Marketing & Communications

New Guides Help Shoppers Align Food Choices with Their Values

Kiss the Ground’s Regenerative Purchasing Guides help consumers identify products that restore soil health, strengthen communities and regenerate the planet.

Published 1 month ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Ice Cream for Bears' 'ancestral ice cream' made Kiss the Ground's shortlist for regenerative dairy brands. | Ice Cream for Bears

Kiss the Ground — a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting regeneration and healthy soil as a viable solution for our wellness, water and climate crises — has released a set of Regenerative Purchasing Guides designed to help conscientious consumers shop with purpose and confidence.

Kiss the Ground Research 2025 reveals that while wellness and sustainability continue to rise as consumer priorities, there’s still a disconnect and lack of understanding about our food system — the majority of shoppers remain unsure how to align their values with their purchasing habits. Insights include:

74 percent of shoppers cite health benefits as a top priority.
58 percent don’t read food labels at all, and more than half of those who do feel confused by what they find.
Yet 88 percent rely on vague claims such as “fresh” or “natural” over verified certifications including “regenerative” or “organic.”
1 in 3 US adults went to a farmers’ market or farm in the last year, yet only 8 percent have talked to a farmer about food production.

The free, easy-to-use Regenerative Purchasing Guides aim to bridge this gap and empower consumers with transparent and trustworthy information about how their everyday choices impact both personal and planetary health.

“How we shop is an expression of our value set, yet navigating the supermarket can be tricky,” says Kiss the Ground CEO Evan Harrison. “Our easy-to-understand, fun and practical guides will empower audiences to shop more confidently … and more regeneratively.”

The Regenerative Purchasing Guides include:

Introductions to regenerative products from trusted brands
Clear explanations of food labels and what they actually mean
Simple shopping tips for common grocery categories including chocolate, coffee, dairy, eggs, poultry and wine.

The initial launch features nine guides focused on everyday food staples. Future editions will expand into wellness and beauty, baking, beverages, fashion, pets, books, watch lists and more.

Demystifying regenerative ag’s role in a resilient food system

Regenerative agriculture refers to farming methods that improve soil health, carbon capture, biodiversity and water health. And while pretty much every multinational consumer goods company with an agricultural supply chain has committed to transitioning its growers to regenerative practices — and many are raising awareness of these efforts through campaigns, metaverse games and more — roughly 43 percent of respondents to Purdue University’s August 2024 Consumer Food Insights Report said they were still "not at all familiar" with the term "regenerative agriculture," and another 28 percent were only "slightly familiar."

Since 2013, Kiss the Ground has worked to engage the public in the critical role of regenerative agriculture through storytelling (including 2020’s multi-award-winning, self-titled documentary; and its 2023 follow-up, Common Ground), education and brand partnerships.

Kiss the Ground’s 2025 research also revealed that, despite the need for help identifying food choices that are healthy for both people and the environment, consumer awareness of regenerative agriculture has nearly doubled in the past 18 months — from 4 percent to nearly 7 percent — marking a potential tipping point (Kiss the Ground puts this at 15-25 percent awareness) in the public’s understanding and support of regenerative practices.

By simplifying the path to informed, values-aligned purchases, the Regenerative Purchasing Guides offer a much-needed next step toward enabling consumers to support food choices that restore soil health and strengthen communities while increasing the resilience of our global food system.