President Trump’s new executive order on regenerative farming has been pitched as a win for soil, farmers, and even American health in general. But what does it mean for the food you actually eat? The order is actually built around fuel and specific farming methods, but the effect it’ll have on your grocery cart is pretty indirect.
The order directs the USDA to expand a regenerative agriculture program to make it easier for more farmers to adopt those practices. Essentially, that’s a process that restores previously degraded (used) soil using more sustainable practices. Additionally, the USDA finalized a rule that rewards farmers for using those methods on any crops grown for biofuel. The order also directs the EPA to put specific farm chemicals under the microscope to evaluate them further.
“Regenerative” is doing a lot of work here, as it might make you think of healthier soil and better food. The actual rule, though, is really more about biofuel. It’s all about the more sustainable practices for growing corn, soybeans, sorghum, and canola. Those crops are sold to make fuel like ethanol. There are two real ways this could food that you eat.
To better understand the order and what’s going to happen with it, we have to discuss biofuel crops and the methods used to farm them. The order can be a bit complex, but it’s easily understood when you look at all the moving parts. We’ll break it down so it’s more easily digested (like your food) here for you.
The Rule is Really About Fuel
View this post on Instagram
The rule rewards farmers for growing biofuel crops with regenerative methods, not for growing food specifically. As we see it, corn and soybeans live a double life. The same crops can become food, animal feed, or fuel. Plenty of those crops already go to making fuel. In fact, about 40 percent of U.S. corn ends up as ethanol. So anything that shapes the fuel side tends to spill over into food and feed, too.
This is where a long-running debate comes in. Some biofuel critics argue that steering the available crops toward fuel can make prices go up and cut the amount of food available. Supporters say, essentially, that these aren’t issues. This new rule makes it even more confusing, since it rewards how a crop is grown rather than how it’s distributed.
Are We Getting Healthier Food As a Result?
The thinking goes that healthier soil grows more nutritious food, so practices like cover crops and reduced tilling could, over time, mean produce that has more vitamins and minerals in it. There’s a bit of research that does back this up. Certain studies have discovered higher levels of nutrients in regeneratively grown crops. But the science on this is still early and far from definitive.
This order also tells the EPA to review how some crop chemicals are used, including herbicides sprayed on crops before harvest. It calls for studying what happens when people are exposed to several chemicals at once, too. It all fits the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again messaging. For now, though, it’s a direction to study and review, not a change you’ll notice at the store.