Agroecology and the Struggle for Food Sovereignty ... - Yale University

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agroecology and the struggle for food sovereignty
workshop sought to underline how local, national, regional, and global forces are
interacting, and how small farmers across the Americas are facing similar challenges.
Jesús León Santos and Ronaldo Lec at the breakfast session
on farmer identity. Photographer: Juan Carlos Espinosa.
A Guide to this Report
Throughout the workshop, a recurring question was how to build stronger
relationships between academics and practitioners, including farmers and NGOs,
working at the intersection of food, agricultural, and environmental issues. In that
spirit, the organizers have compiled this report, which synthesizes workshop
proceedings, expands on insights derived there, and provides concrete
recommendations to academics, policy-makers, farmers’ movements themselves, and
other audiences. By facilitating the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and
resources, academic institutions can promote policies that better reflect lived realities
in marginalized rural communities. However, this report does more than list policy
options – it situates them in the rich backgrounds and diverse experiences of
workshop participants, including interviews and personal reflections alongside more
recognizably academic writings. Presentations at the workshop emphasized the
critical yet frequently obscured connections between abstract-sounding policies and
the daily experiences of real people. The report is structured along similar lines.
The first section introduces and expands on key themes of the workshop and the
report itself. The introduction by Kathleen McAfee frames the links between critical
issues of global agriculture, trade, and the environment. Jonathan Cook and Corrina
Steward urge policy-makers to reconsider the critical importance of just access to
food production and consumption when developing relevant trade policy. Richard
Levins urges an expanded understanding of agricultural products as more than just
food. Karl Zimmerer describes emerging conservation challenges related to the
increasing recognition of the importance of the environmental services provided by
agro-biodiverse farms. And Avery Cohn examines roles for academia to play in
furthering many of the causes the other featured articles outline.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies