The concepts of network and agroecology in the investigation of agroecologically oriented social movements

Abstract

In an environmental crisis scenario of in which nature is imposing limits on the market and the dominance of corporate agri-food systems, social movements with an agro-ecological bias are being presented as the only solution capable of restoring the metabolisms destroyed by the dominant model through co-production between human beings and nature in the processes of production, processing, transport, distribution, commercialization and consumption of food. Various researchers have presented their perspectives on these movements, including short chains, alternative agri-food networks, and civic networks. We propose to discuss these approaches in the light of the Brazilian reality in which there are limits to access to land, production resources, diverse and nutritious food, and income. From a conceptual point of view, chains, and networks (alternative or civic) share common elements but differ in their research agendas. They lack class content and issues of access to nutritious and diverse food. All the definitions revolve around the principles and dimensions of agroecology. From the point of view of the words used by the actors and the practices, agroecology permeates the debates and guides the actions of the actors in their transit spaces in Brazil, Latin America, Canada, and some parts of Europe. The term agroecological food networks, through the concept of networks in geography and from the perspective of agroecology, presents possibilities for observing and analyzing the flows between spaces, actors, knowledge, and actions of agroecological movements in an integrated way.