Regenerative Farming with Citizens of Soil

Transforming Olive Oil Production

As farmers turn over their fields and plant new crops, higher levels of carbon are released into the air. The reason: the destruction of soil in conventional agricultural practices.

Citizens of Soil says, 'Industrialisation, mechanisation and the introduction of farming chemicals have all caused a disruption to our planet. While the Green Revolution of the 1960s (an industrial movement which transformed the world's agricultural landscape in order to boost global food supply) was well-intentioned, it ultimately reduced the nutritional value of food, created a seed extinction crisis, and has had huge environmental costs. This is why we are so determined to support farmers using nature friendly and organic methods–practices which regenerate their groves, and build soil health.'

Regenerative Farming

For Citizens of Soil, soil protection is the foundation of the business. Healthy soil leads to amazing tasting oils, but also benefits the environment around us. As Citizens of Soil says, 'the whole of life on land depends on a few inches of that top soil.' And with a third of the world's land already degraded, it's important to act fast to protect soil, a finite resource.

Citizens of Soil work with farmers across Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia and beyond. Some of these farmers work in particularly arid conditions, so it's important to improve soil health, allowing the ground to reserve more water and therefore be more resilient to droughts and flooding caused by changing weather patterns.

While the UK does not have a certified definition of regenerative farming, the company describes it as 'farming organically with no synthetic chemical intervention (except as a last resort), low or no tilling of the soil, sowing cover crops to protect and enhance the soil structure while supporting biodiversity, incorporating grazing animals or their manure as natural fertiliser.'

To put it simply, regenerative farming is about with working with, rather than against, nature. It's a concept we support fully at The Slow Cyclist, as we support small-scale growers across our destinations, and believe that slow field-to-table food is always the way forward.

Supporting Farmers

The World Economic Forum explains that if 20% more EU farmers adopted 'climate-smart agriculture' then greenhouse gas emissions could drop by 6%. Yet most farmers are not changing their methods. Citizens of Soil puts this down to education, but also money. For a commodity market like olive oil, market rates do not reflect the work that farmers put in.

For Citizens of Soil, they knew they needed to break the supply chain, cutting through the middle and extracting more value to put in the hands of farmers. They champion farmers who work with nature, allowing them to lead by example.

The result? More money in farmers' hands, healthier soil, and delicious olive oil.

If you'd like to try some award-winning and sustainable olive oil then head to Citizens of Soil. Slow Cyclists can access their Citizens of Soil benefits via The Slow Circle.

If you'd like to enjoy slow food (and a slow cycle) in Italy, Greece, Portugal and beyond, get in touch and we can help make it happen.