Global origins of local food (journal, open access)

Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide 

Khoury et al., 2016

Countries are highly interconnected with regard to primary regions of diversity of the crops they cultivate and/or consume. Foreign crops are extensively used in food supplies (68.7% of national food supplies as a global mean are derived from foreign crops) and production systems (69.3% of crops grown are foreign). Foreign crop usage has increased significantly over the past 50 years, including in countries with high indigenous crop diversity. The results provide a novel perspective on the ongoing globalisation of food systems worldwide, and bolster evidence for the importance of international collaboration on genetic resource conservation and exchange.

Circular plots linking the primary regions of diversity of food crops with their current importance in the context of calories (kcal capita−1 d−1) in regional food supplies. Each region has a colour representing its own native crops and those colours are connected to other regions due the importance of those crops in the food supply in other regions.  (a) only the most significant linkages (i.e. 95th percentile) between regions are shown, for visibility, whereas (b) displays the full matrix of linkages. 

On a tea break? Here's some news coverage.

Integrated farming gives productivity AND ecosystems (#journal)

Soil functions and ecosystem services in conventional, conservation, and integrated agricultural systems. A review

This study reviewed relevant bibliography and then developed a simple conceptual model, in which soil functions and ecosystem services were compared between conventional, conservation, and integrated agricultural systems. The overall agro-environmental score was largest for conservation systems (71.9 %), intermediate for integrated systems (68.8 %), and smallest for conventional systems (52.1 %). But the crop yield productivity score was largest for integrated systems (83.3 %), intermediate for conventional systems (66.7 %), and smallest for conservation systems (58.3 %). This study shows the potential of integrated farming systems in global food security while sustaining environmental quality.

Scientists call for agroecology research (online)

Scientists Call for Public Investment in Agroecological Research

A distinguished group of scientists and experts from universities and colleges across the United States—including land-grant universities in agricultural powerhouse states such as Iowa and California—has launched the following statement calling for increased public investment in agroecological research. Their statement describes agroecological methods as productive, profitable and sustainable.

The high cost of low prices (book)

Cheaponomics: The High Cost of Low Prices

Do you really think you are getting a good deal when given that free mobile phone for switching service providers, or by the fact that food is cheaper today than ever before? Think again! This compelling book clearly shows that cheapness is an illusion. The real cost of low prices is alarmingly high, for example where consumers provide welfare support to poorly-paid workers, or rely on the exploitation of workers in poor countries. Environmental pollution is paid for indirectly by people living away from its source or by future generations. Even private cars, when properly costed, prove to be an astronomically expensive model of transportation. The key point is that costs and risks are socialised: we all pay for cheapness, but not at the point of purchase.

Moving to sustainable eating habits (report)

Changing what we eat: A call for research & action on widespread adoption of sustainable healthy eating

Government leadership and substantial investment in research are needed to shift global consumption habits towards eating patterns that are both healthy and sustainable, say academics, industry and NGOs representatives in this report. Research is now needed in three key areas, say those involved in the report:

• What are healthy sustainable eating patterns?
• How do we eat now, why, and what are the health and sustainability implications?
• How do we achieve positive change?

The report is based on the discussions of a workshop organised by the Food Climate Research Network, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK’s multi-agency Global Food Security programme.

Food movements as social networks (#journal)

The food movement in Canada: a social movement network perspective

In the Global North, there has been increasing analysis of the ways that alternative food initiatives (AFIs) are developing viable, place-based solutions that challenge the corporate-led industrial food system; however, there has been little study of the interrelationships among them. In an effort to better understand the possibilities for food system transformation, this paper builds on existing studies to investigate the increasing collaborations among AFIs occurring through provincial food networks in Canada. Contrary to assumptions that AFIs act in isolation, the paper demonstrates that they are part of actual and existing mobilizations through robust social movement networks. Together, these collaborative efforts may be illustrative of a new wave in food activism that is represented by the emergence of a multi-scaled and cross-sectoral ‘food movement’ – a network of networks.

