Agriculture, food and degrowth: four avenues to pave the way to a sustainable food system

In the face of today’s massive sustainability challenges, degrowth is a concept that has been growing in the public discourse. But despite its increasing popularity—thanks in part to figures like Jason Hickel—it is not completely clear what degrowth could and should mean in different parts of the economy. What, for example, would degrowth look like in the agriculture and food sectors? The answer depends on who you ask. In a newly published paper, Copernicus Institute researchers contribute to answering this question and propose a new research agenda exploring the questions degrowth researchers need to ask to advance the transition to a sustainable and just global food system.

The food systems in our current societies are unsustainable and inequitable. Our ongoing lust for growth is leading to a host of environmental problems including deforestation, depleted soils, biodiversity loss and pollution. That’s not to mention the human cost. Industrialised agriculture is linked to a plethora of adverse health effects and entrenches inequalities.

Degrowth—loosely defined as a reduction of energy and resource usage and a focus on social and environmental justice rather than economic growth—is as a result becoming more popular in discussions around sustainable food systems. However, research on ‘degrowing’ agriculture is still in its infancy. A new paper published in Sustainability Science led by Utrecht University’s Leonie Guerrero Lara in collaboration with colleagues Laura van Oers, Jacob Smessaert, Julia Spanier, Guillherme Raj and Giuseppe Feola proposes four important areas in which further study is needed so that a deeper theoretical understanding around degrowth in our food systems can develop and gain traction around the world.

It's crucial to also consider the environmental and resource impact of alternative ways of farming and producing food, along with how they affect people in society.

Degrowth conceptualisations matter

Degrowth is multi-faceted, and degrowth research on agri-food systems uses a wide range of different views and definitions of the concept. Some refer to degrowth as a social movement, others as a theory, and yet others speak of it as a political program. In their publication, the researchers emphasize that how degrowth is conceptualized matters for how research is conducted, what is analysed, and how the potential for transformative change is thought of. For instance, most studies of degrowth only look at its social principles and not its environmental ones. “It's crucial to also consider the environmental and resource impact of alternative ways of farming and producing food, along with how they affect people in society.” In addition, explain the authors, cherry-picking approaches that favour certain principles over others are reductionist and should be avoided.

Critically theorising transformations towards degrowth food systems

Next, the researchers argue that the transformation towards degrowth should be studied further. Once we’ve defined what degrowth means, how do we get there? “It is widely agreed that degrowth requires fundamental transformations of our societies and economies”, say the authors. But research on degrowth in agri-food systems has so far lacked a thorough explanation of how this change towards degrowth comes about. “There are many perspectives in the scholarship of sustainability transformations that the degrowth field can learn from”. Additionally, they say, it is important to consider not just the grassroots initiatives that are often at the heart of degrowth reasoning, but also other agents that are involved in the process of transformation, as well as non-human beings that are at the core of our food system.

Corporate interests and authorities may try to appropriate a watered-down version of alternative agricultural practices and embed it into the existing economic system. Such co-optation de-politicizes the radical nature of movements and limits their transformative potential.

The political economy of degrowth: recentering capitalism

The researchers foresee that the transformation to a degrowth society will cause political conflict. “Grassroots initiatives trying to build degrowth from the ground up will inevitably have to struggle against embedded political and socio-economic structures”, explain the authors. Further study into the politics of degrowth transformations is thus necessary. An important aspect of this struggle is the need to avoid co-optation. “Corporate interests and authorities may try to appropriate a watered-down version of alternative agricultural practices and embed it into the existing economic system. We have seen this happen with organic agriculture and the fair-trade movement, for example. Such co-optation de-politicizes the radical nature of movements and limits their transformative potential.”

Degrowth in place: exploring rurality

Finally, the new research agenda explores the impacts of degrowth on rural populations. Globally, the lives of rural populations are deeply connected to agricultural practices. Thus, argue Guerrero and colleagues, it is essential that the impacts of a transformation to degrowth on the lives of rural people are taken into account.  What may degrowth mean for the countryside, and what are the implications of degrowth for the relationship between cities and rural areas?

This perspective helps us think about transforming the food system and society through looking at it in connection with other economic sectors and broader societal structures

“It is not just the agri-food sector in which unsustainability is deeply ingrained. It is part of the way people imagine how economies and societies should work—which is supported and maintained by our political and economic structures. This perspective helps us think about transforming the food system and society through looking at it in connection with other economic sectors and broader societal structures,” conclude the authors.

About the UNMAKING project

The research is part of UNMAKING, an ambitious research program led by Giuseppe Feola and hosted by Utrecht University’s Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. The project seeks to understand the ways in which radical agri-food grassroots initiatives can unmake modern capitalist institutions and socio-economic structures.