Is there an agroecology movement in the USA?

Abstract

This question was uppermost in the minds of the 100 participants at the recent “Agroecology Summit” held May 23-25, 2023, at the Elms Center in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, outside of Kansas City. This is also a question I have asked myself many times in my role as Editor of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and wondering why such a small percentage of the papers submitted to our journal comes from agroecological research carried out in the USA. The Summit was organized to address this question – are we a movement? The key concept that drove the organization of the Summit is also a key concept of agroecology -diversity. Diversification through the process of cocreation of knowledge coming from multiple stakeholders in the food system in order to create a diverse pathway for the scientific field of agroecology to lead/follow. Diversification through integrating disciplines, approaches, ideologies, belief system, and cultures to achieve true transdisciplinarity. Diversification through many voices identifying priorities in agroecology so we can move beyond isolation and achieve full collaboration in the movement. Diversification through the transformation of food systems in the USA that respects multiple visions, beliefs, cultures, goals, and dreams. All of these “ways of knowing” and “ways of being” contributed to bringing together a remarkable diversity of participants. Through a process of an opening keynote presentation, panel discussions, break-out groups, report backs of key ideas, and wrap-up discussions, a dynamic and evolving vision of the current status and future development of agroecology in the USA took shape. The keynote and four panels included the following: