A new survey shows relatively few consumers are familiar with the term “regenerative,” used for a group of agriculture practices that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants farmers to adopt.
Regenerative practices, which include planting cover crops, are broadly intended to improve soil health and the larger ecosystem.
The survey commissioned by the Organic Trade Association found that only 20% of the consumers surveyed said they were familiar with the regenerative claim, while another 22% said they are “somewhat familiar."
By comparison, around 90% of the consumers surveyed were familiar or somewhat with the terms local, organic and natural. Some 82% of those surveyed said they were familiar or somewhat familiar with the term non-GMO.
“The regenerative claim, while increasingly part of the food industry lexicon, does not appear to have hit home yet with most consumers,” according to a press release.
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In his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy pledged to work with Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins to promote the adoption of regenerative practices.
Some 54% of those surveyed said the claim “no added hormones” was important or somewhat important to them, the highest rating of any labeling claim. By comparison, 50% of the survey respondents said the “natural” claim was at least somewhat important, while 44% cited “organic” as important or somewhat important. Just 25% said that about the term "regenerative."
The survey was conducted in October and had 2,522 respondents.
