Regenerative agriculture in the UK: an ecological perspective

Report

More than two-thirds of land in the United Kingdom (UK) is used for agriculture. Over recent decades, the industrialisation of agriculture has accelerated and intensified the impact of farming on the environment. In 2023, the State of Nature report suggested that farming in the UK was a leading cause of habitat loss and species decline, on a par only with climate change. Our soils and their diverse ecosystems are also under threat. Another 2023 report, by the House of CommonsEnvironment, Food and RuralAffairs Committee, found that current agricultural approaches are putting the future of our soils ‘at serious risk’. Furthermore, around 40% of food eaten by residents of the UK is grown elsewhere, according to 2024 statistics. Land use for food and feed imported into the UK have had significant impacts on ecosystems from Brazil to Indonesia and New Zealand. If we are to reverse the decline of biodiversity and soil health, both in the UK and internationally, then improvements to the way we produce food are urgently needed.

Throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s, the concept of ‘regenerative agriculture’ has begun to attract increasing discussion and consideration. This attention comes not just from farmers, but also from governments and the corporate supply chain. Ongoing public and scientific discussions of regenerative agriculture concern both the evidence supporting the benefits of agricultural practices associated with regenerative agriculture, and debate over the impacts of labelling, defining and certifying certain ways of farming as ‘regenerative’. This report represents the British Ecological Society’s efforts to bring together diverse expertise in order to address these issues. It poses, and answers, two key questions: first, how should regenerative agriculture be understood by ecologists, farmers, policy makers, the public, food processors, food retailers and those within the food supply chain? And second, what do the principles and practices associated with this understanding offer in terms of farming systems that might both feed people and protect, or even restore, our shared ecosystems in the future?

Authors: Emmett, B; Büchi, L; Smith, B; Soleiman, J; Thompson, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: British Ecological Society
• Place of publication: London, UK
• Publication date: 2025-04-02
• ISBN: 9781036915469
• Language: English
• Keywords: nature recovery; policy; regenerative agriculture; soils; DEFRA