Regenerative Agriculture Conversation with MegaFood’s Bethany Davis

I had the pleasure of speaking with Bethany Davis of MegaFood’s, an organization who is leading the way in building a sustainable relationship between the environment and nutrition. One of the necessary factors in making an organization sustainable is looking at its supply chain and seeing who is being affected by the business. In Davis’ case, at MegaFood, that came in the shape of farming. For MegaFood’s, farming is the main source of obtaining nutrition. Thus what her organization decides to farm will have a large impact on the local environment. Davis spoke to me about her passion for regenerative agriculture and how she helped to align her organization with this amazing sustainable solution.

What is your current role and how did you get to that position?

My current role is Director of Social Impact, Advocacy and Govt Relations. I have served in many roles over my 10 years at MegaFood. I have a MS in Regulatory Affairs and Healthy Policy which naturally complimented work with government agencies for a health company. I have worked in regulatory and eventually became more specified to meet the needs of the business and the evolving industry. In the natural products space, sustainability, impact and social programs are a must.

Who is Mega Foods in your own words and how do you align with its mission?

To me, MegaFood is a nutrition company who understands the link between nourishment and the environment, that this planet is an ecosystem and that balance and reverence for cycles is key. As the company makes decisions, I can feel the integrity with which we approach them — the earth is a major stakeholder and is just as important as profits. This is personally aligned with my mission too. My life circumstances have compelled me to care deeply about how food is grown and to take more and more responsibility for creating the future that I most wish to see — a balanced one where everyone is nourished, including the planet.

How did you first learn about regenerative agriculture? Could you explain what it entails?

I first learned about regenerative agriculture on a farm in Costa Rica 5 years ago this past April from Tom Newmark of the Carbon Underground. It is his own farm, a biodynamic, regenerative farm called Finca Luna Nueva. He opened my eyes to the facts of deteriorating soil health globally, the link to carbon release and capture that agriculture holds and the simple regenerative practices like low or no till, cover crops, low chemical, agroforestry, companion planting, animal grazing and other soil friendly practices that can have such a deep impact. Simply caretaking the soil and making the health of the soil your primary agricultural outcome results in significant carbon drawn down, more stable food supply, cleaner water, less inputs, more sustainability and higher nutrient density. Its a win for all solution and has the potential to reverse climate change if adopt these practices globally and move away from industrial agriculture.

How did you influence your organization to use these practices of regenerative agriculture? What projects are you working on now?

I brought these concepts back to the company. We are a nutrition company and were already deeply involved in the non-gmo/organic agriculture space. This was simply a deepening and a realignment. Five years later we have now set a goal of being the company most known for restoring the health of the soil. When you have aligned leadership and deep integrity as a company, pivoting towards what matters most is easy. Currently in my role, I am working on the Healthy Farm Standard, a supplier scorecard that moves our supply chain towards more and more regenerative practices and partnering with our farmers and incentivizing these practices within our supply chain. I also speak and teach a lot about how other companies can do the same. Its deeply fulfilling.

What advice do you have for people who are trying to improve the social impact of the company they work at?

Learn to understand everyone’s objective and communicate in their language. Take responsibility for your impact, your ideas and your company as much as you can and seek win-for-all solutions. Ultimately what is good for humanity is good for progressive companies and its easier than ever to make the business case for that.