by Tim Lang, City, University of London; Erik P Millstone, University of Sussex, and Terry Marsden, Cardiff University Even the British eat. But one might be forgiven for thinking that…
Brexit and food: there is no plan, so what is the UK going to put on the table?
A day in the Chinampas
In the wetlands of Xochimilco in Mexico, farming is carried out in a system going back to Mesoamerican times, in chinampas – rectangular floating fields growing crops on a shallow…
How Kerala is making the transition towards healthy, home-grown food
In Kerala, agri-food systems are in transition towards self-reliance and sustainability. Through bringing traditional gardening into the mainstream food agenda, and adopting technologies and practices like agroecology, growers and consumers…
Confronting authoritarian populism: a new initiative and a new paper
A few weeks back, I highlighted the launch of the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI), and the availability of small grants for doing research on both the contours of the…
Research, convening and bridging: sharing insights from the ISSC’s Transformative Knowledge Networks
by Adrian Ely (co-lead, ‘Pathways’ Network), with contributions from Joanes Atela, Mirna Inturias, Dylan McGarry, Iokiñe Rodríguez & Patrick Van Zwanenberg Working with the World Social Science Council’s ‘Transformations to…
Using a “farmers’ jury” to see Nicaragua’s food system from rural perspectives
Jorge Irán Vásquez Zeledón, a participant in the project on Transitions to Agroecological Food Systems based in Nicaragua, has written a blog post (in Spanish) about a “Farmers’ Jury” organised…
Putting research to use in addressing complex development challenges: are we ready?
by Marina Apgar and Boru Douthwaite The Sustainable Development Goals provide a framework that may open up space to move beyond the siloes of disciplines and sectors. Those of us…
Beyond policy statements: how politics and ecology combine in land, water and forests
Governing land, water and forests (so-called ‘nexus’ resources) is critical for sustaining livelihoods, especially in the face of emerging shocks such as climate change. This also means that the effectiveness…
Could new alliances for seeds in Argentina be a way to nurture agricultural diversity?
Over the last three decades there has been an unprecedented process of concentration in world and regional seed markets. Seed R&D has shifted from being widely distributed over hundreds of…
Why local land matters for sustainable food systems
Land presents both challenges and opportunities for establishing sustainable food systems. That is one of the learning points from a workshop in Brighton on 7 December 2016. Stakeholders joining the…