A decade ago, on July 8, 2015, 60+ farmers, scientists, and activists gathered at Finca Luna Nueva in Costa Rica, and planted the seed of Regeneration International. Their mission? To reimagine agriculture as a force of regeneration rather than degeneration.

From that biodynamic retreat, a global initiative was imagined, and Regeneration International emerged and took root. This month, we’re revisiting that origin story through a special interview with founding leaders, Dr. André Leu, Ercilia Sahores, Mercedes López Martínez, and Precious Phiri, whose words remind us how soil, shared values, and collective action sparked a global movement.

Discover how their vision sowed the ground for initiatives like the People’s Food Summit, Billion Agave Project, worldwide education programs, and the new Regeneration International Standard.

Read the full story & watch the interview

Ronnie Cummins, co-founder of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and Regeneration International:

Editor’s note:
 Ronnie passed in 2023, but these rules and his words are as relevant now as they were when he wrote them in 2020.

Over the past five decades, as a food, natural health and environmental campaigner, anti-war organizer, human rights activist and journalist, I’ve had the inspiring and at times depressing opportunity to work and travel across much of the world.

Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned through my work is that people respond best to a positive, solutions-oriented message. Gloom-and-doom thinking—the kind that offers no plausible solution—doesn’t generally inspire people to get involved or take action.

That doesn’t mean we should downplay the seriousness of our current situation. We face unprecedented life-or-death threats. We’re up against formidable political, economic and cultural obstacles. We must continue to highlight and criticize, with passion, facts and concrete examples, the bad actors, practices and policies that have brought us to the brink of a global crisis.

That said, I believe that the main obstacle we must overcome, in the U.S. and worldwide, is that many (if not most) people are locked into disempowering situations that are causing them to suffer from a pervasive sense of hopelessness. It’s not that they don’t want to change. But unfortunately, most people don’t really believe things can change.

I disagree. I believe we can shift the global conversation on food, farming, politics, health and climate from one of hopelessness to one of hope. I believe we can empower the grassroots to rise up and take action, both individually and collectively.


Read the Rules for Regenerators, a roadmap for positive change

Read ‘The Regenerative Agriculture Solution’ by Ronnie Cummins & André Leu (foreword by Vandana Shiva)

Regeneration International is expanding our Regenerative Farm Map, a tool that connects the world with farms, cooperatives, and schools practicing regenerative agriculture. These inspiring initiatives are proving that restoring our soil can also restore our climate, our health, and our food systems.

We’re looking for volunteers or interns to help research and identify regenerative farms and farm schools around the world. This is a remote opportunity — you can contribute from wherever you are.

Your role would involve researching farms and programs engaged in regenerative practices, verifying their work, and helping add them to the map. Every listing helps shine a light on the hope and solutions already growing across the globe.

If you’re passionate about climate, food systems, or soil health — and you’re detail-oriented and curious — we’d love your help. 

To get involved, email us at office@organicconsumers.org with a short note about your interest. No need for a resume, just your willingness to support land regeneration and food security through grassroots action. Let’s grow this movement together! 

Carey Gillam reports for The New Lede:

“Over 73 million people in the US are being exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals in their tap water, according to an analysis of data from a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water monitoring program.

Unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been found in excess of EPA thresholds in every US state but Arkansas, Hawaii and North Dakota, according to the analysis published July 17 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

NRDC released maps built on the data, and said the research shows that people across the country will be impacted by an EPA plan to rescind drinking water limits for four PFAS chemicals and push back compliance deadlines for two others.”

Read how exposures to some types of PFAS have been linked to certain cancers, thyroid disease, liver damage and immune system problems, among other health problems, and check the map for your level of risk

Save the EPA’s Cancer & Health Risks Report:

In the last days of the Biden Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the start of a project it should have finished before Trump took office: determining the health risks of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in sewage sludge disposed of on farmland.

Biden’s EPA found that these toxic “forever chemicals” can cause cancer and other diseases in people who live near farm fields where sludge is spread–or those who consume tainted milk, beef, or other foods from these farms–including kidney and liver cancers, decreased birth weight, increased cholesterol, and diminished immune system function.

How likely is Trump’s EPA to finalize these findings?

Trump’s EPA has already decided to “rescind” and “reconsider” regulatory limits on PFAS in drinking water. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are trying to stop the EPA’s health risks determination. The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee included a policy rider in their fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill, Section 507, that would permanently prohibit the EPA from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing its Draft Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS in Sewage Sludge.

TAKE ACTION BY AUGUST 14: Tell the EPA to Ban Toxic Sludge from Farmland!

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress, Don’t Stop EPA’s Toxic Sludge Health Risks Assessment!

Join us in commemorating a decade of groundbreaking work in regenerative agriculture, sparked by the visionary gathering of farmers, scientists, organizers, and activists, and funded by the Organic Consumers Association.

