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“Regenerative” products that have been sprayed with glyphosate can be purchased at supermarkets across the country.
By contrast, the USDA organic certification strictly prohibits glyphosate and similar toxic pesticides.
With no federal definition of “regenerative agriculture,” no accepted industry standard and many competing certifications, retailers have stepped in as the de facto police of the term.
WHOLE FOODS MARKET FORMALIZES ITS POLICY
The regenerative agriculture claims policy of Whole Foods Market currently approves five certifications:
Of those five, only Regenerative Organic Certified uses USDA organic certification as its baseline. The other four regenerative certifications allow synthetic inputs, to varying degrees, including glyphosate, a chemical that peer-reviewed research has determined is detrimental to soil health.
“Rather than prescribing a single set of practices, we evaluate regenerative certifications based on whether they’re delivering meaningful ecological results; we believe this approach is the most effective way to advance regenerative agriculture at scale,” said Nathan Cimbala, a Whole Foods Market spokesperson.
“To maintain consumer trust, retailers should be leaders in ensuring that ‘regenerative’ has meaning, and that means backing labels that eliminate toxic pesticides,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, deputy director of science at Friends of the Earth, which just published a report titled Regenerative Food Labels: What’s Behind the Claim?
A NEW COALITION IS FORMING
A different coalition, led by IFOAM North America and Natural Grocers, the Colorado-based retailer with over 170 stores across 22 states, has started convening stakeholders to build consensus around a minimum regenerative standard for retail food packaging. The conversation began at Expo West 2026 and continued last week with the first public workgroup session — focused on synthetic inputs — drawing 100+ attendees from the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and India.
“We believe it is a betrayal of trust if we carry products displaying regenerative claims when they may actually harm the environment and public health,” said Alan Lewis, vice president of advocacy and governmental affairs at Natural Grocers. “Regenerative claims with little substance may be used to capture organic sales, which could have a negative impact on farmers, brands and supermarkets that promote and protect the organic food system.”
The coalition has already engaged dozens of retailers and trade groups nationwide, and it will be hosting 6-7 more sessions through the rest of the year on a variety of topics, including ruminant livestock, tillage, manure and biosolids, hogs and poultry, and seed sourcing. The coalition is also collecting written comments to refine the standard.
THE STAKES ARE ENORMOUS
With the litany of regenerative certifications flooding the marketplace, it makes sense, then, that retailers would take on a greater role. The intervention is warranted.
Major chemical companies — including Bayer and Syngenta — are adopting “regenerative” language to market their own farmer programs and inputs.
But the details tell the real story.
While research from agricultural giant ADM says that 63% of consumers would pay more for products grown with regenerative practices, the Vypr Regenerative Farming report has found that approximately 62% of consumers do not know what regenerative farming means.
The question is: what exactly would they be paying for?
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
As mandated by Congress, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has failed to appoint, in a timely manner, five members to fill vacancies on the 15-member National Organic Standards Board.
Modest organic wins include a higher EQIP Organic Initiative cap of $200,000 and better dairy data — while leaving major gaps like flat $24 million NOP funding and no certification cost relief.
Found in email obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, it was discovered that Lee Zeldin has a conflict of interest with Bayer.
In the report by FMI —The Food Industry Association and NielsenIQ, it also underscored the challenges grocers face in capitalizing on e-commerce, including stiff competition and shoppers’ focus on small baskets.
New data from PepsiCo, Inc. suggests that, while 95% of American consumers understand the importance of hydration, over 150 million consumers regularly report signs of mild to moderate dehydration, including unregulated body temperature, low cognitive focus and increased thirst.
“If there is no potential for liability, corporations can do whatever they want, sell whatever they want and create harms that they don’t have to pay for. That’s really what we’re talking about,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, referring to this monumental case.
A massive victory over the chemical companies in the Farm Bill.
A federal judge has dismissed a nine-year lawsuit challenging the USDA's 2018 withdrawal of organic livestock and poultry welfare rules, ruling the case moot after most of those standards were reinstated under the Biden administration in 2023.
According to the lawsuit, SweetLeaf Monk Fruit Organic Sweetener — marketed as "sweetened by nature" with "nothing artificial" — is actually 99.13% erythritol, with monk fruit extract comprising less than 1% of the product.
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