Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Burying Sustainable Development

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Agroecology

  • 428 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter revisits the concept of sustainable development and how it came about. It looks at what happened at a turning point in history, in 1974, when the notions of eco-development and co-evolution were proposed. It argues that sustainable development and commercial agriculture both stem from the same roots: sustained growth, which has led us to an impasse. Agroecology is the coming back of eco-development to cover up the mistakes of the last 40 years. This chapter proposes a shift of mindset with the notion of “being within” looking at agroecology as a way to reconnect and rebuild relationships and movement within the farming system and beyond: its reweaving capacity. Rather than linear technical fixes, it suggests to look at the critical nodes of tension in the system: the inflection points, or acupoints, to act upon these and trigger a transition towards greater harmony and well-being.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    See the rise of superweeds on 60 million acres of US land http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/superweeds-overrun-farmlands-0384.html#.WYn8ua2B33A (8 August 2017).

  2. 2.

    See http://longnow.org/about/ (8 August 2017).

  3. 3.

    Personal communication with Olav Randen, Norwegian farmer (June 2011).

  4. 4.

    See https://www.seitaibarcelona.com/home/ (8 August 2017).

  5. 5.

    Ploeg studied the differentiated growth patterns of production and value added in Parma (Italy) provinces in 1971, 1979 and 1999. He demonstrates that in 1971, the gross value of production (GVP) realized through the peasant approach constituted 15% more than realized through the entrepreneurial mode. In 1979, the difference was 36% and in 1999 it amounted to 56%. This demonstrates that there is no “intrinsic backwardness” to peasant farming. It also stresses that the frequently articulated view that the peasants are unable to feed the world is unsound since it depends upon the “space” they dispose of.

  6. 6.

    See Ploeg (2009, p. 53).

References

  • Altieri, Miguel A., Fernando R. Funes-monzote, and Paulo Petersen. 2012. Agroecologically Efficient Agricultural Systems for Smallholder Farmers: Contributions to Food Sovereignty. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 32: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0065-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altieri, Miguel A., Clara I. Nicholls, Alejandro Henao, and Marcos A. Lana. 2015. Agroecology and the Design of Climate Change-Resilient Farming Systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 35: 869–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-015-0285-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antona, M., F. Bousquet, C. LePage, J. Weber, A. Karsenty, and P. Guizol. 1998. Economic Theory of Renewable Resource Management: A Multi-Agent System Approach, Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science Book Series. Vol. LNCS Volume 1534. Berlin/New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astier, Marta, Jorge Quetzal Argueta, Quetzalcóatl Orozco-Ramírez, María V. González, Jaime Morales, Peter R.W. Gerritsen, Miguel A. Escalona, Francisco J. Rosado-May, Julio Sánchez-Escudero, Tomas Martínez Saldaña, Cristobal Sánchez-Sánchez, B. René Arzuffi, Mirna Ambrosion, and Carlos González-Esquivel. 2017. Back to the Roots : Understanding Current Agroecological Movement, Science, and Practice in Mexico. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 41: 329–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aubin, Jean-Pierre. 1998. Optima and Equilibria: An Introduction to Nonlinear Analysis. Paris: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, Gordon, and Jules N. Pretty. 1992. Unwelcome Harvest: Agriculture and Pollution. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cury, P., and C. Roy. 1989. Optimal Environmental Window and Pelagic Fish Recruitment Success in Upwelling Areas. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 46 (4): 670–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Wit, Maya Montenegro, and Alastair Iles. 2016. Toward Thick Legitimacy: Creating a Web of Legitimacy for Agroecology. Elementa Science of the Anthropocene 4 (115). 10.12952/journal.elementa.000115.

  • Desmarais, Annette Aurélie. 2007. La Vía Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants. Halifax: Fernwood Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • ETC, Group. 2011. Who Will Control the Green Economy? New York: ETC, Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. 2009. World Summit on Food Security. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2014. Food Wastage Footprint: Full Cost Accounting. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2015. Agroecology to Reverse Soil Degradation and Achieve Food Security. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuoka, Masanobu. 1975. The One-Straw Revolution. Tokyo: New York Review of Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gliessman, Steve. 2017. Transforming Food Systems with Agroecology. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 40 (3): 187–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2015.1130765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GRAIN. 2009. The International Food System and the Climate Crisis. Seedling, October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kallis, Giorgos, and Richard B. Norgaard. 2010. Coevolutionary Ecological Economics. Ecological Economics 69: 690–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Via Campesina. 2010. Sustainable Peasant and Family Farm Agriculture Can Feed the World. Jakarta: Via Campesina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mamine, Katsumi. 2014. El Movimiento Vital. Barcelona: Icaria.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2016. In La Vida Las 5 Oseis, ed. Seitai. Barcelona.

    Google Scholar 

  • Molle, François. 2008. Nirvana Concepts, Narratives and Policy Models: Insights from the Water Sector. Water Alternatives 1 (1): 131–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norgaard, Richard B. 1984. Coevolutionary Agricultural Development. Economic Development and Cultural Change 32 (3): 525–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavageau, Charlotte, Charlotte Pavageau, Michel Trommetter, and Jacques Weber. 2009. Accounting for Changes in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services from a Business Perspective. CNRS 44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimbert, Michel. 2009. Towards Food Sovereignty. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Royal Society. 2009. Reaping the Benefits. London: The Royal Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunderlin, William D. 1995. Managerialism and the Conceptual Limits of Sustainable Development. Society & Natural Resources 8 (6): 481–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tittonell, Pablo. 2014. Ecological Intensification of Agriculture — Sustainable by Nature. Science Direct 8: 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2014.08.006. Elsevier.

  • Van der Ploeg, J.D. 2009. The New Peasantries: Struggles for Autonomy and Sustainability in an Era of Empire and Globalisation. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wezel, A., S. Bellon, Thierry Dore, C. Francis, and D. Vallod. 2009. Agroecology as a Science, a Movement and a Practice. A Review for Sustainable Development. Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences/INRA 29 (4): 503–516.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR), Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Angela Hilmi

  2. Ryton Organic Gardens, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK

    Angela Hilmi

Authors
  1. Angela Hilmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hilmi, A. (2018). Burying Sustainable Development. In: Agroecology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68489-5_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68489-5_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68488-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68489-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation