Pathways to Sustainability through Food Sovereignty and Agroecology: a Holistic Approach

This post is based on a presentation I did at a sustainability symposium at the University of Waikato a few weeks ago.

Abstract:

Food sovereignty and agroecology have been the focus of much academic attention in recent years, although very little has been published on these topics in a New Zealand context. These paradigms have been instrumental in highlighting multifaceted problems of social and environmental exploitation emerging from the existing industrialised food systems and identifying more sustainable solutions. This presentation draws on preliminary findings from doctoral research focused on food sovereignty in New Zealand. Qualitative data was were gathered through ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with people who produce, organise and distribute local food in a small coastal New Zealand township, as well as in several contrasting settings. It presents diverse understandings around organic and local food, environmental protection, community resilience and living economies. The findings are that genuine pathways to sustainability are possible through agricultural models based on ecosystems and indigenous knowledge systems, and through the proliferation and support of small-scale community initiatives.

Sustainability has become a catchword…

A linguistic representation of a cultural shift in perspective that has increasingly necessary in the face of emerging global crises – climate, food, waste, energy and inequality

This wave has reached the point where it’s no longer just a few hippies waving placards, it is increasingly ubiquitous

The movement that first became mainstream for my generation with the likes of Captain Planet has now reached critical mass

But does this mean the words are being over-used? Green-washed?

Has sustainability lost meaning? Has it been corporatised?

A critical perspective is important here…

While there is plenty to be critical of, it is also helpful to look for solutions, to find working models and inspiration

Genuine sustainability must come from the grass-roots, upward. It must be holistic and multi-faceted.

Economic, social and environmental – genuine sustainability is synonymous with healthy interconnected ecosystems.

Agroecology is a whole-systems approach to agriculture and food systems development based on traditional knowledge, alternative agriculture, and local food system experiences: linking ecology, culture, economics, and society to sustain agricultural production, healthy environments, and viable food and farming communities. It's also a less ‘hippy’ term for permaculture

Permaculture (permanent agriculture/culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems

Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.

It is a system which can be applied to anything – society/community, economics…

Sparked in 1996 by Vía Campesina, an international peasant movement representing more than 180 international organisations advocating for peasants, migrant agricultural workers, indigenous food providers and small-scale farmers.

Food sovereignty is about:

•   Producing food for people, not for the global commodity market
•   Valuing food producers
•   Localising food systems
•   Local control over resources
•   Building skills and knowledge
•   Working with Nature

This local food map was made by one of the local groups in Whaingaroa, where my research is based.

Whaingaroa is a dynamic community engaged in activities related to food sovereignty

Groups and initiatives are closely interconnected

There is a strong focus on ‘local’, ‘organic’, ‘sustainable’

There is still a long way to go....

•Supermarket culture: a lot of food is still purchased from the town supermarkets or from Hamilton

•Not enough local food producers yet (more coming?)

•Poverty and social exclusion vs the ‘green bubble’

Interconnectedness is key

Food sovereignty is about relationships

What can we learn from the local food producers of Whaingaroa?

* People can lead incredibly rich lives without much material wealth

* Balancing the economic, social and environmental  - and viewing them as interconnected

* There are strong critiques, here, of the corporate food system: control, ecological damage and exploitation

* People have gotten too disconnected from food: need to reconnect, Food needs to be real

* Food should be: local, sustainably produced, safe and abundant.

* There is a strong focus on supporting local food producers: avoiding competition, working together

* There is also a strong focus on respecting indigenous values and learning from indigenous wisdom

Indigenous systems have been developed alongside ecological systems – necessarily –

We can learn a lot from ecological systems, from the indigenous knowledge systems in our local landscape

Without considering the flows and cycles of ecosystems, without considering ourselves part of them, we cannot move past sustainability as a catchword

Through understanding the interconnectedness we can repair fragmented ontologies, heal rifts and avoid environmental, social and economic exploitation.

You can permaculture anything, so how about a thesis?

Permaculture is not just about gardening, as many people seem to think. I just completed a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) which was very little to do with gardening. I have learnt that permaculture is a good system for designing good systems. It involves a whole lot of principles that can be applied to just about anything, and since I'm doing this PhD thing, I thought I would experiment with applying it to my research. The following is a presentation I did for the PDC.

First of all, I sang a song, because that's an appropriate thing to do, right? It's a song about the Monsanto because that is one of the nasty things that motivated me to look for positive alternatives, so it's totally relevant.

Wait, what is food sovereignty?

So that sounds like it has a lot to do with permaculture to begin with...

Then I tried some funky mind-mapping (not my strong-point), because in permaculture there is this thing with interconnectedness and stuff.

Then I tried looking at the permaculture principles in light of my research

And this thing, which, as it turned out, was totally compatible with my notes already:

And then there's the permaculture flower:

So through this process I realised that I was doing this whole research thing backwards (as I usually do things), so I ended with the question that I should have probably started with:

Is localisation a happy walk backwards?

There are no answers in this post, only questions.  I have started the fieldwork and interviews for my PhD looking at food sovereignty in New Zealand and one of the main ideals that has come across so far is that of localisation.  I, personally, am a fan of eating locally produced food - seasonal vegetables, milk from a near-by farm, sourdough bread baked down the road in an old-fashioned brick wood-fired oven, etc. But how local is local?  The baker certainly doesn't grow his own wheat, it's not grown around here.  Hardly any grains are grown in New Zealand.  Maybe localisation means that we start growing all the grains, seeds and pulses that are possible to grow in this climate and only import the essential things we can't grow (coffee and chocolate).

I am as likely as anyone to idealise simpler ways of doing things: growing and making your own food; buying or trading locally for other homemade goodies; avoiding highly processed foods with a plethora of unrecognisable ingredients; driving less and walking more; making your own skin and hair care products or living without them...  This all seems to make a lot of sense.  With food, particularly, we have developed and altered it so much that our bodies are having a hard time keeping up.  Critics argue that localisation is just another middle class fantasy that isn't practical for most of the world, although Via Campesina, the international peasant movement, assert that it is an important part of food sovereignty in the Global South.  I am interested in how these different worlds with similar ideals can meet.

I also wonder what this philosophy means in terms of technology.  I have grown up with computers and been attached to the internet and cell phones since I was a teenager.  The internet has done amazing things;  networking, sharing and communication have advanced social justice causes and exposed real conspiracies as well as facilitated the dissemination of a whole lot of cat memes, propaganda and made up conspiracies.  I'm not ready to live without any of these things, except maybe the last two.

When people talk about localisation often there is an underlying acknowledgement of peak oil or 'when the economy inevitably collapses'.  There is this projection of a different world, a less disposable world where resources and the environment are more valued, where we can no longer afford to waste, where we grow roof-top gardens in the cities and permaculture-up the public spaces.  There is no implicit rejection of all modern technology but there is the obvious possibility of it's loss.  Is it possible to envision a world where we can produce our own food but still have the internet - one of the largest power-suckers in the world?

The argument for progress at all costs is old and out-dated; the idea that technology will surely save us seems like it comes from a strange religious cult, but can we walk comfortably backwards while still advancing our collective thoughts, our social justice practices and our communication?