Food Sovereignty, Agroecology and Biocultural Diversity

by Michel. P. Pimbert
Food Sovereignty, Agroecology and Biocultural Diversity
Author: Michel. P. Pimbert
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2017-11-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1317354974
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Contestations over knowledge – and who controls its production – are a key focus of social movements and other actors that promote food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity. This book critically examines the kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing needed for food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity. ‘Food sovereignty’ is understood here as a transformative process that seeks to recreate the democratic realm and regenerate a diversity of autonomous food systems based on agroecology, biocultural diversity, equity, social justice and ecological sustainability. It is shown that alternatives to the current model of development require radically different knowledges and epistemologies from those on offer today in mainstream institutions (including universities, policy think tanks and donor organizations). To achieve food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity, there is a need to re-imagine and construct knowledge for diversity, decentralisation, dynamic adaptation and democracy. The authors critically explore the changes in organizations, research paradigms and professional practice that could help transform and co-create knowledge for a new modernity based on plural definitions of wellbeing. Particular attention is given to institutional, pedagogical and methodological innovations that can enhance cognitive justice by giving hitherto excluded citizens more power and agency in the construction of knowledge. The book thus contributes to the democratization of knowledge and power in the domain of food, environment and society. Chapters 1 and 8 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Agroecology Now!

by Colin Ray Anderson
Agroecology Now!
Author: Colin Ray Anderson
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2020-12-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030613151
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This open access book develops a framework for advancing agroecology transformations focusing on power, politics and governance. It explores the potential of agroecology as a sustainable and socially just alternative to today’s dominant food regime. Agroecology is an ecological approach to farming that addresses climate change and biodiversity loss while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. Agroecology transformations represent a challenge to the power of corporations in controlling food system and a rejection of the industrial food systems that are at the root of many social and ecological ills. In this book the authors analyse the conditions that enable and disable agroecology’s potential and present six ‘domains of transformation’ where it comes into conflict with the dominant food system. They argue that food sovereignty, community-self organization and a shift to bottom-up governance are critical for the transformation to a socially just and ecologically viable food system. This book will be a valuable resource to researchers, students, policy makers and professionals across multidisciplinary areas including in the fields of food politics, international development, sustainability and resilience.

Linking Ecology and Ethics for a Changing World

by Ricardo Rozzi
Linking Ecology and Ethics for a Changing World
Author: Ricardo Rozzi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2014-02-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400774702
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To comprehensively address the complexities of current socio-ecological problems involved in global environmental change, it is indispiseble to achieve an integration of ecological understanding and ethical values. Contemporary science proposes an inclusive ecosystem concept that recognizes humans as components. Contemporary environmental ethics includes eco-social justice and the realization that as important as biodiversity is cultural diversity, inter-cultural, inter-institutional, and international collaboration requiring a novel approach known as biocultural conservation. Right action in confronting the challenges of the 21st century requires science and ethics to be seamlessly integrated. This book resulted from the 14th Cary Conference that brought together leading scholars and practitioners in ecology and environmental philosophy to discuss core terminologies, methods, questions, and practical frameworks for long-term socio-ecological research, education, and decision making.

Drones and Geographical Information Technologies in Agroecology and Organic Farming

by Massimo De Marchi
Drones and Geographical Information Technologies in Agroecology and Organic Farming
Author: Massimo De Marchi
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2022-09-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0429627572
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Although organic farming and agroecology are normally not associated with the use of new technologies, it’s rapid growth, new technologies are being adopted to mitigate environmental impacts of intensive production implemented with external material and energy inputs. GPS, satellite images, GIS, drones, help conventional farming in precision supply of water, pesticides, fertilizers. Prescription maps define the right place and moment for interventions of machinery fleets. Yield goal remains the key objective, integrating a more efficient use or resources toward an economic-environmental sustainability. Technological smart farming allows extractive agriculture entering the sustainability era. Societies that practice agroecology through the development of human-environmental co-evolutionary systems represent a solid model of sustainability. These systems are characterized by high-quality agroecosystems and landscapes, social inclusion, and viable economies. This book explores the challenges posed by the new geographic information technologies in agroecology and organic farming. It discusses the differences among technology-laden conventional farming systems and the role of technologies in strengthening the potential of agroecology. The first part reviews the new tools offered by geographic information technologies to farmers and people. The second part provides case studies of most promising application of technologies in organic farming and agroecology: the diffusion of hyperspectral imagery, the role of positioning systems, the integration of drones with satellite imagery. The third part of the book, explores the role of agroecology using a multiscale approach from the farm to the landscape level. This section explores the potential of Geodesign in promoting alliances between farmers and people, and strengthening food networks, whether through proximity urban farming or asserting land rights in remote areas in the spirit of agroecological transition. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Environmental Resilience and Food Law

by Gabriela Steier
Environmental Resilience and Food Law
Author: Gabriela Steier
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2019-08-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0429811829
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Agrobiodiversity and agroecology go hand-in-hand in promoting environmental resilience in international food systems as well as climate change resilient food policy. This book contextualizes how various legal frameworks address agrobiodiversity and agroecology around the globe and makes it accessible for audiences of students, practitioners, educators, and scholars. Some chapters focus on the legal regulation of agroecology from a food law perspective. Others are geared toward providing regulators, lawmakers and attorneys with the scientific and policy background of those concepts, so that they are equipped in the field of food law in everyday practice and policy. Climate change dimensions of the issues are woven throughout the book.

Essays on Strategy and Public Health

by Rodrick Wallace
Essays on Strategy and Public Health
Author: Rodrick Wallace
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2022-04-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030835782
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This book is a collection of essays that explore commonalities and contrasts between strategy in armed conflict and strategy in public health. The first part uses the asymptotic limit theorems of information and control theories to study strategy as an exchange of messages between adversaries, in the context of underlying power relations. The ‘messages’ to be exchanged are constructed from an ‘alphabet’ of tactics available to each contender, in a large sense. The second part of the book explores four case histories from this perspective, ranging across agribusiness-generated pandemics, through tuberculosis and COVID-19. The final chapter attempts a strategic synthesis applicable more specifically to public health than to the remarkably – and disturbingly -- close parallel of armed conflict. Taking a unique approach to public health tactics and strategy this volume will be of interest to social epidemiologists, public health economists, public policy scientists, as well as public health researchers and practitioners.

Traditional Knowledge in Food Activism and Governance

by Andrea Pieroni
Traditional Knowledge in Food Activism and Governance
Author: Andrea Pieroni
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 149
Release: 2024-08-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 2832553230
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The current debate on Traditional Knowledge (TK) and food heritage has had momentum in recent years, mainly thanks to the remarkable interest of some local and national institutions, small-scale producers, and emerging chefs. However, in the scientific arena, the process of documenting traditional knowledge and the heritage of local foods is often addressed by itself, and is not well connected to deeper reflections of the actual participatory processes involved in local development or to the manners through which TK informs public discourse regarding local foods and how this may further influence activists, institutions, and governance.