Whole Foods Launches Ambitious Rewilding Project Spanning 1,000 Acres of Farmland

Whole Foods Market, the US-based grocery chain owned by Amazon, has unveiled a sweeping plan to rewild up to 1,000 acres of farmland across the United States. The initiative, described as a “biodiversity highway,” will begin in Wisconsin and stretch outward, weaving together living landscapes that benefit both the environment and the communities rooted in it.

To bring the vision to life, Whole Foods is partnering with Mad Agriculture, a nonprofit known for its work in regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions. The first phase of the project will take shape in the Lowery Creek Watershed near the town of Wyoming. This is where the experiment starts, one patch of land at a time, with the long-term goal of building a continuous corridor of resilient, thriving ecosystems.

The initiative's intention is multifaceted. These rewilded zones will help shield soil, farms and local communities from the growing threat of extreme weather events. They’ll also create safe havens for pollinators and native wildlife, supporting biodiversity in areas where industrial farming practices have steadily eroded it.

According to the Centre for Biological Diversity, more than 40 per cent of ecosystems across the United States are now at risk of collapse. The warning is stark but not surprising. Industrial agriculture, alongside unchecked urbanisation, remains one of the most potent forces driving biodiversity loss globally. Food and beverage production is believed to be responsible for 75 per cent of deforestation worldwide, when measured by area.

In response to this crisis, Whole Foods has committed up to $500,000 in matching funds to help raise a collective $1 million in investment from stakeholders in the food system by 2025. Several of the company’s suppliers have already signalled support for the effort. These include Applegate, known for its organic meats, and Olipop, a rising player in the soft drinks space.

“The programme is building a practical model for reconstructing ecosystems in ways that have the potential to improve how the land functions—filtering water, storing carbon, managing pests, reducing erosion, and keeping farmland productive over time,” the statement elaborates.

“This initiative is laying the groundwork for a new kind of agriculture,” said Omar de Kok-Mercado, Director of Wilding at Mad Agriculture. “The biodiversity highway is a blueprint for the next era of American infrastructure. Not just pipes and roads, but living systems that restore function to land.”

In a public statement, Whole Foods described the project as a way to reduce fragmentation in sustainability work by uniting conservation efforts at the watershed level. Nijia Zhou, the company’s climate and nature lead, echoed that sentiment in a LinkedIn post, reflecting on how what began as a "hopeful, incomplete, optimistic and a little bit mad concept" had evolved into something even more powerful than she imagined.

At the core of this initiative is a commitment to regenerative agriculture. The partnership with Mad Agriculture will help accelerate the adoption of soil-friendly practices, such as perennial planting and cover cropping, across Whole Foods’ supplier farms. These techniques not only improve soil structure and health, but they also reduce the need for constant tilling and the overuse of inputs by allowing roots and nutrients to develop more naturally over time.

So far, Whole Foods has certified 301 of its private-label products as regeneratively produced. This includes verification under respected third-party programs, such as Regenerative Organic Certified, Regenified, and Ecological Outcome Verified. The message is clear: this is not a marketing gimmick. It is part of a broader transition toward a food system that prioritises ecological resilience.

Other major players in the industry are moving in the same direction. Companies like PepsiCo, Danone, Suntory, and The Coca-Cola Company, through their Innocent Drinks brand, have all made visible commitments to regenerative sourcing over the past year.

And then there’s Amazon. As Whole Foods’ parent company, it adds another layer of accountability. The grocery chain is bound to the Climate Pledge, a joint initiative between Amazon and Global Optimism, which calls for companies to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 or earlier. This includes Scope 3 emissions, which encompass everything from farming inputs to packaging and transportation.

While the Climate Pledge does not prescribe a fixed ratio of emissions reduction to offsetting, it urges signatories to follow climate science and focus on decarbonisation methods that are already proven and scalable.

This biodiversity highway may still be in its early stages, but it points toward a more profound transformation. One that blends food, climate and conservation in ways that feel both ambitious and necessary.