Agroecological feminism
No TL;DR found
Abstract
Agroecology claims to celebrate biocultural diversity and promote dialog of knowledge as two of its fundamental pillars. Unfortunately, our science is neither as diverse nor as dialogical as we portray it to be. That is why for the last ten years women agroecologists in Latin America have been shouting “¡Sin feminismo no hay agroecología!” (No feminism, no agroecology!). And why are we shouting? First, because, as FAO has documented, women perform most of the “care work” involved in producing crops for selfconsumption as well as storing and preparing food, but in most of the world women farmers do not own the land and rarely have access to credit or government support. Second, because, in most cases, we are the ones who organize agroecological markets and community gardens, who study agroecology and promote programs for food sovereignty, but our names and work are often unacknowledged. Our yelling and work have had an impact. Today, it is difficult to conceive of an agroecology conference in Latin America without women protagonists. Gender is now part of most agroecological agendas. Many academics and activists are writing about the urgency of incorporating feminisms into agroecology in the field, organizations and universities. Their analyses recognize the need for an intersectional approach to ensure that our science has social justice at its core. Among the great references for feminists in Latin America is my countrywoman, Lorena Cabnal. Lorena is an indigenous Guatemalan who identifies herself as a community feminist. She argues that we cannot fight against mining, monocultures, and transgenic crops that contaminate our territories if we do not also recognize, and defend, our bodies as our first territories. These body-territories are plural, non-binary, and must be free of all violence. Another great source of inspiration is the First Meeting of Women in Struggle organized by Zapatista women in Chiapas in March, 2018. More than five thousand women from around the world, of many races and many strands of feminism, converged in this unforgettable meeting. In their closing words, the Zapatista compañeras, half-jokingly and half-seriously said that they had seen and heard some strange and wonderful things, but that they acknowledge that everyone “has their own way.” They invited us not to feel alone as we parted ways, “because now we are going to begin to build the world we deserve and need”. And what could we as agroecologists learn from these ways of seeing the world? In my opinion, we need to envision an agroecology that celebrates AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2021, VOL. 45, NO. 7, 955–956 https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2021.1927544