State-facilitated land grabbing in Rwanda (#journal)

‘Control Grabbing’ and small-scale agricultural intensification: emerging patterns of state-facilitated ‘agricultural investment’ in Rwanda

The Rwandan government's ongoing reconfiguration of the agricultural sector seeks to facilitate increased penetration of smallholder farming systems by domestic and international capital, which may include some land acquisition (‘land grabbing’) as well as contract farming arrangements. Such contracts are arranged by the state, which sometimes uses coercive mechanisms and interventionist strategies to encourage agricultural investment. Activities of international development agencies are becoming intertwined with those of the state and foreign capital, so that a variety of actors and objectives are starting to collaboratively change the relations between land and labour. The global ‘land grab’ is only one aspect of broader patterns of reconfiguration of control over land, labour and markets in the Global South. This paper demonstrates the ways in which the state is orienting public resources towards private interests in Rwanda.

The future of legumes in Europe (#journal)

Legumes for feed, food, biomaterials and bioenergy in Europe: a review

Legume growing has many benefits; provision of plant proteins for animals and humans, fixation of atmospheric N₂, cheap and green N fertilisers, diversification crops in rotations based on oilseed rape and cereals. Yet legume crops in Europe represent less than 4 % of arable lands. The authors show that legumes can contribute to the agroecological transition for sustainable agriculture, food and energy and for sustainable agri-food systems. However high added-value niche markets are required for supporting legume production. The major research needs identified are (1) analysing the constraints of the current systems and identifying ways of moving towards systems that include more legumes, (2) identifying new and diversified uses for legumes in a sustainable food chain, (3) assessing and improving the ecosystem services provided by legumes at cropping system and territory scales and (4) promoting agroecology through and for legume crop management.

Agronomy with global impact (#journal)

 Global agronomy, a new field of research. A review

Agriculture management is influencing the quality of water, air, soil, and biodiversity at the global scale. Therefore, a research plan for global agronomy is proposed. Agronomists should update their research objects, methods, and tools to address global issues. Yield trends and variations among various regions should be analyzed to understand the sources of these variations. Crop model simulations should be upscaled to estimate potential yields and to assess the effect of climate change and resource scarcity at the global scale. Advanced methods should analyze output uncertainty of complex models used at a global scale. The meta-analysis of published data is a promising approach for addressing global issues, though meta-analysis must be applied carefully with appropriate techniques. Finally, global datasets on the performance and environmental impact of cropping systems should be developed.

UN Special Rapporteur advocates agroecology (report)

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter 

Final report: The transformative potential of the right to food

(From The Guardian online). In his final report (pdf), Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, offers a detailed critique of industrial agriculture that has boosted food production over the past 50 years, yet leaves 842 million – 12% of the world's population – hungry. As an alternative, he champions agroecology; both more environmentally friendly and contributing to improved nutrition. Other measures to improve the system would be to abandon mandates for biofuels and cut down food waste in rich countries and post-harvest losses in poor countries.

The Campaign for Real Farming (online)

Campaign for real farming website

'The Agrarian Renaissance needs new kinds of farms – polycultural, low-input, skills intensive; and these new farms need appropriate markets – generally local, and geared to the small-scale; and overall we need a true food culture – people who truly appreciate what good food is, and are prepared to seek it out.'
The mission statement of this website is reflected in its contents, and unlike many it is kept right up to date.

Scaling up agroecolgy (report)

Scaling-up agroecological approaches: what, why and how? 

The objectives of this paper are:

•To contribute to ongoing debates on agroecological approaches and their centrality for more sustainable agricultural and food systems;

•To provide key evidence and arguments for supporting advocacy work calling for the scaling-up of agroecological approaches.

The paper includes four main parts:

Part I explains what agroecology is, situating it in light of peasant and industrialized agricultures and introducing its three interconnected dimensions as a science, an agricultural approach and a movement. Part II clarifies how scaling-up an agroecological transition can contribute to achieving sustainable agricultural and food systems. Part III identifies the main challenges to be met for scaling-up at a higher stage agroecological approaches.The conclusion formulates recommendations that help in addressing major challenges involved in scaling up agroecological approaches

Sustainable intensifcation of smallholder cropping (online)

Save and Grow: A policymaker’s guide to the sustainable intensification of smallholder crop production

A straightforward guide from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to the need for a change in direction in food production away from intensive mono-cropping and towards smallholder productivity with an ecological focus. 7 articles consider the challenges, farming systems, soil health, crops and varieties, water management,  plant protection and policies and institutions. Aimed at policy makers, this report makes a great introduction to a topic close to the heart of permaculture; who will grow our food in the years to come and how will they grow it. Permaculture practitioners may not agree with all the solutions put forward, but will recognise the need for a paradigm shift in how humanity grows its food.

