Extractivism : Apple Tree Care and How One Relates to Resources

Peer reviewe

Augmenting agroecological urbanism : the intersection of food sovereignty and food democracy

Food sovereignty has emerged as a leading sense-making framework for the nascent conceptualization of an agroecological urbanism – a radically new paradigm for urbanization, grounded in political agroecology. At present, discourses like food democracy are often isolated from food sovereignty and agroecology in the urban context, potentially resulting in missed opportunities for creating holistic, inclusive, and scalable transformation in the urban food system. This study used data from existing municipal food policy in Seattle, U.S.A. and interviews with Seattle community gardeners to probe resident practices and policy recommendations in relation to the conceptual frameworks of food sovereignty and food democracy. The findings identify two key dimensions of food democracy as notably absent from the food sovereignty framework within this contextualized landscape, including mechanisms that enable vertical deliberation between food system stakeholders and opportunities for strengthened self and community efficacy – thus, exposing a potential gap in the ongoing development of an actionable agroecological urbanism. Working in tandem within the frame of agroecological urbanism, the food sovereignty and food democracy frameworks may support transition from unsustainable growth patterns and enable agroecological massification in an urban Global North context.Peer reviewe

Co-creating Agroecological Symbioses (AES) for sustainable food system networks

Critics of modern food systems argue for the need to shift from a consolidated and concentrated, often monoculture based agro-industrial model toward diversified, post-fossil, and nutrient recycling food systems. The abundance of acute and obvious environmental problems in the agricultural sub-systems of the broader food system(s) have resulted in a focus on technological and natural scientific research into "solving" these point of production problems. Yet, there are many facets of food systems that are vital to sustainability which are not addressed even if the environmental problems were solved. In this article, we argue for agroecological symbiosis (AES) as a generic arrangement for re-configuring the primary production of food in agriculture, the processing of food, and development of a food community to work toward system-level sustainability. The guiding principle of this concept was the desire to base farming and food processing on renewable bioenergy, to close nutrient cycles, to break away from the consolidated food chain, to be more transparent and connected with consumers, and to revitalize the rural spaces where farms generally operate. Through a consistent and robust collaboration and co-creative process with transdisciplinary actors, ranging from food producers, and processers to policy actors, we designed a food system model based on networks of AES (NAES). The NAES would form place-based food networks, replacing the consolidated commodity chains. The NAES supports sustainable interactions from a biophysical and socio-cultural perspective. In this paper, we explain the AES concept, give an overview of the process of co-creating the pilot AES, and a proposal for the extension of the AES, as NAES, to create sustainable food systems. Overall, we conclude that the AES model holds potential for creating place-based food systems that further the sustainability agenda.Peer reviewe

The REKO model : Facebook as a platform for food system reconnection

The rise of the globalized, industrial food system has widened the distance between producers and consumers. Over the last several years there has been a call for closing the distance between producers and consumers, and for more transparency in food systems. This need can be filled via procurement of local food, but there are often barriers to connect producers and consumers even when they live in proximity. The REKO model (short for Fair Consumption in Swedish) offers space for virtual reconnection via Facebook, which is used as its communication and ordering platform. The use of an already existing platform, which is often already widely in use among producers and consumers, has allowed the REKO concept to replicate and diffuse very effectively. Thus, REKO is a situated example of how digital interaction can radically alter the producer/consumer interactions in a local food community without having to invest heavily in infrastructures and technological developments. Drawing on experiences from the REKO network, this article explores the opportunities for food system reconnection, as well as the limitations of utilizing an existing technological platform to reconfigure local food interactions.Peer reviewe

Agroecological Symbiosis

Food systems present a nexus of challenges and potential solutions to the unsustainable global crises of the Anthropocene. Most of humanity interacts with multiple food systems as a result of being involved in our highly globalized, extractivist, and productivist paradigm. This chapter explores Agroecological Symbiosis as a situated example of a food-system (re)design aimed at fostering sustainable interactions from environmental, economic, and sociocultural perspectives. This chapter contributes to our understanding of sustainability through the many emergent and interconnected elements of food systems. We ground the theoretical enquiry in lived experience by drawing parallels to the real world case example of Agroecological Symbiosis. In light of the complexity and interconnectedness of food systems, careful contextualization is needed to enact meaningful sustainable transitions in food systems. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to food systems (re)design, and a variety of actions along the whole food system are required.Peer reviewe

