Skip to main content
x

When It Comes To Sustainable Agriculture, Food Industry Associations Are Powerful Influencers

By Cameron Newell on 16. January 2025
Cameron Newell

With nearly half of the U.S. land area in use for agriculture, it’s no wonder that our food system has a major impact on biodiversity and sustainability. A small shift in practices, good or bad, can have a big impact on pollinators and other wildlife when multiplied over millions of acres.

Food industry trade associations are major players in what those practices are, and these associations exist for everything from beef to bottled water. Industry committees work to set best practices, advocate for policies, and market their industries against competitors, in pursuit of growing their respective markets. Crucially, they can also decide to become active in advancing sustainability initiatives, like our mission at Bee Better Certified to conserve bees and other pollinators in agricultural lands.

 

An orchard where rows of flowering native plants have been planted between the trees.
Bee Better Certified farms provide pollinator habitat on their lands, and avoid pesticide use near these areas. (Photo: Cameron Newell / Xerces Society).

 

Recently, I was invited to represent Bee Better Certified on two new produce industry committees. After a successful trip to the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA)'s Global Produce and Floral Show late last year, IFPA's VP of Sustainability Tamara Muruetagoiena, invited  me to join the IFPA Sustainability Council, which also includes a seat on the Regenerative Agriculture Working Group. The working group has worked diligently over the last year to set a definition for regenerative agriculture, which sets the framework for the ongoing work of the group. The other committee that Bee Better Certified has joined is the United States High Bush Blueberry Commission’s sustainability working group. 

As part of these partnerships, we hope to help the committees address key challenges the food industry faces around how integrated pest management (IPM) and biodiversity can be integrated into agriculture. IPM is of particular interest to a number of the nations’ largest retailers like Walmart and Kroger, and recent work has sought to promote its use in these companies' supply chains. One option, of course (not to toot our own horn) is Bee Better Certified, which provides growers with a comprehensive IPM framework that helps meet both conservation goals and retailer requirements.

 

A large carpenter bee feeding on a cluster of milkweed flowers, at a hedgerow on a farm.
Agriculture and wildlife can coexist and benefit each other, with the right practices. (Photo: Cameron Newell / Xerces Society)

 

Biodiversity goals also deserve a seat at the table for both regenerative and sustainable agriculture, as it plays a critical role in ecosystem health, resilience, and productivity. By focusing on biodiversity, farmers and agricultural systems can enhance soil fertility, improve pest and disease control, and contribute to climate change mitigation. 

As consumers, we can support biodiversity and regenerative agricultural initiatives, like Bee Better Certified and our wonderful partners within the blueberry, produce and agricultural industries who are making these changes. When the impact is felt over millions of acres, every change counts!

 

Authors

Cameron Newell

Cameron manages the day-to-day operations of the Xerces Society's food industry supply chain projects in California, Oregon and Washington, coordinating with partner organizations and individual landowners to promote pollinator conservation. Cameron also coordinates Bee Better Certified, a food industry certification program managed by Xerces that works with farmers and food companies to conserve bees and other pollinators in agricultural lands.

Your Support Makes a Difference!

Xerces’ conservation work is powered by our donors. Your tax-deductible donation will help us to protect the life that sustains us.