See below for some highlights of the latest ideas and updates. Feel free to pass some or all of this on to your networks or to copy/adapt parts for use in newsletters, etc. There are also 12 recent and freely downloadable articles listed at the end of the page.
The battle for the future of farming: what you need to know
There is a growing consensus that there is an urgent need to radically change our food systems. However, there are significant differences between the different proposals to transform the food system. This brief article, published in The Conversation, argues for agroecology and food sovereignty – over a technocentric approach – as the foundation of a more just and sustainable food system. Click here to read more.
Highlighting the importance of power and governance in the debate on “innovation”: an AgroecologyNow! contribution to the HLPE process
Agroecology is the most promising “innovation” in play at the global level. Yet, the current dominant innovation systems, in a wider disabling economic and political context, are undermining agroecology by supporting deeply problematic approaches to innovation largely constructed within a neoliberal-economic development paradigm. Click here to see more on this issue in our comments on V0 draft of the HLPE report on Agroecological Approaches and Other Innovations.
People, power, change: three pillars of a food sovereignty research approach
This free to download article suggests three pillars of a research approach that matches the politics and practice of food sovereignty, focusing on: 1) people (humanizing research relationships); 2) power (equalizing power relations); and 3) change (pursuing transformative orientations). Click here to read more.
Special Journal Issue on Agroecology Transitions-Transformations
We are in the process of organizing a special issue on Agroecology Transitions-Transformations in the Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. Click here to see a full description, including a link for submitting an abstract, due by December 7th. Click here.
Strengthening Transformative Agroecology Learning in Europe: Four Pillars
Is there something distinctive about an agroecological approach to training and learning? How does such an approach function as part of the struggle for food sovereignty, or other social movements for social justice and sustainability? What examples are there of this in Europe? And how can these projects be supported and developed? Click here for a summary of a new open access article that addresses these questions.
A “Community Supported Journal” worth Supporting on Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development
The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development (JAFSCD) is a community supported journal, free to read (online) and has a range of articles that will be of interest to anyone interested in research, organizing and activism related to efforts to create a more sustainable and just food system. Click here to learn more about why it is a journal and project worth supporting.
Special issue on “Food Justice Scholar-Activism…” in ACME journal
The relationship between research and food justice/sovereignty is simultaneously fraught while also being full of potential. Sorting out how to best enable transformative and just research practices/praxis is an important area of work. This new special issue in the Journal ACME presents six new articles addressing these issues: https://wp.me/p6tuKo-14k
Magic in a Movement: The Fight for a Just Food System in the USA
The United States Food Sovereignty Alliance met from October 12-15 to advance the US movement for a more democratic, sustainable and just food system. The assembly involved a powerful combination of dialogue, strategizing and planning. Click here to read more reflections on the latest meeting of the US Food Sovereignty Movement.
A Selection of Recent Publications and Resources that May be of Interest
Anderson, C.R., Maughan, C. and M. Pimbert (2019). Transformative Agroecology Learning in Europe: Building Consciousness, Skills and Collective Capacity for Food Sovereignty. Journal of Agriculture and Human Values.
Recanati, F., Maughan, C., Pedrotti, M., Dembska, K., & Antonelli, M. (2019). Assessing the role of CAP for more sustainable and healthier food systems in Europe: A literature review. Science of the Total Environment, 653, 908-919.
Claeys, P. & Duncan, J. 2018. Do we need to categorize it? Reflections on constituencies and quotas as tools for negotiating difference in the global food sovereignty convergence space. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 1-22.
Pimbert, M. 2018. Global Status of Agroecology: A Perspective on Current Practices, Potential and Challenges. Review of Environment and Development, 53(41), 32-57.
Levkoe, C. Z., Brem-Wilson, J. & Anderson, C. R. 2018. People, power, change: three pillars of a food sovereignty research praxis. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 1-24.
Pimbert, M.P., & Lemke, S. 2018. Using agroecology to enhance dietary diversity. UNSCN-News: Advancing equity, equality and non-discrimination in food systems: Pathways to reform, 2018(45): 33-43
Wach, E. 2018. Rise of the ‘megafarms’: how UK agriculture is being sold off and consolidated. Rise of the ‘megafarms’: how UK agriculture is being sold off and consolidated. The Conversation. October 5, 2018.
Chappell, J. and A. Bernhart. 2018. Agroecology as a Pathway towards Sustainable Food Systems. Synthesis Report. Misereror.
Pimbert, M.P. (2018) Democratising food and agricultural research. In: Food Ethics Council. ‘For whom? Questioning the food and farming research agenda’
Anderson, C., Maughan, C. Bernhart, A., Friso, J., Thomas, K. 2018. Farm Hack. Agroecology Learning for Transformation – Pedagogies, Tools and Dynamics Series. European Agroecology Knowledge Exchange Network.
Maughan, C., Anderson, C., Bernhart, A., Friso, J., Thomas, K. 2018. Learning as a Social Movement Strategy. Agroecology Learning for Transformation – Pedagogies, Tools and Dynamics Series. European Agroecology Knowledge Exchange Network.
Maughan, C. (2018). ’Food from Nowhere’: Food, Fuel and the Fantastical. Open Library of Humanities, 4(1).