Talking about regeneration

Regenerative agriculture has become a hot topic, with dedicated events providing a space for inspiring conversations between farmers and non-farmers alike, says Gabriel Stone

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IT'S FESTIVAL season. As the young and young at heart dust off tents and put extraordinary faith in the great British summer, you might be tempted to leave them to it. Or you could join a truly mind-altering, revolutionary festival that attracts an international crowd of trailblazers and devotees alike: for better-quality mud, forget Glastonbury and instead head for Groundswell.

Now in its ninth year, this July gathering in Hertfordshire provides an inspirational forum and energising sense of community for the regenerative agriculture movement. This scattered, entrepreneurial, loosely bound collective is on a mission that goes beyond conservation or sustainability. It argues that preservation is no longer enough: those who derive benefit from our landscape have a duty to enhance it. As marketing teams embrace the regenerative buzzword, anyone who engages with our food system — and if you eat, that includes you — should consider how they support this effort and, crucially, be alert to the inevitable ‘greenwash’ that surrounds it.