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TWN
Info Service on Sustainable Agriculture ‘Nature-based solutions’: another way to obstruct food system transformation? A new briefing note from IPES-Food, ‘Smoke & Mirrors: Examining competing framings of food system sustainability’, looks at some of the terms and narratives prevalent in international food, climate and biodiversity spaces. (https://ipes-food.org/pages/smokeandmirrors) It warns that a growing number of green buzzwords are being used to obstruct food system transformation. It analyzes three concepts, ‘agroecology’, ‘nature-based solutions’, and ‘regenerative agriculture’, which are competing for attention. But, while often grouped together, they can imply very different things. * In the battle of ideas for the future of food systems, one controversial idea is rapidly gaining traction – ‘nature-based solutions’. But it lacks an agreed definition, a transformative vision, and is being used to maintain agribusiness as usual. * Increasingly, agri-food corporations, philanthropists, governments and some conservation groups are promoting ‘nature-based solutions’ in international discussions – often bundled with unproven carbon offsetting schemes that are risky for land competition, the climate, and that entrench big agribusiness power. The result is dilution of food system transformation. * By contrast, ‘agroecology’ is a more comprehensive pathway towards food system sustainability, and has been clearly defined through democratic and inclusive governance processes, backed by years of scientific research and social movement legitimacy. But despite its conceptual maturity, it is systematically sidelined in food systems, climate and biodiversity spaces. * Regenerative agriculture’ emphasizes regenerating natural resources. Though less used in global policy spaces, it is increasingly prominent in corporate-led sustainability schemes and risks becoming a catch-all term for their poorly defined sustainability initiatives which are stripped of social justice dimensions and have a limited focus on soil carbon. IPES-Food calls for the rejection of solutions that lack definitions, exploit ambiguity and mask agribusiness as usual. Getting food systems on the global agenda isn’t enough: inclusive governance processes based on a shared understanding of food system transformation and a comprehensive (socially and environmentally) sustainable food system vision are needed. With
best wishes,
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