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Celebrating 10 Years of Regeneration International - Cultivating Soil, Solidarity & System Change
by Regeneration International
This month, Regeneration International celebrates our 10-year anniversary. A decade ago, on July 8, 2015, 60+ farmers, scientists, and activists gathered at Finca Luna Nueva in Costa Rica, and planted the seed of Regeneration International. Their mission? To reimagine agriculture as a force of regeneration rather than degeneration.
From that biodynamic retreat, a global initiative was imagined, and Regeneration International emerged and took root. This month, we’re revisiting that origin story through a special conversation with some of our founding leaders:
Mercedes López Martínez is Director of Vía Orgánica in Mexico and a key leader in the ‘Sin Maíz No Hay País’ campaign. This year, she helped secure a national reform to ban GMO corn, protecting Mexico’s native varieties and advancing food sovereignty.
Dr. André Leu is RI’s co-founder and International Director, a longtime organic farmer and author, and former President of IFOAM. He’s been a driving force behind RI’s global policy work and helped lead the creation of the new Regeneration International Standard.
Ercilia Sahores is RI’s Latin America Director and Campaigns Director at Vía Orgánica. With roots in political science, she’s been a vital connector across movements, working with farmers, educators, and policymakers to defend traditional seed systems and build just, local food economies throughout Latin America and around the world.
Precious Phiri is RI’s Africa Coordinator and founding trustee of iGugu Trust in Zimbabwe. Through her work in holistic grazing and community resilience, she has helped regenerate degraded landscapes and support rural livelihoods across Southern Africa and across the world.
Discover how their vision sowed the ground for initiatives like the People’s Food Summit, Billion Agave Project, worldwide education programs, and the groundbreaking Regeneration International Standard.
Read the full story & watch the interview
This work has been a true community effort. We thank all of you for being a part of this movement for the last decade, and we want to give a special shout-out to Steve Rye and Katherine Paul for their work and guidance from the beginning. Along with the rest of our team members working with us now, Judy Linman is at our main office and is the warm and welcoming voice on the other end of the phone, answering questions and helping people feel connected to our movement. Liz Welch who has been working by Rose and Ronnie’s side from the beginning. And we’re deeply grateful to Kaare Melby, Heather Sve, Becca Kehoe, Paco Oviedo, Danielle Enblom, Scott Funkhouser, Oliver Gardiner, and Alexis Baden-Mayer, whose invaluable work in organizing, tech systems, and media have been essential in helping us share our message and expand our reach around the world.
Join the Global Regeneration Movement – Volunteer or Intern from Anywhere
Regeneration International is expanding our Regenerative Farm Map —a tool that connects the world with farms, cooperatives, and schools practicing regenerative agriculture. These inspiring initiatives are proving that restoring our soil can also restore our climate, our health, and our food systems.
We’re looking for volunteers or interns to help research and identify regenerative farms and farm schools around the world. This is a remote opportunity—you can contribute from wherever you are.
Your role would involve researching farms and programs engaged in regenerative practices, verifying their work, and helping add them to the map. Every listing helps shine a light on the hope and solutions already growing across the globe.
If you’re passionate about climate, food systems, or soil health—and you’re detail-oriented and curious—we’d love your help. Hours are flexible and you can work independently or alongside others on our small, international team.
To get involved, email us at [email protected] with a short note about your interest. No need for a resume—just your willingness to support land regeneration and food security through grassroots action.
Let’s grow this movement together!
The Indigenous Roots of Regenerative Agriculture
by Lyla June Johnston
"Regenerative agriculture (RA) has greatly enhanced global food production and soil health through its advocacy for cover cropping, minimal soil disturbance, increased crop diversity, and animal integration. As a social trend, however, RA can inadvertently eclipse millennia of global Indigenous regenerative practice (IRP) when mistaken as an innovative or novel practice. The underlying principle of RA is that modes of food production can and should leave the soil and the land better than we found it.
