University of Vermont launches Institute for Agroecology to create sustainable food systems

The University of Vermont has launched the Institute For Agroecology (IFA) to create a new cycle of research, learning, and action to create more sustainable and just food systems. The goal is to use core knowledge for agroecology and food sovereignty to address the crises arising from industrial food production: inequity, the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, diet-related disease, food insecurity, and environmental degradation.

To learn more about IFA, browse these brochures 1-page; 4-page .

Agroecology incorporates Indigenous practices, ancestral knowledge, and scientific approaches to create regenerative food systems that also cool the planet and offer healthy nutrition. Not only farming protocols but cultures, economics, and policies will need to change. Social movements, communities, farmers, and Indigenous groups who are driving change will collaborate with the project.

The IFA will utilize five strategies:

• Research: critical, transdisciplinary research on redesigning food systems.
• Convene: gather collaborators inside and outside academia to generate ideas and build national/international networks.
• Amplify: communication strategies to influence politics, narratives, and public sentiment.
• Cultivate: the next generation of agroecologists through formal training programs.
• Activate: support local economic, ecological, social, and cultural processes to grow agroecology.

The website offers engagement: https://www.uvm.edu/instituteforagroecology.

Source: University of Vermont

To view source article, visit:
https://www.uvm.edu/agroecology/announcing-uvm-ifa/

Organic & Non-GMO Insights August 2023