growing our Future (GoF) launched in the US in 2020 as a multi-stakeholder collaboration led by Forum for the Future. Alongside more than 100 stakeholders from across food and agriculture, we identified a set of seven actions to support the transformation to regenerative agriculture – critical issues that, if tackled, could accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture. These included shifting policy, financing farmers’ transition to regenerative practices, strengthening routes to market for regenerative produce and valuing both ecological and social outcomes of the transition. These became the seeds of four workstreams in which we trialed new ways of collaborating and driving action. We have published four toolkits to support changemakers on this journey.

Sister initiatives were launched in the UK in 2021 and India in 2023. Each is shaped by that country’s unique food and agriculture system. For example, while GoF UK has explored the role of middle actors (for example wholesalers, distributors and processers) and what the transition looks like specifically for the dairy and orchards sectors, GoF India focuses on Madhya Pradesh, a state of over 73 million people where farming and allied industries predominate and there is a need to coordinate to achieve greater impact.

Each GoF initiative shares a commitment to deep, multi-stakeholder collaboration that fosters connectivity, reframes narratives—to centre social and ecological regeneration and justice—and seeds and scales innovative action, including by catalysing market-level changes and reshaping local food systems to thrive, adapt, and be resilient. Our vision is of a global food system that is truly interconnected and transparent. One that meets the needs of consumers and producers and that, rather than maximising production and profit, embraces a holistic vision for food that connects farmers to their land and communities, and supports future generations.

So what impact is GoF having?

Outcome 1: Changing hearts and minds

GoF has built the capabilities of changemakers to think and act systemically, and to envision a just and regenerative food and agriculture system.

In the US, GoF has engaged stakeholders from more than 135 organisations through its collaborative platform and workstreams. Farming communities, food brands, and civil society representatives have connected, shared learnings, and co-designed ways to accelerate a transition in regenerative and just ways. We are changing power dynamic by ensuring the direct participation of farmers themselves as co-creators of the vision and co-designers of each pathway. Our strong relationships with other organisations committed to social equity, including Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Rural Coalition, and the National Young Farmers Coalition, are testament to the consistency of this approach. We have supported change actors to appreciate that the social and ecological outcomes of the transition are interconnected, and to prioritise outcomes related to the livelihoods, rights, and wellbeing of farmers, their farms, and their communities. This is key to our work to reframe dominant narratives and introduce new ones aligned with a just and regenerative vision. Our social outcomes toolkit explores what it could look like to incentivise social equity and to integrate meaningful socioeconomic metrics into existing and emerging standards, certifications, and other measurement frameworks.

Meanwhile in the UK, we have brought together more than 100 organisations representing farmers, food businesses, retailers, and civil society —supporting them to recognise the interdependence of diverse change actors and the power of intentional collaboration. 

By bringing people together in key workstreams, GoF aims to shift perspectives and mindsets among participants towards shared understanding and collective action. This in turn enables them to act systematically towards a just and regenerative food system. 

Peter Wortsman, Partner at European Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP) 

On how he is approaching sustainability challenges differently as part of GoF:

“Participating in the Growing our Future programme has reinforced the critical importance of aligning both personal and organizational goals to drive regenerative system change. The workshops underscored the unique challenges businesses face across different areas of fresh produce, while also providing a valuable collaboration forum. One key takeaway was that no single organisation can create a regenerative future in isolation. The root causes of systemic issues extend beyond the boundaries of individual organizations, and the seeds of effective solutions lie in collaboration. 

It’s early days, but creating the space to share challenges and learn from each other is powerful and can re-energise change agents in their efforts. Power imbalances are inherently difficult to change, but this is changing in some places as more powerful actors in the supply chain increase their awareness of the fragility of our food system, as well as the growers and conditions they depend on for supply. Of course, most powerful actors are often under pressure from influential stakeholders of their own. On a positive note, we’re starting to see more investment from downstream actors to enhance relationships with producers and delivering more regenerative outcomes.

Growing our Future does a great job fostering relationships across an industry, which sows the seeds for support networks and collaboration to drive the change we need to see. For me, the programme not only takes people out of their “day jobs” to inspire them to imagine a regenerative, thriving world, but importantly connects them with peers to help make it happen.” 

Outcome 2: Unlocking organisational action

It’s here we look to shift organisations’ ways of working and enable them to "walk the walk ", taking actions that have transformative potential. Through the workstreams we have generated practical tools and resources. Following the first phase of GoF UK, in which we broadly diagnosed the system, we led groups of industry stakeholders in investigations into specific topics. These include the role of processors and distributors; how new markets can be developed for regeneratively grown produce; and what a thriving future looks like in the dairy and orchard sectors. In our work with vegetable processors, we devised practical action plans, while with NGOs, we identified opportunities to collaborate with other actors.

In the US, our grants to Black, Indigenous, and Latine networks of farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers, made possible with support from the VF Foundation, have enabled farmers and their representatives to be compensated for their time and their thought leadership and to participate in important milestones like fly-ins on Capitol Hill to ad vocate for their rights amid ongoing negotiations on the Farm Bill.

We have also encouraged and piloted new practices and business models, including at a landscape level and in speci fic sectors. Our regenerative cotton pilot, delivered in partnership with the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC), is the firstof-its-kind application of innovative finance for regenerative farming in the cotton industry to 400 acres of black owned farms.