Indigenous civilizations worldwide have done this for thousands of years, however, as reflected by prodigious archaeological and paleoecological evidence. Improving soil health, RA’s primary focus, is just one practice mastered by Indigenous communities worldwide. Others include habitat expansion, perpetual systems design, non-human-centrism, strategic augmentation of base trophic levels, methodical application of low-intensity fire, regenerative timber harvesting, and more. The propensity of dominant cultures to marginalize, omit, or misunderstand Indigenous cultural institutions has limited the ability of IRP to influence mainstream food production practices. Because Indigenous practices are (by definition) refined over millennial scales through trial and error, they hold profound institutional and place-based knowledge often lacking within RA. Until the Indigenous roots of RA are fully unpacked and applied, 21st-century RA will lack deeper efficiency and historical accuracy."
Learn More
Neither Conventional nor GMO. What’s the Place of ‘New Genomic Techniques’ in Organic Agriculture?
by Emma Bryce
"In a recent opinion piece, a group of international researchers says that by barring specific genetic engineering techniques, the European Union is missing a critical opportunity to advance organic agriculture. If embraced, these techniques could help the bloc to meet its 25% organic farmland target by 2030, and close the roughly 20% yield gap in organic production, they say.
What they’re referring to are ‘new genomic techniques’ or ‘NGTs’. These aren’t conventional plant breeding methods, but nor do they strictly fit the definition of ‘genetically modified organisms’ or ‘GMOs’. As such, plants that are created using NGTs currently exist in a kind of regulatory limbo in the EU, where plant breeding is a contentious issue that has led to strict legal controls on how it is used.
New genomic techniques mostly involve targeted genetic changes to a plant’s existing genes. This can involve the use of tools like CRISPR-Cas9 to snip out and change portions of DNA. These small tweaks allow a range of possible benefits, from breeding crops that produce higher yields, are more resistant to certain pests and disease, are better able to tolerate drought, or even have higher concentrations of particular nutrients.
Because NGTs only tinker with a plant’s existing genes and typically don’t involve the transfer of foreign genes into a plant from another source, they are considered different to GMOs which can include these methods."
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Glyphosate and GMOs Are Damaging Our Health. It’s Time to Ban Them
by Dr. André Leu, Regeneration International Director
The Scientific Evidence That Justifies Banning GMOs and Glyphosate:
There are an enormous number of published scientific studies showing that GMOs and their associated pesticides are responsible for multiple serious health problems for people, animals, and the wider environment.
The widespread adoption of GMO crops in the U.S. has resulted in a massive increase in the application of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as the primary method of weed control.
Research shows that GMOs and glyphosate cause multiple serious chronic diseases. Over 50 years of regulation since glyphosate’s introduction in 1974 clearly highlight regulatory failure. Authorities should fulfill their duty to protect the public by banning these substances.
Learn More
We Regenerate
by iGive Trees
"iGiveTrees’ books closed on June 30, 2025. After all fiscal sponsorship fees were paid for 2025, there was $3,500 remaining with only a 48 hour window of time to send the funds to a recipient before incurring new fees for activities (like document translations and bank wires to Brazil), that would carry us into a new fiscal year.
Out of the not-so-clear blue sky, I felt inspired to reach out to Ercilia Sahores, the Executive Director of Regeneration International, not knowing she was sitting in Rio at the 4p1000 event there at the time!
After a flurry of brainstorming between sessions, I realized there could be no better recipient of this final disbursement than Regeneration International. They had issued my credentials for participation in the COP events, hosted me in their shared accommodations, and become my global family.
My love and respect is full for their project partners Precious from Zimbabwe, Mercedes from Mexico, and Ercilia from Argentina who I was able to develop relationships with over the last decade. These fine humans deserve our respect and continued support."
Read More
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What I Pack in My Go Bag to Stay Ready for Any Natural Disaster
Floodwaters are rising. A fire has broken out next door. A tornado siren blares overhead. In a crisis, every second counts and every decision matters. Having a fully stocked emergency go bag means you won’t be scrambling to find critical supplies, medications or documents when it’s time to evacuate quickly. Trust me: Having a bag ready can make a chaotic, terrifying moment a little more manageable.
How America’s Most Popular Supermarkets Handle Their Unsold Groceries
Food waste is a complex challenge. As food waste piles up in landfills, it contributes to irreversible environmental changes, including global warming. But there’s another problem looming: 47 million people in our country don’t have enough to eat, with one in 5 kids facing food insecurity. Here’s how your neighborhood grocery store is using unsold food to fuel a movement for good.
