Why Are We Ignoring the Most Powerful Climate Solution?

Regenerative farming methods are helping to restore the land’s biodiversity and water quality. Courtesy of Jenni Harris

Commentary

Everywhere I look, I see people talking about climate change. There’s no shortage of solutions being pushed—electric cars, lab-grown meat, carbon capture technology—but almost none of these address the root of the problem. Meanwhile, the most powerful solution, one that is already proven to work, is ignored: regenerative agriculture.

I am a regenerative farmer. I don’t just believe in the principles of rebuilding soil, restoring ecosystems, and managing land in a way that sequesters carbon—I live it. Every day, I see the results firsthand: healthier soil, stronger crops, increased biodiversity, and livestock that thrive without chemical inputs. I also see how the current system actively works against this approach, prioritizing profit-driven, industrial solutions over simple, nature-based ones.

So why is regenerative agriculture ignored while flashy, high-tech solutions dominate the conversation? The answer is simple: There’s no money in it for corporations.

Regenerative Farming Doesn’t Fit the Profit Model

Industrial agriculture is built on dependency—on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified seeds. It thrives on monocultures that strip the land of nutrients, requiring even more chemical intervention just to sustain itself. Companies make billions selling these inputs, and governments subsidize the entire system. Regenerative farming, on the other hand, restores soil naturally—through cover cropping, rotational grazing, and composting. When farmers build fertility through natural cycles instead of synthetic inputs, chemical companies lose customers.

This is why you don’t see billion-dollar ad campaigns promoting regenerative farming. There is no corporate giant profiting from farmers planting cover crops or integrating livestock with row crops. Instead, money flows to industries that keep farmers dependent on fertilizers, patented seeds, and ever-expanding government subsidies.

The Climate Narrative

The same forces that created our industrial food system also control the climate narrative. It’s a lot easier to sell wind turbines, solar panels, and electric cars than it is to fundamentally change the way we farm. The entire renewable energy sector has been built into a multitrillion-dollar industry, with subsidies, government incentives, and global investment pouring into its expansion.

Meanwhile, regenerative agriculture—the one approach that could actively reverse environmental damage and sequester carbon on a massive scale—is barely mentioned. Why? Because it’s nearly impossible for big corporations to monetize regenerative agriculture the way they can monetize other industries.

When a company sells an electric vehicle, a solar farm, or a wind turbine, they make money. When a farmer plants diverse crops, rotates livestock, and stops using chemical fertilizers, no one gets rich—except the farmer and the community that benefits from healthier land and food.

If climate change were truly about reducing emissions and restoring balance to our ecosystems, regenerative agriculture would be front and center. Instead, it’s pushed to the margins because it doesn’t generate profits for those who control the narrative.

Carbon Markets and Technocratic Fixes

Many of the climate solutions we hear about today—carbon credits, lab-grown meat, renewable energy offsets—aren’t about solving the problem. They’re about monetizing it. Instead of reducing emissions at the source, carbon markets allow big polluters to buy their way out of responsibility, trading credits rather than actually regenerating land.

Lab-grown meat is another example. We’re told it will “save the planet” by reducing methane emissions from cows. But what they don’t tell you is that properly managed livestock are essential for healthy ecosystems. Grazing animals, when rotated properly, rebuild soil, increase carbon storage, and promote biodiversity. Yet, the push is toward industrialized lab-created food controlled by a handful of corporations.

Rewarding the Wrong System

If regenerative farming is so effective, why aren’t more farmers doing it? Because government policies push them in the opposite direction.

Farm subsidies overwhelmingly support industrial monocultures like corn, soy, and wheat—crops that deplete the soil and require heavy chemical inputs. Instead of incentivizing soil regeneration, farmers are encouraged to produce as much as possible, as cheaply as possible, regardless of environmental cost.

The government also restricts regenerative farmers with unnecessary regulations. For example, raw milk—one of the most nutrient-dense, probiotic-rich foods—can’t be sold freely due to restrictive laws. Meanwhile, ultra-processed, factory-farmed products are pumped full of synthetic vitamins and sold as “healthy” alternatives.

The Real Solution

The most powerful climate solution isn’t something we need to invent. It already exists. It’s healthy soil.

Regenerative agriculture restores the land, builds resilience, and reduces emissions naturally. It doesn’t require synthetic fertilizers, massive subsidies, or corporate patents. It simply requires a return to what works.

But for this to happen, we must stop waiting for top-down solutions from the same industries that caused the problem in the first place. We need to take food and farming back into our own hands. We need to support regenerative farmers, demand policies that reward soil health, and reject the illusion that technology will save us from the destruction caused by industrial agriculture.

I am a farmer, a mother, and a steward of the land. I know what works because I see it every day. The question isn’t whether regenerative agriculture is the solution. The question is, why aren’t we using it?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.