Sustainable diets: linking nutrition and food systems.

Chapter 6 (Page no: 53)

Agroecology and nutrition: transformative possibilities and challenges.

Agroecology is a holistic approach to agriculture, which takes into account the ecological, social, political and economic dimensions of producing food in order to build sustainable and resilient food systems that ensure food security and nutrition. It is thus an approach that resonates closely with sustainable diets. Positive nutritional outcomes should be one important outcome of such an approach; however, there has been limited research to date on the relationship between agroecology and nutrition. Building on a series of dialogues on agroecology hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization, as well as relevant scientific literature, this chapter presents several dimensions of agroecology that seem to be relevant for nutrition. On the technical side of agroecology, some promising studies point to the role that biodiverse farming systems and agroforestry have in ensuring positive nutritional outcomes. Other studies contend that agroecology, when linked to questions of social inequality such as gender or class, can lead to improvements in nutrition. Areas of interest and further investigation are outlined in this chapter: biodiverse production systems, social empowerment, local knowledge, culture and diets, livelihoods and rights. An agroecological approach to nutrition will likely critically engage with several known underlying determinants of malnutrition, which include the political, economic and social environment. This approach critiques the concept of nutritionism, a reductionist approach to nutrition science that is focused on single nutrients rather than food systems, and has often dominated efforts to link agriculture to nutritional outcomes.

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