Saving the soil: How food brands can use compostable packaging to help regenerative agriculture
From organic produce to lab-grown meat to fair wages for harvest workers, there is no doubt that food brands are increasingly focused on sustainability. But global food systems still account for one-third of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions, which are at the heart of climate change. And soil erosion and degradation is challenging farmers everywhere, threatening the global food supply.
Part of the solution to mitigating climate change and ensuring adequate food supply is regenerative agriculture, which uses nature to improve soil quality and crop yields, while also increasing the amount of carbon that the earth absorbs. Basic techniques include using cover crops to manage erosion and improve water retention; crop rotation to improve soil nutrients and break cycles of disease and pests; and adding organic matter, including compost, to enrich soil.
More food companies are incorporating these techniques, although the shift to regenerative practices will take time. For example, General Mills recently announced it would invest $3 million in regenerative agriculture, and has run pilot projects dedicated to efforts such as using cover crops since 2020. Yogurt-maker Stonyfield Farm has announced plans to pay dairy farmers in the company’s supply chain who increase the organic content in their fields. PepsiCo also said it would fund regenerative agricultural practices on up to 7 million acres of agricultural land — approximately the amount it takes to produce corn and other ingredients for its products.
But to take this further, brands should also think about how their packaging can contribute. This will be what distinguishes truly sustainable brands from others making similar claims.
Packaging, including plastic, often cannot be avoided. Plastic helps keep produce fresh and clean during the transportation process, and extends its shelf life. Transparent plastic packaging also allows consumers to easily view the food, while also allowing brands to easily label the product, including information about its ingredients and origin, which is required by law. Unfortunately, in the United States, up to 85% of plastic ends up in landfills or, with much of the remainder being burned, producing toxic emissions.
Using compostable packaging eliminates this dangerous plastic waste. At the same time, many compostable options, including compostable plastic, still offer the same benefits as traditional plastic packaging, including its flexible and transparent qualities, which let consumers view contents and the brands’ labeling. In addition, compostable packaging plays a major role in regenerative agriculture. Composting organic matter, including food waste and cardboard, along with the growing number of other compostable packaging options, produces valuable and badly needed enrichment material for agricultural soil.
Adding just one ton of organic matter to each hectare of soil would increase production of cereal crops, such as wheat and corn, produced each year in Africa, Asia and South America by millions of tons. The increased carbon that the soil absorbs also combats climate change by removing planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, increasing the amount of carbon in the world’s soil by just 0.4% a year would halt the trend of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
In addition to shifting to compostable packaging, brands should encourage consumers to compost through social media, advertisements or messages on their packaging. Brands can also make increased efforts to encourage the expansion of composting infrastructure, including curbside pickup, which makes the process accessible to more people.
When more people compost packaging and other waste, from food scraps to yard clippings, more valuable material is added to soil. Composting will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Organic matter, including food waste, rotting in landfills in the U.S. causes 14.5% of total human-produced methane emissions, the third-largest source after the fossil fuel and animal agriculture sectors. Composting, an oxygen-rich process, does not produce these damaging emissions.
Encouraging consumers to compost will not only encourage more people to do so, but will also be a way to gain the interest and loyalty of more customers, especially younger buyers who are interested in protecting the environment. This is the sort of marketing effort that will increase business while helping the planet, again distinguishing those food brands that are truly sustainable from those that simply engage in greenwashing.
Embracing composting should be an urgent matter for food brands and consumers everywhere. If nothing is done, the degradation of soil will continue, threatening the planet’s ability to grow food. The United Nations predicts that, by 2050, yields will fall 10%, resulting in severe global food shortages. But this is not inevitable; it can be avoided by making different choices. Compostable packaging can be part of an urgently needed revolution for soil health, which is the root of everything produced.
Daphna Nissenbaum is co-founder and CEO of compostable packaging company TIPA Ltd.