Tanzania at a Crossroads, Building an Organic Future after Decades of Toxic Pollution
On June 20, various ministers representing the national government presented speeches to Parliament on the national government’s plan and budget recommendations, as well as highlighting the previous fiscal year’s trends and use of funds.
‘Could Become a Death Spiral’: Scientists Discover What’s Driving Record Die-Offs of Us Honeybees
Last December, his bees were wintering in California when the weather turned cold. Bees grouped on top of hives trying to keep warm. “Every time I went out to the beehive there were less and less,” says Adee. “Then a week later, there’d be more dead ones to pick up … every week there is attrition, just continually going down.” Adee went on to lose 75% of his bees. “It’s almost depressingly sad,” he says. “If we have a similar situation this year – I sure hope we don’t – then we’re in a death spiral.”
10 Refreshing Fruits That Are More Hydrating Than Plain Water
Water is the hydration tool of choice during a summer heat wave, but the foods you eat also help. Eating fruit in hot weather gives you more fluid and dehydration-fighting electrolytes. You also get nutrition, including many vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
How Philanthropists Are Destroying African Farms – Video
What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent’s food. From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent.
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Everglades From Becoming I.C.E Detention Center
MIAMI— Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity today sued in U.S. District Court to protect the Florida Everglades from a reckless plan to create a massive detention center to confine people who are rounded up in immigration raids. The groups are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County.
Ancient Maize v. Agribusiness: Why Colombia’s ‘Seed Guardians’ Are Fighting the Use of GM Crops
On a hillside farm in San Lorenzo, in the mountains of Colombia’s southern Nariño department, Aura Alina Domínguez presses maize seeds into the damp soil. Around her, farmers Alberto Gómez, José Castillo and Javier Castillo arrive with their selected seeds, stored in shigras – hand-woven shoulder bags – as has been done for generations. In San Lorenzo, they call themselves “seed guardians” for their role in protecting this living heritage and passing it down the generations. “Each seed carries our grandparents’ story,” says Domínguez, arranging the dried cobs that hang from her rafters.
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Support Our Work
Join us in commemorating a decade of groundbreaking work in regenerative agriculture, sparked by the visionary gathering of farmers, scientists, organizers, and activists.
Over the past decade, Regeneration International has grown from these early efforts into a global movement, launching initiatives that are transforming the way we approach food, farming, and the future of our planet.
Some highlights include the People’s Food Summit: Amplifying grassroots voices and promoting food sovereignty - The Billion Agave Project: Reforesting arid lands and promoting sustainable agriculture - Regenerative education programs worldwide: Empowering communities to adopt regenerative practices.
And we are excited to announce The Regeneration International Standard: Ensuring the integrity of the “regenerative” label and promoting accountability.
Please help us keep the moment going. Your contribution will help us continue to promote regenerative agriculture practices globally, support grassroots movements and community-led initiatives, implement standards for regenerative agriculture, as well as educate and empower consumers to make informed choices.
Donate today and help us build on Regeneration International’s momentum over past decade to give more people an opportunity for a healthy organic and regenerative life and future.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International
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Upcoming Events |
In Person:
07/30 - Regenerative Arts Summit
08/02 - Plant Health 2025
08/08 - Regenerative Farming Lunch | Learn | Volunteer Event with New England RCA
08/09 - 9 day Regenerative Agriculture Design Course
08/10 - Curso Intensivo Presencial de Ganadería Funcional
08/14 - The Green Summit
08/15 - 2025 IWGS Symposium Education Day
08/22 - The Organic Growers Gathering 2025
Online:
07/29 - Webinar: Regenerative Agriculture with Dr. Ken Giller
08/13 - Webinar: Farmer Training Programs Overview
08/20 - Webinar: Regenerative Organic in Action—Connecting Soil, Supply and Social Fairness
08/24 - Webinar – Sustainable Agriculture in the UK: Farming for the Future
*Click here to view full events calendar and submit your own
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Regeneration International is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, dedicated to building a global network of farmers, scientists, businesses, activists, educators, journalists, policymakers and consumers who will promote and put into practice regenerative agriculture and land-use practices that: provide abundant, nutritious food; revitalize local economies; regenerate soil fertility and water-retention capacity; nurture biodiversity; and restore climate stability by reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time drawing down excess atmospheric carbon and sequestering it in the soil.
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