From Seeds to System Change

Over the past decade, Regeneration International has grown from these early efforts into a global movement, launching initiatives that are transforming the way we approach food, farming, and the future of our planet.

Some highlights include the People’s Food Summit: Amplifying grassroots voices and promoting food sovereignty – The Billion Agave Project: Reforesting arid lands and promoting sustainable agriculture – Regenerative education programs worldwide: Empowering communities to adopt regenerative practices.

And we are excited to announce The Regeneration International Standard: Ensuring the integrity of the “regenerative” label and promoting accountability.

Please help us keep the moment going. Your contribution will help us continue to promote regenerative agriculture practices globally, support grassroots movements and community-led initiatives, implement standards for regenerative agriculture, as well as educate and empower consumers to make informed choices.

Donate today and help us build on Regeneration International’s momentum over past decade to give more people an opportunity for a healthy organic and regenerative life and future.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International, our international sister organization

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Have you considered making a gift from your IRA?

Thanks to your energy and participation, the Organic Consumers Association won its campaign targeting the Organic Materials Review Institute, Starr Ranch, Stemilt, and Limoneira, to get Apeel out of organic.

Apeel finally admitted that its product, designed to increase shelf-life, isn’t allowed on organic produce, but it’s keeping hope alive that one day, it will get approved (it hasn’t submitted anything to the National Organic Standards Board or OMRI yet):

“We are working on new formulations for USDA organic growers that will be USDA Organic Certified or OMRI Listed when they are available for purchase. Organipeel, a product we offered in the past to USDA organic growers, has been discontinued to make way for next-generation formulations that offer improved efficacy and greater operational flexibility for our customers.” 

So, it was really weird when after that happened, Michelle Pfeiffer spread the years-old news that “organic produce is no longer safe” now that “‘Bill Gates’ Apeel just got approved for USDA-certified organic.” 

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes, but why this, why now?

Our suspicion is that this fake news is timed to distract us from the real threats to food and farming that you can read about and take action on every week through this newsletter.

If someone has forwarded you one of the many news items on Michelle Pfeiffer’s beef with Bill Gates, please forward them this newsletter and encourage them to take action on our current alerts. Let’s work together to address the real challenges facing our food and farming systems. 

Miacel Spotted Elk writes for Mother Jones:

“The Miccosukee Tribe in Florida joined environmental groups on Tuesday to sue the federal and state agencies that constructed an immigrant detention center known as the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and located in the Everglades National Park.

In a motion to join a lawsuit, as one of the first tribes to potentially sue against the detention center, the case argues that the Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miami-Dade County, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management did not seek an environmental review.

The filing alleges the center’s proximity to Miccosukee villages, ceremonial sites, and access to traditional hunting grounds, and ‘raises significant concerns about environmental degradation and potential impacts.’”



Last week, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a legal notice with an intent to sue that the construction also violates the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act

READ: Advocates Demand Closure of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, Citing Appalling Conditions

Lizzie Crook, Dezeen:

“‘It’s time for the construction industry to bring back cob, but innovation is needed to solidify the age-old material’s place back within our toolkits’, design collective Cella told Dezeen in this Building with Cob interview.

‘Cob is a low-carbon material for an alternative circular construction economy, made from clay, water, fibrous material and aggregates,’ Cella member Alys Hargreaves told Dezeen.

‘Building with it is an alternative to harmful industry practices that are exacerbating the climate crisis’, she continued. ‘The means to bring about this revival are complex, and therefore, the area is ripe for innovation and full of potential. People should pay attention.’ Cob has been used by humans to build around the world for millennia. It was particularly common in south-west England before the Industrial Revolution, when it slipped out of use in favour of fired brick.”


Read or listen how a small group of architects, designers and researchers are turning their focus back to cob, championing it as a material ideally suited to contemporary construction

It sits right next to our sister project, the Via Regenerativa y Orgánica A.C. farm school, and has been home to dozens of transformative events, classes, retreats, and campaigns since 2014.

Due to a significant drop in funding over the past year, we’ve made the difficult decision to sell this beloved property in order to continue supporting our vital campaign work—and we’re hoping to find a buyer who shares our values and wants to keep the spirit of education, regeneration, and community alive on the land, or alternatively, someone who believes in our farm school’s mission and would be willing to hold the property as an investment.

Whether you’re looking to run a retreat center, develop an eco-hospitality business, or live in a thriving agroecological environment, this space offers it all: beautiful facilities, stunning views, organic gardens, and the potential for collaboration with our experienced team next door. Our staff and educators would be happy to provide support to new owners interested in continuing workshops, lodging, and organic food experiences on-site.

Become part of a community that is working to change the world, one seed, one meal, one gathering at a time.

If you have questions or want to explore the possibilities, reach out to the Organic Consumers Association at 218-226-4164 or email office@organicconsumers.org

View photos and a drone video of the property

Learn more about OCA’s work in Mexico and the neighboring Via Orgánica project

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