Food security and biodiversity: can we have both? An agroecological analysis

Michael Jahi Chappell, Liliana Alma LaValle

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    315 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We present an extensive literature review exploring the relationships between food insecurity and rapid biodiversity loss, and the competing methods proposed to address each of these serious problems. Given a large and growing human population, the persistence of widespread malnutrition, and the direct and significant threats the expanding agricultural system poses to biodiversity, the goals of providing universal food security and protecting biodiversity seem incompatible. Examining the literature shows that the current agricultural system already provides sufficient food on a worldwide basis, but in doing so methodically undermines the capacity of agroecosystems to preserve biodiversity. However, the available evidence emphasizes the interdependence of biodiversity and agriculture, and the important role each plays in the maintenance of the other. Thus, our review supports the claim that the solutions to the problems of widespread food insecurity and biodiversity loss need not be mutually exclusive, and that it may be possible to address both using appropriate alternative agricultural practices.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)3-26
    Number of pages24
    JournalAgriculture and Human Values
    Volume28
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

    Bibliographical note

    The authors would like to thank J. Vandermeer for his help and mentorship, and K. Aviles Vazquez, S. Hepburn, S. Philpott, M. Reiskind, E. Werner, and R. Nussbaum for their helpful comments. Thanks also go to S. Uno, E. Peterson Dickson, and I. Carbonell for help with translations of some foreign language references. This paper also greatly benefited from conversations with the members of the New World Agriculture and Ecology Group, with special thanks owed to G. Smith, C. Badgley and I. Perfecto, and from additional comments by L. DeLind, H. James, and four anonymous reviewers. D. E. Nelson provided editorial assistance. All errors are ours. MJC received financial support from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Program, the National Security Education Program David Boren Fellowship, and the University of Michigan's Merit Fellowship Program and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. LAL received support from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program of the University of Michigan. 18 Springer Dordrecht

    Keywords

    • Agroecology Alternative agriculture Biodiversity Conservation Food security Organic agriculture Political ecology inverse productivity relationship participatory crop improvement conventional farming systems soil organic-matter agricultural intensification developing-countries sustainable agriculture land quality environmental implications transgenic technology Agriculture History & Philosophy of Science Sociology

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Food security and biodiversity: can we have both? An agroecological analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this