Reflections on research agendas in agroecology: In search of a practical guide

Abstract

First paragraph: Dismantling the Capitalist Industrial Food System Should Be a Priority Food systems are crucial to the stability of our planet’s ecosystems and the future of humanity. The industrial capitalist global food system has generated multiple crises that pose a significant threat to the future of our planet. The environmen­tal, health, and social impacts of this system of agri­culture are multifaceted and well-documented. Pes­ticides poison us and destroy the world’s biodiver­sity (Ali et al., 2020; Beaumelle et al., 2023; Beketov et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2023). Pesticides and fer­tilizer runoff pollute our water and create dead zones (Craswell, 2021, Diaz & Rosenberg, 2008). Greenhouse gas emissions from the global food system contribute up to a third of total global emis­sions (Crippa et al., 2020). Land concentration and land grabbing condemn millions to poverty (DeShutter, 2011). Food insecurity persists even as food production continues to increase (Long et al., 2020l; Müller et al., 2021). Not only is our current agri-food system environmentally and socially dam­aging, but it is also extremely cost-inefficient. Diet-related health problems, for example, overburden global public health systems and affect workers’ productivity, costing an estimated 9 trillion dollars annually (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2023). . . .