Geir Lieblein

Agroecology: The Ecology of Food Systems

ABSTRACT We present a compelling rationale for defining agroecology as the ecology of food systems. Our purpose is to provide a framework that will guide research, education, and action in the multiple and interacting facets of an increasingly complex global agriculture and food system. To accomplish such goals, it is essential to build bridges and connections among and beyond our disciplines in production agriculture, as well as beyond the farm gate into the rural landscape and community. Fields of sociology, anthropology, environmental sciences, ethics, and economics are crucial to the mix. They provide additional vantage points from which we can view the food system anew, as well as insights on how to establish valuation criteria beyond neoclassical economics. Examples from Mexico, California, and the Nordic Region are used to illustrate the successful implementation of this educational strategy in universities. Design of individual farms using principles of ecology is expanded to the levels of landscape, community, and bioregion, with emphasis on uniqueness of place and the people and other species that inhabit that place. We conclude that defining agroecology as the ecology of food systems will foster the development of broader interdisciplinary research teams and attractive systems-based courses for tomorrows best students. In contrast to the narrow focus on crop-soil interactions, this definition will help us raise higher-level research questions whose solutions will advance the development of a sustainable agriculture and food system.

Food system orientation and quality perception among consumers and producers of organic food in Hedmark County, Norway

Abstract To explore the potentials of organic agriculture, it is important to know how consumers, as well as producers, relate to food quality and food system issues. A consumer survey from the Hamar region in Southern Norway provided information on a number of these issues, and a rapid food system appraisal and a seminar revealed concerns among organic farmers in the region. Multivariate analyses showed that traditional food quality aspects such as freshness and taste, called “observation traits,” were important to all consumers. In addition, those who purchased organic foods were more concerned about ethical, environmental, and health issues, called “reflection traits”. Three consumer orientations in the food market were identified. Consumers with a “practical” orientation were less likely, and those with a “local” orientation in the food market were more likely, to buy organic food, while “social” considerations were equally important to all. The results indicate that many interests of organic farmers coincide with concerns among those who buy organic food, and that these are more complex than the formal rules for organic agriculture. This may provide a basis for identifying common goals and improving communication and cooperation between consumers and producers in order to further develop the organic food system. [Note that organic agriculture is called “ecological agriculture” in the Nordic Region.]

Becoming an Agroecologist through Action Education

Action education provides an appropriate set of methods for learning about the complexities of farming and food systems. Agroecology provides the framework to organise learning opportunities for students interested in solving challenges in todays world. Our programmes in agroecology concentrate on discovery and learning. Rather than agroecological theory having primary value, we immerse students in practical phenomena at the farming and food system level, and let these phenomena determine what theory is necessary and relevant. Teachers are converted from lecturers to leaders and catalysts in the learning process. In a learning landscape on campus, on farms, and in communities, we find direction by focusing on how students can become agroecologists. Students will have knowledge of farming and food systems, and the skills necessary to handle complexity and change, to link theory to real life situations, to communicate and facilitate in an effective way, and to be autonomous in their learning. Agroecology and sustainable agriculture are good places for training in these skills. Such skills will be vital for graduates to proactively deal with the challenges of specialisation, high technology, and use of non-renewable resources in modern society, in the quest for strategy to achieve sustainable development.

Innovative Education in Agroecology: Experiential Learning for a Sustainable Agriculture

The transdisciplinary field of agroecology provides a platform for experiential learning based on an expanded vision of research on sustainable farming and food systems and the application of results in creating effective learning landscapes for students. With increased recognition of limitations of fossil fuels, fresh water, and available farmland, educators are changing focus from strategies to reach maximum yields to those that feature resource use efficiency and resilience of production systems in a less benign climate. To help students deal with complexity and uncertainty and a wide range of biological and social dimensions of the food challenge, a whole-systems approach that involves life-cycle analysis and consideration of long-term impacts of systems is essential. Seven educational case studies in the Nordic Region and the U.S. Midwest demonstrate how educators can incorporate theory of the ecology of food systems with the action learning component needed to develop student potentials to create responsible change in society. New roles of agroecology instructors and students are described as they pursue a co-learning strategy to develop and apply technology to assure the productivity and security of future food systems.

Farmer and Consumer Attitudes at Farmers Markets in Norway

ABSTRACT Urbanization and an increasingly globalized food system cause growing physical and psychological distances between producers and customers. Alternative distribution initiatives with direct sale to local customers are emerging. This paper reports results of two surveys, one from producers and one from customers, in the newly introduced Norwegian farmers market system. The main aim of the research was to examine attitudes toward local foods and evaluate the potential of this new marketing channel to reduce the distances between farmers and consumers. Results show that producers were more concerned than customers regarding knowledge on how food was produced, and locally marketed, although customers were also interested in these issues. Both groups regarded as to how food was produced to be more important than where it was produced. Producers were more interested in giving customers information on agriculture than customers were in receiving this information. The attitudes toward food differed between respondents of larger urban cities and smaller cities in Norway. Producers traveled a longer distance (average 79 km) than customers (average 14 km) to come to the markets, but traveling distance differed substantially among the sites owing to market location, number of local farmers and small-scale local processors, and product diversity. Results suggest that the farmers markets have potential to reduce both physical and social distances between producers and consumers, and thereby contribute to the sustainability of local food production. Understanding farmer and consumer attitudes can contribute to organization and promotion of farmers markets in Norway and elsewhere.

