Results from Barcelona 2010 on Agriculture and Food
Agriculture and Food
The following are the results of the GAP at the Degrowth Conference 2010 in Barcelona that are particularly relevant for this working group. The document first presents a summary, including links to other working groups (in italic & bold), and then the complete results of those Barcelona working groups with some relations to the current one.
Summary:
The productivist model must be phased-out and policies that finance industrial agriculture projects must stop (including industrial fertilizers and chemicals).
Economical, political, social and cultural structural changes are needed. (education) There is an urgent need to move towards a more agro-ecological integrated agricultural system of food production by:
providing financial support for agroecological alternatives
using seasonal, ecological and local food
less livestock production {PHASE OUT BETTER?}
having food sovereignty as a principle (trade)
limiting deforestation and promoting re-ruralisation {ARE WE SURE ABOUT THE RE-RURALISATION?}
reconnecting rural and urban sphere in the North and the Global South (social economy)
Citizen initiatives supporting both urban and rural localised farming must be encouraged by diverse alliances with social movements, farmers, consumers, and public institutions as education, health sector, etc. (political strategies)
Working Groups from 2010 GAP in Barcelona with some connections:
Agro-ecology, food sovereignty and degrowth
Agroecology is not an option but an imperative for farming; there is an urgent need to move from a productivist industrial model of africulture towards a more agroecological integrated agricultural system of food production.
Many structural changes are needed; economical, political, social cultural. For instance, policies that are currently financing industrial agriculture projects must stop and instead of them it's needed finantial support of different kinds for agroecological alternatives. Also cultural changes are a must in the relationship between people and food production; these will imply shifts to fair, environmentally sound and healthy food consumption patters that rely less on intensive livestock production.
The rural and urban sphere needs to be reconnected both in the North and the Global South, taking up the perspective of food sovereignty. Citizen initiatives supporting both urban and rural localised farming must be encouraged by diverse alliances with social movements, farmers, consumers, and public institutions as education, health sector, etc.
Trade degrowth
Proposals
Ecological and social impacts of trade have to be measured with biophysical and social indicators, and further have to be integrated in trade policies and agreements.
There is a need for a new democratic global trade organization that moves away from “free trade” and growth as their fundamental basis, and towards social and environmental sustainability.
Food issues should be given priority to improve food security by working towards food sovereignty and productive autonomy.
Power relations have to be reduced among others by absolute foreign debt cancellations.
Research questions
How can ecological and social impacts of trade be measured with biophysical and human indicators?
How can the problem of scale adequately be addressed with various mechanisms?
Degrowth in water consumption
“Reapropiation of commons”: returning to public ownership and management of superficial, groundwater and desalted water at municipal level (if possible) avoiding to consider it as a commodity
Domestic tariff systems with basic threshold for free lifeline and quota up to a ceiling threshold, established in physical blocks terms and per day per person. Heavy industrial tariff to physical parameters and thresholds
Labelling Virtual water content (full life cycle) on all products: water points credit card
Degrowth in water consumption is tightly related to land use planning: non-industrial agroecological approach to agrarian land and food soverignity; stop new irrigation plans and water transfer and big supply infrastructures; stop urban sprawl
Downscaling to local sources management which enable people's empowerment: public fountains of free drink water as a symbol against fetishism of bottled water; democratic control on economy; living the river and its ecosystems; building a new water culture starting from water as life
In conclusion, accelerate degrowth and downshift your lifestyle
Social Metabolism and transitions
Socio-Political aspects
Link environmental movements with social movements and focus on underlying root causes to form alliances.
Aim at the consumption level of the sustainable peoples/classes of the world though this consumption levels take place in an unsustainable systems and therefore cultural changes are necessary even among within these peoples.
Create autonomous and intentional communities (niches of sustainability), and connect them. Promote this way of living and intervene in the system.
We need to change the current narratives that focus on material wealth to shift the focus on values that acknowledge the sustainability principles.
Bio-physical sphere
Global level
Closing material cycles as much as possible
Reinforce the product design-reduce its material requirements-make it more re-usable and re-cyclable.
Reduce, eliminate toxic chemicals (industrial fertilizers)
Return to the traditional, innovative way of agriculture-agro-ecology.
Reduce the global throughput of energy and materials adjusting it to the carrying capacity of the biosphere.
Put a limit to human appropriation of net primary production. Limit deforestation, change in industrial agriculture.
Internalize real costs.
Bio-physical sphere
Local and regional levels
Not exporting trash-
Reduce long-distance imports.
Less energy consumption in inputs.
Switching to locally produced renewable energy.
Construct with regional materials.
Bio-climatic architectural design.
Use seasonal, ecological and local food.
Re-ruralisation.
Foster proximity relationships through urban redesign-re-organization.
Reduce the transport infra-structure and make it more collective.
Promote sharing of electronic home equipment. Perceive them as commons.
Which social changes we expect with bio-physical decrease?
Demographic
Human time
Fool sovereignty
Immigration
Gender issues
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