Claims and labels of food products - including the use of the term regenerative - are contributing to greenwashing, IFOAM Organics Europe has warned.

The European umbrella organisation for organics said that labels on packages range from regenerative, local, organic to ecological agriculture. However, this may not always be the case.

"Not all that glitters is gold, or green in this case, and the increasing use of the term regenerative agriculture is a case in point," IFOAM said.

While the reasoning and farming method behind a claim like ‘regenerative’ can be with the best intentions, it is just as much used for greenwashing purposes, IFOAM added.

IFOAM president Jan Plagge said: “Farming practices aiming to regenerate soils, biodiversity and landscapes are at the heart of organic agriculture.

"The organic movement embraces regenerative principles, all of which are included in organic principles of ecology, health, fairness and care, and seeks positive collaboration with serious regenerative farmers and actors."

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With the current climate and biodiversity crises, he said that the planet can use all help there is and some so-called regenerative practices can be a good first step to convert to organic.

Organic agriculture is and continues to be the leading sustainability initiative for transforming EU food and farming, he argued.

"As there is no single scientific nor legal definition of regenerative agriculture, the term has been increasingly mis-used in recent years to promote and brand approaches that deliver few environmental benefits, while allowing the use of a range of degenerative practices and synthetic pesticides with well-known downsides for biodiversity.

"Indeed, any farm, product or company can claim to be regenerative, making general statements regarding the benefits of regenerative farming impossible," he said.

IFOAM Organics Europe’s deputy director and policy manager Eric Gall said that it is essential to better inform consumers about the environmental consequences of different agriculture production systems.

"This greenwashing misleads and confuses consumers, misdirects investments and policy, undermines serious regenerative actors, and hinders the needed genuine transformation of the food system towards sustainability and agroecology, including organic farming," he said.