Similarly in India , we are innovating in designing equitable monetisation mechanisms including developing technology solutions for ecosystem services, such as carbon markets and payment for ecosystem services (PES). Our approach to PES ensures that small farmers receive fair compensation for their environmental stewardship. We are also working to enhance market access for agroecological produce. 

Doug Adams, Manager, Member Engagement & Equity, Ecosystems Services Market Consortium

On how GoF has supported his work:

“The team behind Growing Our Future has been instrumental in supporting my work leading ESMC’s commitment to inclusion and racial justice (IRJ). In their role as key project partner on Phase 1 of our regenerative cotton pilot project (executed through the 2023 growing season), the GoF team did a flawless job owning crucial stakeholder, program and change management leading to a successful project outcome that doubled as a major win for ESMC: the successful enrollment of 400 cotton acres on a prominent black-owned farm.

I believe that Forum’s GoF initiative has the potential to serve as a leading project around the enablement of equitable, restorative participation in regenerative ag opportunities by underserved producer communities globally. With organisational toolkits, a track record of cross-industry partners/funders, and staff ethos rooted in human compassion and advocacy, I believe that the sky is limit for what can be accomplished in future long-term projects.” 

LaKisha Odom, Ph.D. Scientific Program Director, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research

On how GoF has supported her work:

“Across India, the UK, and the US, GoF is influencing mainstream organisations. We see this in new and more diverse partnerships, stronger internal strategies and public messaging in support of just and regenerative outcomes, and deeper investment in producers and communities. A major US retailer has shaped its definition of regenerative sourcing in collaboration with our team, and new relationships have grown through our US Advisory Council, including between a mainstream policy advocacy organization and a coalition of Latine farmers and ranchers, resulting in a prominent collaboration at Climate Week NYC in 2024.” 

Outcome 3: Supporting wider change

We know we need a wider enabling environment to support transformational change in the food system. That’s why we’re strengthening the systemic leadership capabilities of those we work with, from systemic diagnosis skills to innovation and design.

For example, in the UK, we joined WWF to host a collaboration to improve synergies between 16 food and farming NGOs which aimed to align strategies and share knowledge to amplify collective impact. Our thought leadership has also enabled us to have wider reach. Forum has emerged as a trusted voice in the UK’s regenerative agriculture sector, for example, developing the keynote report for the 2023 Oxford Farming Conference on the role of supply chains in achieving responsible production on-farm. Here, we identified how supply chain synergies can yield both environmental benefits and improved farmer profitability and argued that bold, voluntary action is needed alongside ambitious policy frameworks.

In India, we have deepened the impact of local and state-level CSOs, ensuring their active participation in government processes, and embedding transition principles within governance frameworks. The more cohesive structure that we advocate not only strengthens their ability to shape state-level policies; it fosters a more resilient transition to regenerative agriculture.

In the US, key elements of our vision for a future food and agriculture system have influenced other changemakers’ definitions. For example, Field to Market’s definitions of sustainable and regenerative agriculture – where the former acknowledges the importance of “improving the social and economic well-being of agricultural communities” and the latter is anchored in a “systems-based perspective”. We have influenced the conversation at mainstream conferences such as the Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems Summit, which we emceed in 2022 and helped to design and moderate in 2023, bringing Indigenous land stewards on stage during keynote sessions. Our policy advocacy has also garnered attention; we have begun to influence the conversation both at the federal and state level.

Across India, the UK and the US, GoF is influencing change in the wider sector. We see this in the demand for new and more diverse partnerships, stronger public messaging in support of just and regenerative outcomes, and deeper investment in producers and communities. A major US retailer has shaped its definition of regenerative sourcing in collaboration with our team, and new relationships have grown through our US Advisory Council, including between a mainstream policy advocacy organization and a coalition of Latine farmers and ranchers, resulting in a prominent collaboration at Climate Week NYC in 2024. 

Jenny Rouquette, Partnership Lead, Shropshire Good Food Partnership

On how she is approaching sustainability challenges differently through GoF:

“The Growing our Future workstream on ‘Routes to Market’ has provided a clear and coherent framing of the challenges and opportunities to get regeneratively grown produce to market at scale. It has been valuable being part of a process of exploration that has been facilitated in such an articulate way, providing food for thought, both capturing discussion and moving it forward between sessions. 

The approach of enquiry into future scenarios, identifying barriers and plotting routes forward is widely applicable. The convening power of Forum for the Future meant that there was a relatively wide range of participants with whom I appreciated the chance to have a well-structured dialogue. The opportunity platforms identified provide a useful way of looking at how my work and different spheres of influence can contribute to wider system change. I think it's really important to be able to weave together action at different scales, from the hyper local to county, bioregion and national and the conceptual framework that came out of this workstream supports that.” 

What's next for GoF?

Our ambition is to scale and evolve each country’s initiative in ways that deepen and accelerate regenerative transition. 

In the US, GoF will facilitate collective action through our collaborative platform and work in the cotton and dairy sectors. We will continue our policy advocacy, with a focus on the Farm Bill, and on state policies that incentivise regenerative practices from the demand side while supporting farmers. We will also build on our work to measure and demonstrate the social outcomes of regenerative agriculture.

In the UK, we will support supply chain actors in the dairy, vegetable and orchard sectors to transform their approach to delivering sustainable products; host place based activations; and explore the role of urban agriculture in the transition, with a pilot initiative in one major city.

In India, we will continue to support the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh to shift policies and governance mechanisms, build regional capacity for regenerative approaches, and motivate other states to follow suit. 

Find out more or get in touch

Find out more about GoF US, UK and India. Or email [email protected] to get involved.