Conceptual framework for structuring future agricultural colleges and universities in industrial countries

Abstract Agricultural colleges and universities in industrial countries are faced with declining numbers of students and the need to carefully evaluate alternative structures and functions to meet the challenges of a sustainable food supply. Current education and research are compartmentalized into classical departments and disciplines that often ignore the complex realities of natural, agricultural, and other human-designed systems. Communication with the agricultural industry likewise is confined to answers to specific questions that are perceived to be within the domain of specialized research and expertise. There is relative isolation from the natural resource environment and the urban society context. We propose two models for greater integration of learning activities among departments as well as moving more research and education into the field and food system. These alternative strategies broaden the concept of ‘faculty’ to include educators from farming, business, government, and non-profit group...

Food patterns and dietary quality associated with organic food consumption during pregnancy; data from a large cohort of pregnant women in Norway

BackgroundLittle is known about the consumption of organic food during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to describe dietary characteristics associated with frequent consumption of organic food among pregnant women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).MethodsThe present study includes 63 808 women who during the years 2002–2007 answered two questionnaires, a general health questionnaire at gestational weeks 15 and a food frequency questionnaire at weeks 17-22. The exploration of food patterns by Principal component analyses (PCA) was followed by ANOVA analyses investigating how these food patterns as well as intake of selected food groups were associated with consumption of organic food.ResultsThe first principal component (PC1) identified by PCA, accounting for 12% of the variation, was interpreted as a ‘health and sustainability component’, with high positive loadings for vegetables, fruit and berries, cooking oil, whole grain bread and cereal products and negative loadings for meat, including processed meat, white bread, and cakes and sweets. Frequent consumption of organic food, which was reported among 9.1% of participants (n = 5786), was associated with increased scores on the ‘health and sustainability component’ (p < 0.001). The increase in score represented approximately 1/10 of the total variation and was independent of sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Participants with frequent consumption of organic food had a diet with higher density of fiber and most nutrients such as folate, beta-carotene and vitamin C, and lower density of sodium compared to participants with no or low organic consumption.ConclusionThe present study showed that pregnant Norwegian women reporting frequent consumption of organically produced food had dietary pattern and quality more in line with public advice for healthy and sustainable diets. A methodological implication is that the overall diet needs to be included in future studies of potential health outcomes related to consumption of organic food during pregnancy.

Reduced risk of pre-eclampsia with organic vegetable consumption: results from the prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study

Objective Little is known about the potential health effects of eating organic food either in the general population or during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to examine associations between organic food consumption during pregnancy and the risk of pre-eclampsia among nulliparous Norwegian women. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Norway, years 2002–2008. Participants 28 192 pregnant women (nulliparous, answered food frequency questionnaire and general health questionnaire in mid-pregnancy and no missing information on height, body weight or gestational weight gain). Main outcome measure Relative risk was estimated as ORs by performing binary logistic regression with pre-eclampsia as the outcome and organic food consumption as the exposure. Results The prevalence of pre-eclampsia in the study sample was 5.3% (n=1491). Women who reported to have eaten organic vegetables ‘often’ or ‘mostly’ (n=2493, 8.8%) had lower risk of pre-eclampsia than those who reported ‘never/rarely’ or ‘sometimes’ (crude OR=0.76, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.96; adjusted OR=0.79, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.99). The lower risk associated with high organic vegetable consumption was evident also when adjusting for overall dietary quality, assessed as scores on a healthy food pattern derived by principal component analysis. No associations with pre-eclampsia were found for high intake of organic fruit, cereals, eggs or milk, or a combined index reflecting organic consumption. Conclusions These results show that choosing organically grown vegetables during pregnancy was associated with reduced risk of pre-eclampsia. Possible explanations for an association between pre-eclampsia and use of organic vegetables could be that organic vegetables may change the exposure to pesticides, secondary plant metabolites and/or influence the composition of the gut microbiota.

Challenges in designing ecological agriculture education: A nordic perspective on change

Educators in ecological agriculture are developing learning environments that differ in three fundamental ways from conventional teaching in agricultural universities and colleges. First, increased emphasis on food and production systems will expand and complement the current focus on specific disciplines and technologies. Second, introduction of research methods and learning objectives from social sciences will broaden the potentials for students to understand the complexities of food systems and the people who make them work. Third, action research and education will move learning activities into the agroecosystems environment and the human landscape, where students will learn from a broad array of people and experiences. This design of a new learning environment will enhance the education of students to serve agricultural and food systems well into a future that is changing at an accelerating rate.

Agroecology Education: Action-oriented Learning and Research

Abstract Purpose: This article examines and evaluates the potential contributions from action learning and action research with stakeholders to higher education in agriculture and food systems. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on our experiences over the past two decades of running PhD courses and an MSc degree programme in Agroecology in Norway that have attracted students from the Nordic region and other countries. Findings: We conclude that collaborating with non-university stakeholders as an integral part of a university course or programme serves four main purposes, two directly related to learning and two that can be considered as practical implications. Firstly, it enables learning about complex topics, a learning that cannot be achieved by merely reading or listening. Secondly, the real-life flare of such activities provides the students with enthusiasm and energy to delve into theory. Practical Implications: Thirdly, students collaborating with non-university stakeholders connect university and society. Fourthly, this process builds social relevance and civic engagement not found in conventional courses or curricula. Originality/Value: The article presents conceptual foundations and practical implementation of a unique educational programme in agriculture and food systems.