There are currently 1 billion people in the world today who are hungry. There’s also another billion people who over eat unhealthy foods. Food production around the world today is mostly done through industrial agriculture, and by judging the world’s current situation with obesity issues, worldwide food shortages, and the destruction of soil, it may not be the best process in use. We need to be able to feed our world without destroying it, and finding a more sustainable approach to accomplishing that is becoming increasingly more important.
The current industrial system contributes to one-third of global greenhouse emissions, is a tremendous user and polluter of our world’s water resources, and is a leading contributor to malnutrition, heart-disease and obesity. Industrial agriculture is more apart of the problem than the cure. It relies on the mass produced and mechanized labor-saving policies that have pushed people out of rural areas and into cities, consolidating land and resources into fewer hands.
Agroecology looks to reduces agriculture’s impact on climate by working within natural systems. This is especially beneficial in rural areas, because agroecology makes the local community a major part of the growing process from seed to mouth. The approach can conserve and protect soil and water — through terracing, contour farming, intercropping, and agroforestry — which is especially beneficial in poorer areas where farmers lack modern irrigation infrastructure, or have farms situated on hillsides and other difficult farming sites.
This infographic created with the Christensen Fund looks at how agroecology can be better for our world.
via: Christensen Fund
