Integral Regeneration

Regeneration requires embracing complexity, collaborative action, and a commitment to integrity.

Regeneration is either collective, or it simply is not.

This is directly linked to the power of integrity, both at the political and individual levels.

Need for integrity

In recent years, we have witnessed an incredible leap forward in the promises and declarations of CEOs and big brands, committed to leading the charge in the challenge of avoiding the 1.5 degrees increase in global temperature. So many positive examples of climate leadership, so many examples of agribusinesses ready to restructure to be active players in the environmental battle, but also so many dangers of greenwashing.

The recent study by the New Climate Institute indicates a clear picture of how difficult it is to maintain integrity on proclaimed climate commitments, even for large companies. Among the reasons: weak or misleading climate standards and targets, poor level of detail, over-emphasis on reforestation and offsetting practices and little consideration of actual climate neutralization plans, and sectionalized climate actions.

The result is that, according to the report, none of the companies analyzed can be defined today as having a high level of integrity with respect to the climate strategies undertaken.

The undeniable conclusion is that the complexity of these challenges can only be mitigated through an integrated ecological and climate transition, capable of extending to all phases of the supply chain, from production to product disposal, from import to export, capable of involving a comprehensive plurality of subjects and interests, and that incorporates different approaches depending on the peculiarities of the specific cases.

We cannot achieve the goals included in the Paris Agreement without solid and concrete corporate climate action. Increasing corporate transparency in emissions monitoring and disclosure, clear emissions reduction targets, concrete actions and real climate contributions are, therefore, crucial to avoiding discrepancies between promises and reality.

More values behind actions and strategies

Real and lasting solutions are those that have always shown farsightedness of purpose and vision, sacrificing immediate and selfish interests, simplistic and sectionalized solutions, for collective benefits, of all and for all: People, Planet, Prosperity, Partnership, and Peace, as the Agenda 2030 says.

Only by balancing all five Ps, can we realize that our society is more resilient than in the past, even in terms of food security, and that mutual collaboration based on a spirit of global solidarity can lead us to overcome the food, climate, energy, and environmental crises.

Solutions capable of putting values before profit, embracing an integral ecology, pursuing integrity of objectives, for the economy and the environment, individuals and the community. Solutions based on the Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you want to be treated,” as emerged during our magical Good After Covid sessions, should be pursued like beacons of light in these dark times.

Such as regenerative agriculture, the heart of the Paideia Campus in Pollica, capable of starting from the protection of the landscape and biodiversity, to return to the community nourishment, resilience, diversity, adaptation, performance and, as recently recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate mitigation.

Fukishima tragedy after 10 years: Time for regeneration

10 years have passed since the tragedy of Fukushima when a magnitude 9 earthquake caused a terrible tsunami and the dispersion of radioactive emissions leaked from the affected nuclear power plant.

Recognized as the second-worst nuclear disaster in history after Chernobyl, 18,500 people were killed or went missing in the disaster and tens of thousands of residents were forced to leave the area due to radiation.

One decade later, the situation is still not completely solved. According to the data from Greenpeace, thousand of people are still displaced, the levels of contamination are still dangerous, and the government strategy of the plant’s decommissioning still needs to be improved.

Making complete

The guiding principle of Integral Ecology is that everything is connected. Our values influence our actions, our actions reflect our integrity, and our integrity defines our legacy. Faced with challenges in all directions, we must start from a place of values if we are to have real, and complete regeneration.

The Future Food Institute is an international social enterprise and the cornerstone of the Future Food Ecosystem, a collection of research labs, partnerships, initiatives, platforms, networks, entrepreneurial projects and academic programs, aiming to build a more equitable world, grounded in integral ecological regeneration, through enlightening a world-class breed of innovators, boosting entrepreneurial potential, and improving agri-food expertise and tradition.

Future food advocates for positive change through initiatives in Waste & Circular Systems, Water Safety & Security, Climate, Earth Regeneration, Mediterranean Foodscape, Nutrition for All, Humana Communitas, and Cities of the Future as we catalyze progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At the open-air living laboratory, the Paideia Campus in Pollica, Cilento, the Institute fosters active conservation of natural and cultural biodiversity and responsible innovation in the Mediterranean agri-food chain to leverage the intangible heritage of humanity as a model and strategy for the integral development of villages.

Learn more at www.futurefoodinsitute.org, join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Or attend a program through the FutureFood.Academy!