ROADMAP FOR REGENERATIVE DAIRY
ffinlo Costain, chief executive of Farmwel, said: “Our future nutritional security depends on the capacity of global brands to plan and deliver new, profitable and successful models of food production. This means trusting and empowering farmers to protect their communities and rebalance their farms so that they can work successfully in partnership with nature.”
GLOBAL BRANDS PARTNER TO DELIVER ROADMAP FOR REGENERATIVE DAIRY
A number of global food companies, including Unilever, Barry Callebaut, Arla Foods, Ben & Jerry's and Woolworth South Africa, have partnered up with FAI Farms and Farmwel, to deliver a roadmap for regenerative dairy.
‘RE-DAIRY’ is a 18 month-long project starting in October 2021 and aims to engage dairy farmers and businesses around a practical vision for a productive and profitable global dairy sector that also restores its relationship with nature.
Øistein Thorsen, chief executive of FAI Farms, said: “We face two great crises in nature: global warming and biodiversity loss. We must urgently address agriculture’s impact, but we also have to produce diverse and nutritious food to nourish a growing global population. For global dairy to make the transition we need global collaboration. That is why we invite other partners to join and take a seat at the table.”
The collaboration will define what regenerative dairy looks like from the bottom up. RE-DAIRY's vision is to put a spotlight on practices that are having regenerative outcomes on dairy farms around the world today. To help ensure mainstream adoption and impact, the project will investigate practical language and effective framing for farmer focused communication.
Working with farmer groups and other stakeholders, a roadmap of critical steps and actions will be created to establish the supply chain conditions for successful transition to regenerative dairy.
RE-DAIRY begins as all nations make their COP26 pledges about the speed with which their societies and economies must decarbonise.
“Agricultural land use accounts for 24% of carbon emissions, but not all of these emissions are from fossil fuels. While emissions from ruminants are high, the warming impact of these emissions is relatively stable. This means that the best way to mitigate dairy’s global warming impact is to take a whole-systems approach and reintegrate farming practices with nature,” said Mr Thorsen.
“By reducing the industry’s reliance on fossil fuels, and by focusing on soil health, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water management, the dairy sector will be able to produce high quality nutrition and maintain profitability.”
ffinlo Costain, chief executive of Farmwel, said: “Our future nutritional security depends on the capacity of global brands to plan and deliver new, profitable and successful models of food production. This means trusting and empowering farmers to protect their communities and rebalance their farms so that they can work successfully in partnership with nature.”
RE-DAIRY starts in the autumn of 2021, and there is still an opportunity for other brands to take part.
To find out more about the Roadmap to Regenerative Dairy please contact FAI Farms or Farmwel.
UK - ffinlo Costain – Chief executive, Farmwel
E-mails: ffinlo@ffinlo.org –
Mobile phone:+44 (0) 7920 854 904
USA - Øistein Thorsen – Chief executive, FAI Farms
E-mail: oistein.thorsen@faifarms.com
Cell phone: +1 (347) 330 9926