Without a publicly traded investment vehicle for everyday retail investors to back ethical farms, the only option consumers have for expressing their financial interest in supporting these farms is by buying the actual food. The team describes Demeter as a Robinhood-style marketplace for digital assets issued on a blockchain and backed by crops, milk and meat from tiny micro-farms and industrial farms alike. “Just because as retail investors, we'd be putting money into environmentally sustainable fields, that doesn't mean that they'd be selling for any less,” says Seltz-Axmacher. Between 2006 and 2016, a total of more than $22 billion was raised by institutional investors using unlisted agriculture and farmland-focused funds, according to data from research firm Preqin. Indiana Soybean Alliance CEO and board member of event sponsor Agrinovus Indiana, Courtney Kingery, told the Demeter team that while many people say they’re willing to spend more on ethically-sourced food, that’s not often the case.

Source: Forbes September 29, 2020 17:14 UTC