Do currently available Regenerative Agriculture Certification Schemes address food safety?
As far as I can tell after a quick search and review, it seems that none of them do, at least directly, not even pre-farm gate.
While recognizing that this is a dynamic field, arguably rapidly gaining momentum, especially as concern over climate change is rising, here are a few tentative observations
First, as far as I know there is no official designation or recognition by government or industry of any particular regen ag standards scheme.
Second, while some schemes seem to have more adherents than others, and seem to be nearing endorsement by influential sets of market-makers, practitioners, and/or proponents, the forces of competition as well as differences of philosophy, scope, and approach keep the space in flux.
Third, while food safety is one of the legitimate concerns for agriculture of any sort, there are many others, including: sustainability, soil health, water use, carbon cycle, biogenic and above ground GHG emissions, animal health, worker health and safety, child labor responsible sourcing, ethical or fair trade, etc. Competing schemes address their own mix of concerns.
Fourth, while all of the regen ag schemes give primacy to pre-farmgate practice, some are tentatively trying to move downstream into packing, processing, distribution, and retailing, apparently out of concern that inappropriate conditions or practices that occur during later stages of the supply chain might violate regenerative philosophy and adversely affect resulting products.
Fifth, while all regen ag schemes seem to concentrate on practices, some are trying to certify the products themselves, and others are seeking ways to address and measure outcomes.
Sixth, all regen ag schemes are driven (or at least affected) by a mix of supply, demand and philosophical factors. Any given scheme may elect to structure itself differently, depending on chosen goals, geographic domain, industry coverage, choice of supply chain stages, financing source and market linkages.
So what does this all imply for food safety: (1) sometimes no coverage at all, or at least just partial; (2) apparent need and opportunity for alliances with separate food safety standards and certification bodies, which are far more evolved; (3) need for all leading players to think bigger and act accordingly; (4) apparent need and opportunity for an integrated approach that straddles and interconnects standards that address distinct objective functions; (5) need for further maturation of standard scheme holders, the regulatory environment, and the marketplace.
FYI, without any implied endorsement but with due thanks and attribution to "A Greener World", below I insert a URL for a useful table by AGW:
https://lnkd.in/eEpptej2
Note the absence of true food safety content among selected leaders in this space!
Technical Services in Aerospace, Serious Games and Training in Crisis Management, Managed Services for Cyber Protection, Telehealth, e-Learning, Agriculture, IoT, Semi-Conductors and Sensors, R&D
9moThe approval for Cultivated Meat for human consumption is most likely not a short-term solution. A suivre !