Abstract
The converging climate, biodiversity, public health and nutrition emergencies highlight the need for more regenerative food systems. Despite the recognition that regenerative food systems enhance resilience, resource efficiency, and equity, they continue to be dwarfed by extractive industrial approaches. One factor that is holding back regenerative food systems is their lack of access to financial capital. In response to this financing gap, social financiers have turned their attention to regenerative food systems. To date, the scholarship exploring the role of social financing in supporting regenerative food systems is limited. Yet, this is an important area of study for understanding the tools that could support pathways towards greater social and ecological resilience in our food systems. This paper develops propositions on the links between social financing and regenerative food systems, with qualitative insights used as illustrations. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders related to social finance and regenerative food systems in the United States. Additionally, this paper draws on information gathered through presentations from the Regenerative Food System Investment (RSFI) forum. The analysis identified five observations that enrich the social finance and food systems literatures: (1) those who get funded are not necessarily the best placed to advance the goals of regenerative agriculture; (2) tensions exist between the way that scholars and practitioners view social finance; (3) impact metrics are in flux and must be approached thoughtfully; (4) the middle of the food value chain remains severely underfunded; (5) early steps are being taken to maintain diversity that is core to the resilience of regenerative food systems. Topics for further research in this emerging area are identified in the conclusion.
Highlights
Regenerative food systems contribute directly to goals of increasing diversity and resilience (I borrow from Tendall et al.’s definition of resilience as “the capacity to continue providing a function over time despite disturbances” and in how they position resilience as a means to achieving sustainable or regenerative goals, even when the system is under stress [1] (p. 17))
These observations indicate areas that are ripe for intervention. These are: (1) those who get funded are not necessarily the best placed to advance the goals of regenerative agriculture; (2) tensions exist between the way that scholars and practitioners view social finance (3) impact metrics are in flux and must be approached thoughtfully; (4) the middle of the food value chain remains severely underfunded; (5) preliminary steps are being taken to avoid concentration and maintain the diversity that is core to regenerative food systems
A combination of qualitative research methods was employed to answer the guiding research questions: What lessons can we learn from the current trajectory of social finance in regenerative food systems, and are there policy recommendations that arise from studying such initiatives to support a resilient food future? This study followed a constructivist research approach and is aligned with the principles of grounded theory, one of the most common qualitative research methods in the social sciences [39]
Summary
The converging climate, biodiversity, public health, and nutrition emergencies highlight the need for more regenerative food systems. Regenerative food systems contribute directly to goals of increasing diversity and resilience They do so by emphasizing a range of locally adapted farming practices and integrating markers of social and economic diversity to enhance the resilience of food and farming communities [2]. I interpret regenerative food systems as approaches that are designed to enhance soil fertility, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and support local communities
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