BOND Project

Colleagues at Coventry University have written a new open access book:

Agroecology Now! Transformations Towards More Just and Sustainable Food Systems https://www.agroecologynow.com/hot-off-the-press-new-open-access-book-on-transformations-towards-more-just-and-sustainable-food-systems/

By: Colin R. Anderson, Janneke Bruil, Michael Jahi Chappell, Csilla Kiss and Michel Pimbert

This new 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.

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.

The last part of the book articulates a new way of thinking about the ‘effects of governance interventions’ as various actors intentionally or inadvertently influence transitions to sustainability in territories with a focus on shifting toward a transformative agroecology.

Those that undermine agroecology by (i) suppressing and (ii) co-opting;
those that maintain the status quo by (iii) containing and (iv) shielding and
those that enable transformative agroecology by (v) supporting and nurturing and (vi) releasing and anchoring.

The analysis draws from political ecology and the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions, ultimately making the case for food sovereignty, community-self organization and a shift to bottom-up governance as the basis for transformation towards a socially just and ecologically regenerative food system.

The book builds on our wider work at AgroecologyNow! Many open access publications on this topic are available here. This ‘backgrounder‘ presents a concise illustration one part of the overall framework in the book, explaining the notion of Domains of Agroecology Transformations.

Anderson, C.R., Bruil, J., Chappell, M.J., Kiss, C., and Pimbert, M.P. (2020). Agroecology Now! Transformations Towards More Just and Sustainable Food Systems. Palgrave MacMillan.