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Returning to food systems based on agroecology will reduce poverty, end hunger, heal damaged land, sequester carbon, and improve health.
Agroecology is a nature-based food production system integrating biology, ecology, sociology, economics, and activism. It is simultaneously a scientific discipline, a suite of time-tested regenerative farming practices, and a social movement. It views agricultural areas, whether small or large, as ecosystems. It combines Indigenous and traditional agriculture with multidisciplinary scientific research and new technology, with the goal of increasing food production, improving livelihoods for farmers, strengthening food security and nutrition, reducing pesticides, replenishing soil health, supporting wildlife, and building resilience to climate change. It can end hunger. It creates equitable food systems. It values diversity, localized solutions, and interdependence.
Action Items
Individuals
Learn why the social and environmental benefits of agroecology make it a “must do” alternative to industrial agriculture. Agroecology is widely practiced around the world, particularly among Indigenous, traditional, and smallholder farm communities where it has produced food regeneratively for centuries. In many nations, however, it has been replaced by an industrial food system that treats agricultural crops as a commodity, employing a lengthy list of destructive practices, including growing crops with chemicals that kill biology in the soil. Repeated plowing causes soil erosion, resulting in a loss of stored carbon. In contrast, agroecology provides healthy food and heals land. It is the foundation for regenerative solutions: see Eating Plants Nexus, Regenerative Agriculture Nexus, Agroforestry Nexus, and Degraded Land Restoration Nexus. The term agroecology was coined in 1928. Although precise definitions vary, agroecologists share core practices (see Farmers and Ranchers below).
- As a science, agroecology emerged in the 1960s with a focus on the biological interactions between soils and plants. It expanded to include social sciences and the study of entire food systems. Recent research is tackling justice, equity, food insecurity, and adaptation to climate change. It is exploring Indigenous knowledge and practices. Here is a sample of research articles.
- Agroecology has emerged as a strategy to oppose industrial agriculture and demand the implementation of food systems that respect the environmental limits of our planet. La Via Campesina is a global organization using agroecological practices and principles to fight for peasants’ rights, seed security, and food sovereignty.
- The People’s Agroecology Process is an organizing campaign in the Americas. They have published a guide to their work and history.
- “Who Will Feed Us” is a report from the ETC Group on an agroecological alternative to the industrial food system.
- Agroecology boosts the livelihoods of family farmers by reducing their dependence on external agricultural inputs. It proves multiple ecosystem services, which are the essential services that nature provides, such as nutritious food, clean water, pollination of crops, pollution removal, carbon sequestration, and recreational, cultural, and spiritual benefits. It provides opportunities for youth and women to become their own agents of change.
- Agroecological food systems that provide food security and nutrition are the subject of a report from the World Committee on Food Security.
- Eleven Frequently Asked Questions about agroecology are answered by Biovision, a nonprofit organization.
Learn about the diversity of agroecological systems around the world. Marginalized for decades, many Indigenous peoples, traditional cultures, and smallholder farms are now leading an agroecology revolution as the benefits of their regenerative systems become clear. Examples include:
- Farmer-managed Natural Regeneration is a practice that nurtures trees to grow from former stumps, resulting in hundreds of thousands of acres being reforested in the Sahel region of Africa.
- Agroecology has improved women’s lives in Togo.
- The MagosVölgy Ecological Farm in Hungary puts agroecology into practice using local resources. It is part of a wider trend in Hungary.
- Ten case studies of smallholder farms practicing regenerative agriculture and agroecology demonstrate their value in alleviating hunger and poverty.
- In Chile, agroecology helps beekeepers and farmers thrive.
- Pastoralism is a type of agroecology that involves livestock. Ten case studies from Africa explain its potential.
- The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa’s collection of case studiesshows how agroecology benefits poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, and wildlife conservation. Here is a story about farmers in Zimbabwe.
- Profiles of agroecological farms in the U.S., the UK, and Latin America.
- This report explains how agroecological practices can help communities adapt to climate change. Examples of successful approaches to adaptation can be found here.
- The Agroecology Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley has conducted work on vineyard agroecology.
- In precolonial Mexico, inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico built floating gardens called chinampas. They are viewed today as a highly productive form of agroecology.
Support agroecology by buying directly from farmers and ranchers who practice regenerative agriculture or from retailers who support them. Purchasing products from agroecological farms and ranches encourages other farmers and ranchers to adopt similar practices and goals. See Regenerative Agriculture Nexus and Eating Plants Nexus for more suggestions.
- Eat at a restaurant that supports agroecological and regenerative agriculture. Here is a list of restaurants from Zero Foodprint.
- A sample of companies that support regenerative agriculture include Alter Eco Foods, Maple Hill Dairy, Dr. Bronner’s, Annie’s , Lundberg Family Farms, and Nature’s Path.
- The Savory Institute has a certification program called Land to Marketthat measures verifiable ecological outcomes. Partners include Epic Provisions, Applegate Foods, Ugg, Timberland, and Kering.
- Patagonia Provisions sells food and other products that are certified regenerative organic from participating farms and ranches.
- Grass-fed meat and dairy are often produced by regenerative agriculture. A good example is Wholesome Meats. Here is a directory of other farms and ranches in the U.S. and Canada.
- Wildlife and bird-friendly beef, such as Audubon’s Conservation Ranching program and Blue Nest Beef, are often produced by regenerative ranchers. Here is a buying guide from the Audubon Society.
Beware “junk agroecology.” Agribusinesses have begun to co-opt the term agroecology for their own purposes. These corporations tend to showcase small advances in single practices, such as improving soil health, that allow them to appear sustainable while falling short of more holistic solutions.
- “Junk Agroecology” is a report from Friends of the Earth International that details how the purveyors of junk agroecology want to perpetuate the ills of the industrial food system under the guise of “sustainable agriculture.”
- Many groups representing Indigenous and agroecological food systems felt they were marginalized in favor of corporate agribusinesses at the United Nations’ World Food Summit in 2021. Here is a story about the controversy.
Get trained and/or earn an education certificate in agroecology. There are many opportunities to deepen your knowledge. Programs include:
- An Agroecology M.S. offered by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, including a research track and a public participation track.
- The University of Vermont has an undergraduate program called Agroecology in Action.
- The University of California, Santa Cruz offers multiple programs at its Center for Agroecology.
- Programs of study in agroecology in the United States can be found here, here, and here.
- The International People’s Agroecology Multiversity has a network of field learning sites in South Asia that provides training in agroecology.
- The Ecological Society of America provides educational resources on agroecology.
- The European Association for Agroecology provides an online game called Segae in which a player pilots a virtual farm and implements agroecological practices to increase its sustainability.
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