Why support regenerative farming?

By Don Arnosti, founder of Arnosti Farm Connections

My 40-year career as an environmental advocate taught me a lot about the negative environmental, health and social impacts of our corporate food system. The harms are numerous and probably familiar to you: contaminated water; degraded soils; widespread use of toxic chemicals; hostile landscapes for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife; a massive carbon footprint driven by fuel, fertilizer, and international shipping; bland and unhealthy food.

Yet at the same time, I met farmers doing things the right way – protecting water, minimizing use of pesticides and chemicals, building soil carbon, and growing healthy crops and livestock that yielded nutrient-rich, better tasting foods. I wanted to feed my family with that food. I wanted these farmers to succeed against the odds. I felt – and still feel – that this approach could be the foundation of a different food system in this country, one that replaces the over-processed, chemical-laden, highly polluting corporate food system that is making our country unhealthy.

My environmental work focused on promoting clean water, healthy wildlife, and natural habitats and reducing carbon emissions.  It was big-picture policy stuff.  Progress came slowly, in fits and starts, with well-funded special interests opposing us every step of the way.

But I also observed how change could happen quickly: when a market emerged for something different. The rapid rise of organic food was an early example. When people decided they wanted chemical-free foods, they “voted with their dollars,” purchasing foods they could trust. Millions of individual choices reshaped incentives in the food system and drove real change.

Inspired by this example, about 35 years ago, I started purchasing foods directly from farmers I knew were doing things right.  I bought a few pigs from a farmer, Dwight Ault, who was raising them using the “Swedish deep straw” system, which gave pigs more freedom to root and roam and managed waste more sustainably. I paid him a fair price, which was well above the current (deeply manipulated) market price.  It took a lot of effort to figure out where and how to get the pigs processed – and our family of five could only eat so much. So I called some friends and neighbors to ask if they wanted to be a part of this effort: save the earth, treat animals well, support the farmers and create a pipeline of good, healthy food by investing their food budget in local farm produce.

Fast forward to 2026. We now connect more than 400 families in Minnesota to food that heals the earth, treats farmers and animals well, and tastes great. We purchase from 10-12 farms that produce our food in a manner that regenerates soil fertility and protects our waters. We’ve come together via word of mouth. We are growing the future we want to live in.  

If you’re new or have been buying from our farmers for years, thank you for being a part of Arnosti Farm Connections. Together, we’re making a difference!