Developing sustainable food courses for undergrads (#journal)

Development and Evaluation of an Introductory Course in Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems

 The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, instruction, and evaluation of the undergraduate pilot course, Introduction to Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems (SFBS), at Montana State University. Introduction to SFBS is an interdisciplinary, team-taught, experiential education course designed to introduce students to broad array of SFBS-related topics, expose students to career opportunities in these fields, and enable them to establish relationships with food, agriculture, and energy stakeholders. Introduction to SFBS can serve as a model for such curricula. Courses like this can prepare students to become informed, innovative, critical thinkers capable of excelling in a multitude of food, agriculture, and energy-related careers.

We have enough to feed 10 billion (journal)

We Already Grow Enough Food for 10 Billion People … and Still Can't End Hunger

A stimulating and provocative  opinion piece from some of the leading figures in the agro-ecological movement, arguing that food production isn't an issue, instead we need to focus on inequality and food access. If we resolved those issues, and stopped pouring food crops into cars and livestock, we could feed everyone in the world using organic methods tomorrow.

Organic yields average 80% of conventional (#journal)

The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture

A key issue in the debate on the contribution of organic agriculture to the future of world agriculture is whether it can produce sufficient food to feed the world. This article analyzes 362 published organic–conventional comparative crop yields. Organic yields of individual crops averaged 80% of conventional yields, but variation was substantial (standard deviation 21%), with significant difference between crop groups and regions. The authors  suggest reasons for the gap and its high level of variation.

 

Transition thinking and food systems change (#journal)

Transitions to sustainability: a change in thinking about food systems change?

'Transition' has recently gained prominence as a way to discuss and address sustainability challenges and changes. The author explores connections to food systems change, by highlighting two broad approaches in the sustainability transitions research field. First is a multi-level perspective that examines sustainability innovation pathways and second is a social practices approach that illuminates the possibilities for shifts in normal everyday routines. Taken together, these offer useful ways to think about the dynamics and significance of innovations in food and agriculture, and the part they play in transitions to sustainability.

Meat production and global inequality (#journal)

The meat of the global food crisis

The global food crisis runs much deeper than market turbulence; the biophysical contradictions of the industrial grain–oilseed–livestock complex put meat at the centre of the story. Industrial livestock production is the driving force behind rising meat consumption, and the process of cycling great volumes of industrial grains through soaring populations of concentrated animals serves to magnify the land and resource budgets, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture. These dynamics not only reflect disparities but are exacerbating them, foremost through climate change. Thus rising meat consumption and industrial livestock production should be understood together as a powerful long-term vector of global inequality.

Alternative food networks (book)

Alternative Food Networks: Knowledge, Practice and Politics

This book reviews the growth of alternative food networks and their struggle to defend their ethical and aesthetic values against the standardizing pressures of the corporate mainstream. It explores how these movements are "making a difference" and their possible role as fears of global climate change and food insecurity intensify. It assesses the different experiences of these networks in three major arenas: Britain and Western Europe, the United States, and the global Fair Trade economy. This comparative perspective runs throughout the book to fully explore the erosion of the interface between alternative and mainstream food provisioning. As the era of "cheap food" draws to a close, analysis of the limitations of market-based social change and the future of alternative food economies place this book at the cutting-edge.

The global food system analysed (book)

Food

Food is one of the most basic resources that humans need for daily survival. Forty percent of the world’s population gains a livelihood from agriculture and we all consume food. Yet control over this fundamental resource is concentrated in relatively few hands. At the same time, there are serious ecological consequences that stem from an increasingly industrial model of agriculture that has spread worldwide. But movements are emerging to challenge the dominant global system. The extent to which these alternative movements can displace it remains to be seen. This book aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of the forces that influence and shape the current global food system.