Agroecology May Help US Food System

Agroecology, the science and practice of seeking social, political, economic, and environmental sustainability in the global food system, is a budding movement, reports science news source Phys.org. The report cited Dartmouth-led commentary in Nature Food explaining that it is gaining momentum in the U.S.

"When it comes to sustainable food and agriculture, people in the U.S. tend to be more familiar with organic farming, the production of food without synthetic inputs, and regenerative agriculture, which primarily strives to restore soil health," said the commentary’s lead author Theresa Ong, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth.

Agroecology supporters believe that the U.S. food system is eclipsed by industrial, monoculture agriculture that relies on pesticides, fertilizers, and advanced machinery that can negatively affect the climate, according to the report.

"Agroecology is different, as it strives to achieve both ecological and social sustainability of food systems without sacrificing one for the other. We cannot save biodiversity and ecosystem integrity without also preserving farmer livelihoods and ensuring that the food systems we create provide food that is culturally relevant to local communities, and not simply meeting a calorie quota," said Ong.

The practice is gaining ground both domestically and internationally. The United Nations recently prompted agroecology as a mechanism to achieve food system transformation and the USDA brought together stakeholders to promote research into the topic at the Agroecology Summit in 2023.

At the USDA event, 100 industry leaders discussed the need for equitable representation and support for everyone in the food system, according to the report.

"'Food sovereignty'—the right to define, produce, and access healthy food that is culturally appropriate and preserves the ways of life of farmers—is a critical goal in agroecology and was first defined by La Vía Campesina, an international peasant movement, in 1996," said Ong, who was also a participant at the summit. Full Story