“Everyone wants to be an agroecologist” -
The Aggregate origin story
This is what a friendly co-attendee of a conference back in June said to me, when I noted how popular the evening “agroecology meet-up” was. There were easily 40-50 people crowded around long tables at an outdoor beer garden, everyone talking enthusiastically as the sun set.
That statement stayed with me during my 9-hour drive back home. My colleague and I, Alex Scearce (a fellow graduate student in The Agroecology lab at the University of Maine) had very casually been knocking around the idea of starting a blog. We were interested in creating a space for less formal and more creative writing. We also wanted to build conversation around topics that we are excited about. But how to narrow that down? Who would our “audience” be?
If everyone wants to be an agroecologist, then, maybe we could simply start an agroecology blog! That is certainly a topic we are interested in. A quick scan revealed that this idea, at least in the model that we envisioned, did not yet exist.
But of course, not everyone wants to be an agroecologist. The conference I attended was the Agriculture Food and Human Values Society (AFHVS) and Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) joint annual conference. You can see that the sample was clearly biased. But, the energy that evening was motivating, and it did certainly point to a group larger than our own small lab who was excited about agroecology. And we know that there are many many people working in this area, both those who label themselves as agroecologists, and those who do not, but who have approaches which are aligned.
And - we all eat! Our food systems are far from ideal in their current state, and engaging a wider outer circle to read and discuss and write about agroecology can benefit us all.
With that in mind, Alex and I got to work finding a few more collaborators. One of the principles of agroecology is that co-created knowledge is valued. Or, put more simply, working together generates better ideas. We quickly found a few interested folks, including Eugene Law of The Ohio State University, Kyle Karnuta and Karen Guzman of Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Claire Lynch of Environmental Advocates NY. The remainder of this post is co-written by the six of us.
We envision this blog to be a space for conversation. This can include commentary on articles, news, events or media. We’d also love to see updates on the work that you are doing, whether that is your research, farming, farmer outreach or training, food systems action, or anything else in the realm of agroecology. Opinion pieces, posts with advice or tips, and creative writing will also be welcomed. The overarching goal is to create a discussion culture which includes respectful commenting and debate and sparks new ideas.
We recognize that the term “agroecology” is defined differently across groups and locations. Here, we want to first offer our broad description of agroecology as we see it, drawing from the following inspirational sources (Conway 1987, Wezel et al. 2009, Silici 2014, Nyéléni Forum for Agroecology 2015, Bezner-Kerr et. al. 2023, Anderson 2024, UVM Institute for Agroecology, University of Maine Agroecology Lab)
Definition: Agroecology encompasses a science, a practice and a movement. It starts with the application of both ecological and human rights principles to the practice of agriculture and landscape management. The tenets of agroecology are rooted in indigenous and local knowledge gained through a strong connection to the land, ecosystems, and to food as a cultural resource.
Principles of agroecology include:
Science: study and application of research around the way in which components of the agro-ecosystem interact, with a focus on finding ways in which food production can utilize ecological principles, adapt to and mitigate a changing climate
Practice: food is produced in a way that utilizes ecological principles, and respects, protects and, where possible, benefits the surrounding environment while producing stable harvests and incomes for farm owners
Movement: our food systems shift towards more equitable distribution of resources, benefits and power, and leverage penalties for food production processes which cause harm
Practice, movement: land managers are informed, supported and empowered by their governments, non-profits, research and advising organizations, and their communities
Science, practice, movement: co-creation of knowledge is valued, in particular between food producers, indigenous peoples, scientists, and an engaged public
Additions, critiques and questions around the definition of agroecology will be welcomed as we go along. In starting this blog, we take the premise that while transformation will require structural change, there is no one correct way to work towards the principles of agroecology. All contributions are needed - the work is big.
Our hope is that the creation of this blog platform can in turn create a community that is working on these issues, and interested in connecting and discussing. We are drawing inspiration from the successful, long-running, conversational blog Dynamic Ecology, and their helpful advice on starting this blog.
We are excited to see how different people and groups are working on various aspects of agroecology, and what motivates them to do so. With that in mind, we are kicking off with a series of posts where different authors each answer the same question:
“Why or how do you want to include principles of agroecology in your work?”
The six of us that have worked to get this thing started will begin with our own responses, and we have invited a few others with different viewpoints to write one as well. After that, we will invite contributions in any of the categories listed here. Our submission and review process is described here! First post drops later this week, so stay tuned. And maybe start writing something for submission?? We are excited to welcome you into The Aggregate community.
References:
Anderson, M. D. (2024). Transforming Food Systems: Narratives of Power (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003260264
Bezner Kerr, R., Postigo, J. C., Smith, P., Cowie, A., Singh, P. K., Rivera-Ferre, M., Tirado-von der Pahlen, M. C., Campbell, D., & Neufeldt, H. (2023). Agroecology as a transformative approach to tackle climatic, food, and ecosystemic crises. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 62, 101275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101275
Conway, G. R. (1987). The properties of agroecosystems. Agricultural Systems, 24(2), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/0308-521X(87)90056-4
Nyéléni Forum for Agroecology. (2015, June). Declaration of the International Forum for Agroecology, Nyéléni, Mali: 27 February 2015. https://www.eurovia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Download-declaration-Agroecology-Nyeleni-2015.pdf
Wezel, A., Bellon, S., Doré, T., Francis, C., Vallod, D., & David, C. (2009). Agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 29(4), 503–515. https://doi.org/10.1051/agro/2009004
Silici, L. (with International Institute for Environment and Development). (2014). Agroecology—What it is and what it has to offer. International Institute for Environment and Development.
As a passionate agroecologist I appreciate this space. I hope we can find here inspiration and interesting information. Coming from years of working in the Latin American context, i embrace agroecology not just as an agricultural approach (as I experienced in my European academic journey), but as a way of life. We participate, we are involved, we fight for food systems that are just and fair. We create communities that are strong and committed to the care and stewardship of the land and culture. That is how I want to see agroecology, not as a simple field practice, but a powerful and transformative approach. In that sense, I don't think we can only call ourselves agroecologist if we don't live an agroecological life. I am looking forward to read you!!! Good luck.