Agroecological Symbiosis

Abstract

Food systems present a nexus of challenges and potential solutions to the unsustainable global crises of the Anthropocene. Most of humanity interacts with multiple food systems as a result of being involved in our highly globalized, extractivist, and productivist paradigm. This chapter explores Agroecological Symbiosis as a situated example of a food-system (re)design aimed at fostering sustainable interactions from environmental, economic, and sociocultural perspectives. This chapter contributes to our understanding of sustainability through the many emergent and interconnected elements of food systems. We ground the theoretical enquiry in lived experience by drawing parallels to the real world case example of Agroecological Symbiosis. In light of the complexity and interconnectedness of food systems, careful contextualization is needed to enact meaningful sustainable transitions in food systems. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to food systems (re)design, and a variety of actions along the whole food system are required.