Most sustainability standards and labels – whether organic, grassfed — are process standards. That means the label certifies that certain practices were followed or other practices were not used. However, none of these process-based standards actually guarantees a beneficial outcome. It remains totally the determination of the farmer or farm corporation. If, for example, the majority of organic farmers are diligent about ecosystem outcomes – does that really matter, if 90% of all organic products on the retail shelves were produced by less than 10% of all organic farming enterprises?

Only verification of on-the-ground outcomes can guarantee actual benefits to ecosystems, such as an increase of small and large biodiversity, regeneration of soil health, increase of soil carbon, and a reduction of soil erosion. For the first time, the Savory Institute has developed the scientific and practical foundation of ecological outcome verification (EOV). This method distinguishes immediate (“leading”) ecological responses that farmers can monitor for fine-tuning their management practices, and others that slowly re-bounce over several years (“lagging indicators”) if management indeed is improving.

Savory Institute’s EOV is still in its early developments. With partners in Ontario and Manitoba, I am working on bringing the EOV to Ontario. We are seeking farmers who are interested in this development, for example by co-learning monitoring as adjusted to our Eco-region.