We facilitate community-led water, soil, and air monitoring; investigate public health and ecological impacts of factory farming and benefits of regenerative agriculture.
We educate residents, students, and farmers to understand their rights; encourage state and local engagement and the co-creation of solutions for positive, meaningful action
We reform laws and regulations at the local and state levels to ensure oversight, close regulatory loopholes, incentivize regenerative models, and prevent further harm
We incorporate storytelling, visual arts, and cultural practices to amplify voices and inspire change by growing awareness about the impacts of industrial agriculture, the benefits of regenerative models, and ideas for positive action
We engage in strategic litigation to hold corporations and governments accountable and secure justice for farmers, communities, animals, and the environment.
ECPI is building a more just, humane, and regenerative food system. This transformative work requires advancing projects that restore soil and water, support independent farmers and ranchers, nourish people, protect animals, and hold industrial agriculture accountable when it harms communities and ecosystems.
Guided by our SEPAL framework—Science, Empowerment, Policy, Arts, and Law—we combine practical projects, community partnerships, research, policy, storytelling, and law to create solutions that can grow beyond individual communities.
The Food Evolution Project (FEP) is ECPI’s flagship initiative to help transform how we grow, raise, distribute, purchase, and think about food.
FEP is rooted in a simple idea: we are a part of nature, the web of life. Our health depends on the health of our food, which is all inextricably intertwined with the health of our soil, water, animals, ecosystems, farmers, and communities. We are advancing practical, replicable, scalable models that reconnect those systems and help communities move toward a more regenerative food economy.
In Colorado, ECPI is listening to farmers about what they need to adopt and sustain regenerative practices. We are connecting them with scientific expertise, technical assistance, markets, financing, and peer support.
Our long-term vision is to expand the digital tools so they help people understand where their food comes from and connect consumers with farmers in their communities.
We are exploring bioregional approaches to legal frameworks that recognize the inherent value and ecological integrity of the natural systems of which we are a part. This includes Rights of Soil, healthy-soil policy, and legal protections for rivers and other ecosystems.
Our goal is to develop replicable, scalable models that communities and farmers can adapt to their own landscapes, cultures, economies, and needs.
ECPI is working with farmers, scientists, universities, nonprofits, and policymakers to develop policies and innovative financing that reward measurable improvements in soil health, biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, and other ecosystem services.
Environmental Accountability & Justice
“Level the Playing Field”
Big ag is a powerful, multibillion dollar industry. These corporations, lobbyists, and trade organizations influence our decisionmakers to act in ways that are harmful to farmers and ranchers, public health, animal welfare, and the environment. Laws, regulations, and other legal pathways can hold the industry and our leaders accountable for adverse impacts in our communities.