Model and Strategy
Carbon farming, regenerative agriculture, and climate beneficial farming - these are all names for practices used on farms and ranches that convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to soil, benefitting both soil fertility and climate mitigation. Transitioning our agricultural system to become part of an equitable climate solution is among the most profoundly important challenges of our time. Developing a scientific and economic basis for systemic change – with diverse perspectives leading the charge – is imperative.
Ground Truth will seed a transformative collaboration leveraging the scientific expertise of Point Blue Conservation Science and the innovative public engagement of Zero Foodprint (ZFP) in order to advance a more equitable and renewable food economy. We will pair scientifically rigorous practices with a scalable economic framework to fund on-farm implementation. By doing so, we can stimulate policy change and widespread market adoption, making strides toward carbon neutrality and climate justice in our food system. Our proposed project, Ground Truth, creates a model of collective action that can be adopted at the local level, then scaled up to maximize impact.
Impact
Point Blue and ZFP will build a model for scaling regenerative agriculture, backed by science, to support an equitable food economy that restores the climate. Point Blue’s expertise and ongoing data collection, in combination with ZFP’s economic incentives and movement-building, will expedite adoption by consumers, corporations, and governments that want or need verified outcomes to meet their climate action plans. This project will produce the ground truth needed to support regenerative agriculture and its measured benefits far beyond the initial target area.
Over the next two years we will:
1. Crowd fund grants for Northern California farmers and ranchers to adopt regenerative practices. $20,000 of the budget will be designated for producers from underserved groups to create a foundation for a more equitable model.
2. Evolve Point Blue’s existing platform of soil research, monitoring, and producer engagement to align with policy and consumer incentive mechanisms to quantify the benefits of carbon farming.
3. Develop scientific and economic frameworks for regenerative agriculture to fulfill public agencies' climate action plans.
4. Develop storytelling products targeting stakeholder audiences including consumers, producers, and policy makers (e.g. social media campaigns for the public and guidance documents for regional governments to incorporate regenerative agriculture into climate action plans).
Ground Truth provides an alternative to current systems that perpetuate equity gaps that will only be exacerbated by the growing climate crisis. We will co-create a proof of concept for regenerative agriculture and build a case for a more socially just and sustainable food system.
Leadership
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Manuel Oliva
CEO, Point Blue
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Libby Porzig
Working Lands Director, Point Blue
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Karen Leibowitz & Anthony Myint
Founders, Zero Foodprint