Agroecology: The Ecology of Food Systems

TLDR

Agroecology is defined as the ecology of food systems, integrating insights from sociology, anthropology, environmental sciences, ethics, and economics. The authors aim to develop a framework that guides research, education, and action across the complex, interdisciplinary facets of global agriculture and food systems. The framework is operationalized by linking disciplines, extending beyond farms into rural landscapes and communities, and applying ecological principles to farm, landscape, community, and bioregion design, illustrated by case studies from Mexico, California, and the Nordic Region. Defining agroecology as the ecology of food systems promotes interdisciplinary research teams, systems‑based courses, and higher‑level research questions that advance sustainable agriculture. Keywords: agricultural systems, holistic research, action learning, interdisciplinary studies.

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a compelling rationale for defining agroecology as the ecology of food systems. Our purpose is to provide a framework that will guide research, education, and action in the multiple and interacting facets of an increasingly complex global agriculture and food system. To accomplish such goals, it is essential to build bridges and connections among and beyond our disciplines in production agriculture, as well as beyond the farm gate into the rural landscape and community. Fields of sociology, anthropology, environmental sciences, ethics, and economics are crucial to the mix. They provide additional vantage points from which we can view the food system anew, as well as insights on how to establish valuation criteria beyond neoclassical economics. Examples from Mexico, California, and the Nordic Region are used to illustrate the successful implementation of this educational strategy in universities. Design of individual farms using principles of ecology is expanded to the levels of landscape, community, and bioregion, with emphasis on uniqueness of place and the people and other species that inhabit that place. We conclude that defining agroecology as the ecology of food systems will foster the development of broader interdisciplinary research teams and attractive systems-based courses for tomorrow's best students. In contrast to the narrow focus on crop-soil interactions, this definition will help us raise higher-level research questions whose solutions will advance the development of a sustainable agriculture and food system. KEYWORDS: Agricultural systemsholistic researchaction learninginterdisciplinary studies