Local, organic, sustainable, regenerative - what does it all mean? 

Organic farming follows legally regulated production standards. In the UK, organic farmers must be certified and inspected. The rules include restrictions on artificial fertilisers and pesticides, requirements for maintaining soil fertility, and standards for animal welfare and processing.

Organic farming can support biodiversity, soil health and wildlife, partly through reduced use of certain chemicals, and farming practices such as crop rotation. Organic is a recognised certification but doesn't automatically mean lower environmental impact. Some farmers mainly farm using organic principles but haven’t gone through the certification process.

Sustainable farming aims to produce food at the same time as considering soil, water, wildlife, climate, animal welfare impacts. It can include economic viability too. There are many different ways of being more sustainable, so instead of simply accepting the term, you might want to ask how?

Regenerative farming goes further than simply being sustainable. It means restoring or improving the health of the land, rather than simply reducing any negative impacts. It could include growing a variety of crops, managing grazing to improve grassland and soil, and choosing certain cattle breeds that are more likely to help to do this, and enhancing habitats.

Regenerative farmers aim to improve biodiversity, soil structure and water retention. Regenerative farming has food production at its centre.

Rewilding aims to restore ecosystems and natural processes so that nature can increasingly take care of itself but doesn't have food production at its centre like regenerative farming. The two approaches can work alongside each other, with different parts of land being used differently.

What does ‘local food’ mean?

When someone refers to local food, it doesn’t explain how that food is produced, or even how local it is. Restaurants may say they offer locally-sourced food, but might not always explain which ingredients are locally sourced. 'Local' isn't always beneficial. It cuts down on food miles but might not mean environmentally-friendly practices are used. 

You could ask where food is actually grown or produced, perhaps even discover the name of the farm or producer and how their land is farmed.

When asking about food provenance, you might want to find out more about animal welfare or how wildlife habitats are being safe-guarded.

Some people prefer to not eat animal products for environmental reasons. It’s important to remember that not all vegetables are produced in environmentally-friendly ways. Some monocultures, such as large soya or almond production are damaging, as is air-freight to bring in many vegetables.