A genealogy of sustainable agriculture narratives: implications for the transformative potential of regenerative agriculture

Bless, A; Davila, F; Plant, R

A genealogy of sustainable agriculture narratives: implications for the transformative potential of regenerative agriculture

Bless, A

Davila, F Plant, R

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Publisher:: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Agriculture and Human Values
Issue Date:: 2023-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Bless, A https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6097-6126
dc.contributor.author	Davila, F
dc.contributor.author	Plant, R https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3006-741X
dc.date.accessioned	2023-05-05T00:50:45Z
dc.date.available	2023-05-05T00:50:45Z
dc.date.issued	2023-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Agriculture and Human Values
dc.identifier.issn	0889-048X
dc.identifier.issn	1572-8366
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/170207
dc.description.abstract	<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The agri-food system is facing a range of social-ecological threats, many of which are caused and amplified by industrial agriculture. In response, numerous sustainable agriculture narratives have emerged, proposing solutions to the challenges facing the agri-food system. One such narrative that has recently risen to prominence is regenerative agriculture. However, the drivers for the rapid emergence of regenerative agriculture are not well understood. Furthermore, its transformative potential for supporting a more sustainable agri-food system is underexplored. Through a genealogical analysis of four prominent sustainable agriculture narratives; organic agriculture, conservation agriculture, sustainable intensification, and agroecology; we consider how regenerative agriculture’s growing momentum can be contextualised within existing narratives and explore the implications this might have for its transformative potential. This analysis reveals that the genealogies of these sustainable agriculture narratives have led to a number of contestations and complementarities which have coalesced to drive the emergence of regenerative agriculture. We also find that, in contrast to agroecology, regenerative agriculture shares with other Global North narratives a limited scope for offering transformative pathways for agricultural production. This is largely due to their inadequate consideration of power and equity issues in the agri-food system. We argue that regenerative agriculture therefore risks inhibiting deeper agri-food system transformations that address both social and ecological challenges and is not the unifying sustainable agriculture narrative it claims to be. Nonetheless, regenerative agriculture could contribute towards a broader plurality of sustainable agriculture narratives that collectively might enable a transformation to a more sustainable, diverse, and just agri-food system.</jats:p>
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.relation.ispartof	Agriculture and Human Values
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10460-023-10444-4
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.rights	This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s10460-023-10444-4
dc.subject	1402 Applied Economics, 1608 Sociology
dc.subject.classification	Geography
dc.title	A genealogy of sustainable agriculture narratives: implications for the transformative potential of regenerative agriculture
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1402 Applied Economics
utslib.for	1608 Sociology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	in_progress	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2024-05-01T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2023-05-05T00:50:41Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

AbstractThe agri-food system is facing a range of social-ecological threats, many of which are caused and amplified by industrial agriculture. In response, numerous sustainable agriculture narratives have emerged, proposing solutions to the challenges facing the agri-food system. One such narrative that has recently risen to prominence is regenerative agriculture. However, the drivers for the rapid emergence of regenerative agriculture are not well understood. Furthermore, its transformative potential for supporting a more sustainable agri-food system is underexplored. Through a genealogical analysis of four prominent sustainable agriculture narratives; organic agriculture, conservation agriculture, sustainable intensification, and agroecology; we consider how regenerative agriculture’s growing momentum can be contextualised within existing narratives and explore the implications this might have for its transformative potential. This analysis reveals that the genealogies of these sustainable agriculture narratives have led to a number of contestations and complementarities which have coalesced to drive the emergence of regenerative agriculture. We also find that, in contrast to agroecology, regenerative agriculture shares with other Global North narratives a limited scope for offering transformative pathways for agricultural production. This is largely due to their inadequate consideration of power and equity issues in the agri-food system. We argue that regenerative agriculture therefore risks inhibiting deeper agri-food system transformations that address both social and ecological challenges and is not the unifying sustainable agriculture narrative it claims to be. Nonetheless, regenerative agriculture could contribute towards a broader plurality of sustainable agriculture narratives that collectively might enable a transformation to a more sustainable, diverse, and just agri-food system.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/170207