Extractivisms

Unsustainable extraction of natural resources has come under increasing criticism since the 2000s, as global commodity prices have risen, and new waves of land grabbing and investing have put resource politics in the limelight of global development. The concept of extractivism has been gaining scholarly and policy relevance and is becoming more widely used as an organizing concept to explore a range of unsustainable practices. The study of extractivism and its impacts extends to the deeper historical and structural features that underlie unsustainable practices, including economic models and ideologies. The concept of extractivism is useful for highlighting the deeper and systemic roots of unsustainability. The phenomena surrounding resistance to extractivism are highly useful for understanding the often-overlooked struggles of local communities. It is through such local struggles that communities may pursue more sustainable land-use practices, and more just socio-ecological conditions. This resistance often involves a deep critique and rethinking of the ways of understanding and conceptualizing nature, through which alternatives to extractivism, as a basis for sustainability, can be developed.Peer reviewe

Ruokajärjestelmän kestävyysmuutos: Elinvoimaa agroekologisista symbiooseista

Yhä keskittyvämmän ja globalisoituvan maatalousteollisen ruokajärjestelmän kestävyysongelmat ovat käyneet ilmeisiksi. Ne ulottuvat sekä ekologiseen perustaan että talouteen ja sosiokulttuurisiin kysymyksiin. Tutkimus on analysoinut ja kuvannut nämä ongelmat varsin tarkoin, ja vaatimus järjestelmän kestävyysmuutoksesta on vallitseva. Tutkimus on tuottanut erilaisia osajärjestelmiä koskevia parannusehdotuksia, mutta ei vaihtoehtoista malleja kestäväksi järjestelmäksi. Esittelemme tässä katsauksessa agroekologisten symbioosien (AES) ruoantuotantomalliin perustuvan ehdotuksen sellaiseksi järjestelmäksi. AES:it ovat teollisen ekologian teorian mukaisia maatalouden alkutuotannon, elintarvikejalostuksen ja bioenergiantuotannon yritysyhteenliittymiä. Ne edustavat ekosysteemiyhteyteensä paikallistettua tuotannon mallia, joka on kestävän kiertobiotalouden ehtojen mukainen. Kuvailemme, miten verkostoina (NAES) toimiessaan nämä symbioosit yhdessä asiakkaidensa kanssa muodostavat kestävän, fossiilitaloudesta irrotetun, ilmastotehokkaan ja ravinteet kierrättävän ruokajärjestelmän. Esitämme, että NAES malli toteutuessaan tekisi kuluttajasta ruokakansalaisen, palauttaisi hänet ekosysteemiyhteyteen ja paikkaan. NAES muuntaisi maaseudut elinvoiman lähteiksi ja kestävän yhteiskuntarakenteen perustaksi

Extractivism at Your Fingertips

Peer reviewe

Ruokajärjestelmän kestävyysmuutos : Elinvoimaa agroekologisista symbiooseista

Yhä keskittyvämmän ja globalisoituvan maatalousteollisen ruokajärjestelmän kestävyysongelmat ovat käyneet ilmeisiksi. Ne ulottuvat sekä ekologiseen perustaan että talouteen ja sosiokulttuurisiin kysymyksiin. Tutkimus on analysoinut ja kuvannut nämä ongelmat varsin tarkoin, ja vaatimus järjestelmän kestävyysmuutoksesta on vallitseva. Tutkimus on tuottanut erilaisia osajärjestelmiä koskevia parannusehdotuksia, mutta ei vaihtoehtoista malleja kestäväksi järjestelmäksi. Esittelemme tässä katsauksessa agroekologisten symbioosien (AES) ruoantuotantomalliin perustuvan ehdotuksen sellaiseksi järjestelmäksi. AES:it ovat teollisen ekologian teorian mukaisia maatalouden alkutuotannon, elintarvikejalostuksen ja bioenergiantuotannon yritysyhteenliittymiä. Ne edustavat ekosysteemiyhteyteensä paikallistettua tuotannon mallia, joka on kestävän kiertobiotalouden ehtojen mukainen. Kuvailemme, miten verkostoina (NAES) toimiessaan nämä symbioosit yhdessä asiakkaidensa kanssa muodostavat kestävän, fossiilitaloudesta irrotetun, ilmastotehokkaan ja ravinteet kierrättävän ruokajärjestelmän. Esitämme, että NAES malli toteutuessaan tekisi kuluttajasta ruokakansalaisen, palauttaisi hänet ekosysteemiyhteyteen ja paikkaan. NAES muuntaisi maaseudut elinvoiman lähteiksi ja kestävän yhteiskuntarakenteen perustaksi.Peer reviewe

Palopuro Agroecolocial Symbiosis – Increasing sustainability in organic farming

Agroecological symbiosis (AES) enhances productivity in agriculture. A case study of the first AES in Finland indicated that productivity of on the organic crop farm could be increased by producing biogas from green manure leys, fallows, and other locally available biomasses. At the same time, the farm became a net-energy producer instead of being an energy consumer. Combining the food processing, crop production, energy production and closer interaction with consumers increase the overall sustainability of the local food syste