Encouraging regenerative farming practices can start with conscious shopping choices, but there are many challenges ahead. Mattheiu Kohlmeyer, founder of La Tourangelle, a Berkeley, Calif.-based maker of artisanal cooking oils, some of which are produced using regenerative farming techniques, discusses the ins and outs of growing healthy, affordable regenerative foods. La Tourangelle makes a variety of oils, including almond and avocado oil, sunflower, grapeseed and olive oils — it sources nuts and seeds from regenerative farmers in Eastern Europe and California, upcycling nuts when possible to reduce its environmental impact. The company also uses post-consumer recycled materials in packaging and its spray oils use no chemical propellants or aerosols.

Regenerative farming can restore soils — the U.S. looses about 5.6 tons of topsoil per acre per year, and by leaving soil untilled, allowing natural biology to play out in the absence of chemicals, it is estimated that healthy soil could sequester a quarter of a billion tons of CO2 annually. Mattheiu recently contributed an article at Earth911, Regenerative Farming Practices: Food for a Healthier Planet. Regenerative farming is a comprehensive practice and one made harder in the midst of an historic drought in the West. You can learn more about La Tourangelle at https://latourangelle.com