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emissions as “Cool Food
Companies .are .really . Meals,” a claim developed by
doubling .down .on .their . the World Resources Institute.
commitment . Chipotle has a separate label-
ing program called “Real
—Debbie Reed, Foodprint,” which is based on
Ecosystems .Services . . measuring the “sustainability
Market .Consortium impact” of its ingredients on
greenhouse gas emissions, water
usage, soil health, organic farm-
Several tech companies, including Indigo Ag
and Nori, also are setting up ag carbon markets. ing acreage and usage of animal antibiotics.
Meanwhile, companies also are starting to play
Such markets are one of the primary ways
farmers like Lillibridge could ultimately get paid another role that farmers aren’t accustomed to:
for climate-friendly practices once pilot projects Lobbying Congress on farm bill programs and
like Cargill’s run their course. Joe Biden has other policy issues. Danone, Nestle, Mars and
proposed a second method: Making payments Unilever formed the Sustainable Food Policy
through a farm bill program, the Conservation Alliance in mid-2018. The group hired the
Stewardship Program, using a mixture of fed- lobbying firm Glover Park Group at a cost of
eral funding and funding from corporations that $100,000 in 2019 and $130,000 so far this year.
want to offset emissions. “The idea of sustainability and leaving the world a
Companies aren’t yet requiring that farmers’ better place than we found it is woven into every-
crops meet certain environmental standards, thing that SFPA does, but particularly our work
although farm groups worry that could be com- on the climate and environment,” Anton Vincent,
ing. A senior executive with Nestle suggested president of Mars Wrigley North America, said on
at the 2019 Sustainable Agriculture Summit in a recent webinar sponsored by Reuters.
Indianapolis that her company would eventually “We know we are one piece of a larger puzzle, but
write sustainability standards into its procure- the food and agriculture industries have an import-
ment specifications, something Nestle already ant role to play in mitigating climate change.”
does for pathogens and protein content.
One priority for the group, he said, is passage
Food giants bringing lobbying of the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill
introduced in the Senate and House this year to
muscle to ag policy accelerate the development of agricultural car-

Food companies and restaurant chains also bon markets. The bill would put the Agriculture
are considering labeling products and menu Department in charge of creating a certification
items, although there is concern about being program for third-party verifiers and technical
able to back up claims. In October, first Panera assistance provers. The third-party verifiers are
Bread and then Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. supposed to ensure the validity of carbon credits.
announced labeling plans. Another group that is likely to be influencing the

Panera, the restaurant chain owned by the shape of farm bill programs and other policy
German conglomerate JAB, now labels menu decisions is the Midwest Row Crop Collabo-
items, including most of its soups, that are pro- rative. Walmart played a leading role in form-
duced with less than a certain amount of carbon ing the MRCC, which also includes seed and

www.Agri-Pulse.com 9