Organic NZ – September 2019

Advocate • Connect September/October 2019 15

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“So the opportunity is to have these global conversations and
think about what does New Zealand do best?” Robyn sees wine
and spirits as one potent growth area where New Zealand organic
producers can supply the US market.

Organics going mainstream
Grocery chains in the US have transformed the organic retail
landscape by introducing their own organic brands. Every
major supermarket chain now has its own organic label. “The
conventional grocery stores around 2012 started participating with
their own private labels. It completely changed the game,” Robyn
says. “The consumer responds to it differently.” The price points
for such brands tend to be cheaper, and supermarket brands offer
mainstream appeal.
There’s also plenty of controversy around organics in the US, as
big food corporations continue to buy up trusted
organic brands. “The big companies fought this
movement in the beginning, and they didn’t get
behind it. So they were late to the party,” Robyn
says.
Once they had finally seen the light, major
food industry players found that their simplest
route into organics was to buy up existing organic
companies. There have been billions of dollars
worth of corporate acquisitions in the last few
years. Robyn works on advising some of those
big companies. Some corporate leaders still think
organic is a fad. 
“Cancer is not a fad,” Robyn tells them.
“Autism is not going away. These things are here to
stay, and they are driving this demand.”

A helping hand for farmers
In spite of the massive demand, however, it’s not necessarily easy
for American farmers to convert to organic. Total US farm debt is
valued at US$409 billion. And financial capital in the agribusiness
industry is intimately linked to high-input conventional systems.
This is where Robyn’s latest venture comes in. She is vice president
of rePlant Capital, an investment firm that supports farmers to
convert to organic and regenerative practices. The firm’s innovative
business model aims to encourage carbon capture in farm soils,
counteracting climate change.
“We have reimagined how agriculture is financed, aligning
the mission of the farmer with the health of the soil,” Robyn says.
“rePlant is empowering farmers to convert their crops to organic
and regenerative by supplying low-cost loans to finance their
transition... [It’s] designed to be simpler (less bureaucratic), with
less onerous covenants and lower interest rates than any other
financing. 

“Farmers earn lower and lower interest

rates as they increase measurable [and]

verifiable soil carbon. We’ve partnered with

award-winning third-party organisations to

measure, monitor and report on the land

conversion process.”

The firm doesn’t just give loans; they also

connect farmers with needed technical expertise

to make the switch, and link farmers with

committed buyers for their ethical produce.

Protecting the magic of the soil

With big corporate players involved, it’s no

surprise that the definition of organic in the

US is heavily contested. The US government’s

recent decision to allow hydroponic crops to be labelled as organic

has provoked ongoing resistance from organic advocates. 

“We are fighting really hard to keep soil as part of the definition

of organic,” Robyn says. “They say we can just input in the

nutrients... but I would not be so arrogant to think that. We don’t

know the magic that’s happening in the soil.”

Robyn believes that the US market is already giving hints that

organic certification on its own will not be convincing enough for

consumers of the future. She believes blockchain technologies will

offer total traceability of foods, with user-friendly interfaces helping

consumers see everything from where ingredients were grown, to

how much water was used in the process. She says with certainty:

“Transparency is coming.”

Rebecca Reider is an organic advocate and writer living in

Golden Bay. She is coordinator of Organic Winegrowers New

Zealand.

Above: Robyn was a keynote speaker at the Organic and Biodynamic

Winegrowing Conference in June. Photo: Organic Winegrowers New Zealand