Category: Policy and Legislation

Kiira Heymann – From Non-GMO to Non-ultra-processed: everyone has the right to know what’s in their food

18th March 2025 koenvanseijen Diet Change, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture 0 Comments

A conversation with Kiira Heymann, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Non-GMO Project and the Food Integrity Collective. After the success of the Non-GMO Project in the U.S., which is now featured on almost 63,000 products, the team is launching the Non-Ultra-Processed Food verification. In this conversation, we discuss why—why introduce another label? And why is it so important for the food sector to focus on increasing consumers’ capacity to demand more from their food system, rather than just adding another label?

This isn’t just another label—it’s a carefully considered intervention designed to reconnect people with their food in profound ways. When 70% of American store shelves hold ultra-processed products engineered with ingredients banned in other countries, the stakes couldn’t be higher. What makes this effort particularly fascinating is how it challenges the very foundation of food certification itself. Rather than creating another “shortcut to trust”, the team is exploring how to eliminate the need for certifications entirely by rebuilding true transparency in our food system. Their research shows 81% of North Americans are concerned about questionable ingredients in their food, yet only 17% feel knowledgeable about the topic—a gap this initiative aims to close.

Beyond ingredients, this movement addresses the cognitive impact of ultra-processed foods. Studies show these products can significantly impair brain function in as little as 30 days, creating a troubling cycle where the very foods engineered to be addictive are simultaneously diminishing our capacity to make better choices. By helping consumers understand and avoid ultra-processed foods, the certification offers a pathway toward better physical and mental wellbeing.

Currently in its pilot phase with 20 pioneering brands, the non-UPFs verification program aims to launch products by fall 2025. The certification represents more than just another shopping guide—it’s an invitation to experience the profound difference real food makes in how we feel, think, and connect with our world.

Jojo Mehta – Making ecocide a crime in less than 5 years and for less than 6 million dollars

23rd April 2024 koenvanseijen Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture 0 Comments

A conversation with Jojo Mehta, executive director of Stop Ecocide International, about making ecocide a crime, something you can get arrested for and end up in prison. How do we get it from a discussion in lawyer circles and academic circles into international criminal law? And why is it going much faster over the last 5 years than anyone has expected?

Law: an area we rarely touch but has the potential to shift our food and agriculture system, and many other systems, completely. Making ecocide a crime. Ecocide is broadly understood to mean mass damage and destruction of ecosystems – severe harm to nature which is widespread or long-term. Turning ecocide into a crime, most likely it would also over time change our consciousness and get ecocide into the realm of things you simply don’t do. What is even more fascinating is that large companies actually want this, so it creates a level playing field.

Mateusz Ciasnocha and Maria Virginia Solis Wahnish – From EU Soil Mission to Pope Francis, how to change local and state agriculture and food policies

16th April 2024 koenvanseijen AI 4 Soil Health, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture 1 Comment

A conversation with Maria Virginia Solis Wahnish and Mateusz Ciasnocha, both involved with the Farm of Francesco. Maria Virginia is founder of Drink Matera, while Mateusz is CEO of the European Carbon Farmers, and member of the EU Soil Mission board. We discuss why it is so important to connect with policymakers and how to actually do that, the importance of farmers’ education and a very detailed answer to the 1 billion euro question to enable many more people to get involved in farming. And what has Pope Francis to do with all of this?

Sam Kass – Get people access to carrots before talking about nutrient density, former Obama’s chef and nutrition advisor turned investor says

17th October 2023 koenvanseijen Diet Change, Ecosystem Services Payments, Nutrient Dense Food, Nutrient Density in Food, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture, Transition finance 0 Comments

A conversation with Sam Kass, former White House Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition of the Obama’s administration and partner at Acre VC. We talk about the potential of VC in the space, the challenges of the real world and why we should focus on getting everyone access to carrots before focusing on the quality and growing practices, why carbon payments is a very interesting and real entry point to scale, and more.

Millán Millán – Farm water at its proper scale

28th July 2023 koenvanseijen Landscape Design 2.0, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture, Transition finance, Water Cycles 1 Comment

A conversation with Dr Millán Millán, director of the Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM),about restoring the small water cycle, why the summer storms and rains have disappeared and how this turned out to be connected to massive snows in the UK, and massive floods in Central Europe and much more.

Karen Rodriguez and Ethan Soloviev – Should we be worried about the big brands and massive food companies getting active in the regenerative movement?

13th June 2023 koenvanseijen Diet Change, Farmers First Tech, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture 3 Comments

A conversation with Karen Rodriguez, chief operation officer of Kiss the Ground, and Ethan Soloviev, chief innovation officer at HowGood, about how they joined forces to update the Regenerative Agriculture Industry Map, whether we should celebrate the big brands and massive food companies moving into the space, and what makes these two veterans of the regenerative movement cautiously optimistic.

Marta Cortegano – How to start the regenerative revolution from one of the driest places in Europe

2nd May 2023 koenvanseijen Farmers First Tech, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture, Short Food Webs 0 Comments

A conversation with Marta Cortegano, cofounder of Terra Sintrópica and one of the leaders of the regenerative agriculture movement in Portugal. Straight from one of the driest and emptiest places in Europe where climate change is hitting hard, we talked about farming in challenging conditions, syntropic agroforestry and more.

Finian Makepeace – How to get regeneration at the heart of the next US Farm Bill

24th January 2023 koenvanseijen Ecosystem Services Payments, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture 3 Comments

A conversation with Finian Makepeace, Co-Founder & Policy Director of Kiss the Ground, producer of Kiss The Ground the movie and one of the leaders of Regenerate America, about the Farm Bill in the US, subsidy schemes, how to have a meaningful impact and more.

Hervé Dupied – Want to change the €387 billion EU CAP? Invest in the regen farmers who against all odds are successful

22nd November 2022 koenvanseijen Beyond Food, Investor Stories, Ownership, Policy and Legislation, Regenerative Agriculture, Short Food Webs 1 Comment

A conversation with Hervé Dupied Bokx, who currently works on a farm in France and at a university for farmers and, most importantly, on changing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We talk about policies, the CAP, which spends most of the European budget on a not very regenerative way of farming, and more.