A revised analysis and critique of the food system's embeddedness in the extractive capitalist world economy t
Trade Review
"Agroecology: Leading the Transformation to a Just and Sustainable Food System has been and remains the go-to textbook on the subject. Each edition has encompassed new topics and remained intellectually fresh, reflecting the truly dynamic nature of the field. The current edition is no exception. In the spirit of "passing the torch," this new edition includes the insights of two coauthors, Ernesto Méndez and Victor Izzo, both of whom are located within the intellectually vibrant and evolving discipline of agroecology. Together, the authors represent three generations of agroecological researchers. It seems to be true that every new intellectual discipline requires a foundational textbook. Agroecology is that work. In this fourth edition it offers the best and most comprehensive foundation so far."
John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, October 2021
"In this critical moment in history, there is an ever-growing need to advance a broader understanding of food systems, and of the opportunities to transition to ones that are both more just and more sustainable. This textbook is a pivotal piece of meeting that need, offering an invaluable overview of the science, practice, and movement of agroecology that is both comprehensive and accessible to all those who wish to work toward something better."
Marcia DeLonge, Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA, April 2022
"This book is the most comprehensive and rigorous compendium of everything you need to know if you are approaching the world of Agroecology and want to transform the unsustainable food regime. It highlights the effort to extend the principles of Agroecology to the analysis of the food system as a whole, an update that includes all dimensions of agroecological thought and action, including politics. The reader will find in this complete textbook everything needed for a complete understanding of Agroecology: it is a necessary reading."
Manuel González de Molina, Agroecosystem History Laboratory, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain, May 2022
"An outstanding and comprehensive textbook on agroecology and its various dimensions and elements. This updated and expanded fourth edition includes new highly relevant chapters such as agroecology and climate change as well as new insights about the agroecology and food systems transformation, making it extremely valuable and recommendable for a broad range of readers."
Alexander Wezel, Head of Research, Professor for Agroecology and Landscape Ecology, ISARA, France, May 2022
"Stephen Gliessman has again shown his visionary leadership in this 4th edition of the text Agroecology! Three earlier editions have been appreciated by Ecological Agriculture students for their scientific grounding in ecology, clear writing and illustration of concepts, and thoughtful end-of-chapter questions. The newest edition, with three additional collaborators, expands social, economic and political perspectives currently under discussion in this dynamic field. As food system failings become more apparent and climate chaos more acute, future students of agroecology will find in this textbook critical background for making agricultural and food system change."
Martha Rosemeyer, The Evergreen State College, faculty emeritus, USA, August 2022
"Agroecology: Leading the Transformation to a Just and Sustainable Food System has been and remains the go-to textbook on the subject. Each edition has encompassed new topics and remained intellectually fresh, reflecting the truly dynamic nature of the field. The current edition is no exception. In the spirit of "passing the torch," this new edition includes the insights of two coauthors, Ernesto Méndez and Victor Izzo, both of whom are located within the intellectually vibrant and evolving discipline of agroecology. Together, the authors represent three generations of agroecological researchers. It seems to be true that every new intellectual discipline requires a foundational textbook. Agroecology is that work. In this fourth edition it offers the best and most comprehensive foundation so far."
John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, October 2021
"In this critical moment in history, there is an ever-growing need to advance a broader understanding of food systems, and of the opportunities to transition to ones that are both more just and more sustainable. This textbook is a pivotal piece of meeting that need, offering an invaluable overview of the science, practice, and movement of agroecology that is both comprehensive and accessible to all those who wish to work toward something better."
Marcia DeLonge, Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA, April 2022
"This book is the most comprehensive and rigorous compendium of everything you need to know if you are approaching the world of Agroecology and want to transform the unsustainable food regime. It highlights the effort to extend the principles of Agroecology to the analysis of the food system as a whole, an update that includes all dimensions of agroecological thought and action, including politics. The reader will find in this complete textbook everything needed for a complete understanding of Agroecology: it is a necessary reading."
Manuel González de Molina, Agroecosystem History Laboratory, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain, May 2022
"An outstanding and comprehensive textbook on agroecology and its various dimensions and elements. This updated and expanded fourth edition includes new highly relevant chapters such as agroecology and climate change as well as new insights about the agroecology and food systems transformation, making it extremely valuable and recommendable for a broad range of readers."
Alexander Wezel, Head of Research, Professor for Agroecology and Landscape Ecology, ISARA, France
"Stephen Gliessman has again shown his visionary leadership in this 4th edition of the text Agroecology! Three earlier editions have been appreciated by Ecological Agriculture students for their scientific grounding in ecology, clear writing and illustration of concepts, and thoughtful end-of-chapter questions. The newest edition, with three additional collaborators, expands social, economic and political perspectives currently under discussion in this dynamic field. As food system failings become more apparent and climate chaos more acute, future students of agroecology will find in this textbook critical background for making agricultural and food system change."
Martha Rosemeyer, The Evergreen State College, faculty emeritus, USA, August 2022
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface 1
Preface 2
Authors
Recommendations for Using this Textbook
Section I • Pathway to Agroecology
1 The Case for Fundamental Change in Agriculture
2 Alternatives to Industrial Agriculture
3 The Agroecosystem Concept
Section II • Agricultural Organisms and their Environment
4 The Plant: Nutrition, Growth, and Response to the Environment
5 Light
6 Climatic Factors Affecting Plants
7 Biotic Factors and Interactions among Organisms
8 The Soil Ecosystem
9 The Environmental Complex
Section III • System-Level Interactions
10 Population Ecology of Agroecosystems
11 Genetic Resources in Agroecosystems
12 Species Interactions in Crop Communities
13 Agroecosystem Diversity
14 Ecological Pest, Weed, and Disease Management
15 Successional Development and Agroforestry
16 Animals in Agroecosystems
17 Energetics of Agroecosystems
18 Landscape Diversity
Section IV • Agroecological Farms and Communities
19 Sustainability and Its Assessment
20 Converting Farms to Ecologically Based Management
21 Bringing Farmers and Consumers Closer Together
22 Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture
Section V • Transforming the Global Food System
23 Achieving a Just and Sustainable Food System
24 Economic Dynamics of the Food System
25 Agriculture and the Climate Crisis
26 Shaping the Future in the Present
Glossary
References
Index
