Key Takeaways
- Kiss the Ground has released a national study showing consumer understanding of regenerative agriculture grew from 7% to 13% of U.S. adults in just 12 months, after rising from 4% in 2023.
- One in four Americans (25%) have now heard the term “regenerative farming,” with 37% of those individuals identifying as very or extremely familiar with it.
- Personal health benefits (72%) and food freshness (76%) far outranked environmental concerns (32%) as the top motivators for grocery shoppers across all three years of the survey.
- The primary barrier to buying regenerative products is a knowledge gap rather than price: 45% of respondents said they “don't know enough yet,” compared with just 12% who cited cost.
- Over half of U.S. adults (52%) say it's important to know their food's origin, and 31% purchased directly from a farmer in the past year.
Kiss the Ground Study Shows Regenerative Awareness Nearly Doubling
Kiss the Ground, a leading voice in the regenerative agriculture movement, has released a national study of more than 2,000 U.S. adults showing a sharp acceleration in consumer understanding of regenerative agriculture, which the organization defines as holistic farming practices aimed at restoring soil health and enhancing biodiversity, with benefits for climate and wellness.
The data shows a compounding upward trajectory: working understanding of regenerative agriculture stood at just 4% of Americans in 2023, rose to 7% in 2025, and has now reached 13%. Kiss the Ground frames this growth as evidence that awareness is on the cusp of breaking through to the mainstream.
“We all want to maximize our health and enjoy food. Now, the connection to how and where the food is produced is growing meaningfully. At Kiss the Ground, we increased our multi-platform storytelling to daily—our focus has now shifted to activating our 20 million person audience to support regenerative farms and products,” said Evan Harrison, CEO of Kiss the Ground.
Personal Health, Not Environment, Is the Top Driver
According to the study, the path to wider adoption of regenerative practices runs through a “me-first” mindset rather than environmental concern. For three consecutive years, personal health benefits (72%) and food freshness (76%) have outranked environmental motivators (32%) as the primary drivers for grocery shoppers. Among Americans currently shopping, 30% say their top priority is securing more nutrients, a pattern Kiss the Ground describes as a growing “soil-to-health” connection among consumers.
Kiss the Ground Identifies a Labeling and Knowledge Gap
The study also points to confusion around food labeling as a barrier to adoption. While 60% of consumers actively read food labels, 66% report feeling confused by them, with unregulated marketing terms such as “fresh” and “natural” often outperforming regulated terminology in shaping purchase decisions.
More notably, Kiss the Ground's data suggests the primary barrier to buying regenerative products isn't price. When asked why they don't buy regenerative products more often, 45% of respondents said they simply don't know enough yet, while only 12% cited cost as the reason. The organization interprets this as evidence that the market is willing to pay for quality but lacks the clarity needed to identify regenerative products confidently.
Early Signs of a Shift Toward Local Food Systems
The study found a growing segment of consumers seeking transparency directly from producers. More than half of U.S. adults (52%) say it's important to know their food's origin, and 31% report purchasing directly from a farmer within the past year. An additional 18% engaged in direct conversations with producers about how their food was grown, signaling early momentum for local and direct-to-consumer food systems within the broader agriculture sector.
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