Conference 2022 Panel Recap - "The Transformation Will Not be Televised: A Roundtable on Agroecology in Canada"

Speakers: Faris Ahmed, Peter Andree, Charles Levkoe, Irena Knezevic (Host)

Agroecology is a very practical science – it finds synergy between agricultural and ecological principles and applies it to real life agricultural practices. It requires a combination of scientific study, on-farm practice, and social and political advocacy. It is also a very unique science, built upon the acknowledgement of environmental health and sustainability and systemic inequalities in modern agricultural systems.

The current state of agroecology in Canada and next steps for its advancement were summarized by policy and research consultant Faris Ahmed, drawing from his report “Finding Common Ground: Pathways to Advance Agroecology Policy in Canada” to be released at the end of November 2022. Agroecology in Canada is largely in its infancy, with most of the discussions and progress being made at the academic and small non-for-profit level. Most Canadian government actions and their related policies hinder the agroecology progress. This is due to the current social, political, and economic systems surrounding agriculture in Canada including barriers to entry, restrictions on food producers, and economic power differences throughout the entire supply chain.

Ahmed also had much to say about next steps that must be taken in Canada to transition to a system inclusive of agroecological principles. We need policies and incentives in place to encourage food producers to change their practices. This has already been done in Quebec, PEI, and Manitoba in the form of policy concerning soil health and ecosystem services but much more work is to be done. We need to approach this change from a variety of different pathways including health, environmental, agricultural, and food policies. Policy must also be made to reach “outside the farm” and involve social and educational programs.

Though, there are difficulties in the adoption of agroecology in Canada. Practices and policy cannot be integrated in pieces and must be embraced widely as a whole concept to be effective. Agroecology and its realization in policy must cooperate with Indigenous knowledge and understanding of food, water, and land as well as compensate for systemic inequalities such as racial inequality in Canada – a challenge that already exists in Canadian policy at large.

Peter Andree, a professor at Carleton University focusing on the political economy/ecology of agriculture, addressed further difficulties in adopting agroecology in Canada from an economic and business perspective. Canada produces a very large volume of food and small-scale, ecologically minded practices that preserve soil health and biodiversity simply do not produce enough food per acre to provide food for Canadians and to account for the vast amount of food exports we produce. He also noted that large corporate agricultural producers in Canada are not willing nor realistically able to adopt agroecological practices whilst keeping profit margins high – a necessary part of our capitalist economic system. More realistically, agreed upon agroecological principles would have to be integrated into the current system with input from corporate actors and agroecologists.

Charles Levkoe, a professor at the University of Lakehead and Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems, concluded the session on an inspiring note. He stated that the conversation about agroecology is often, and will continue to be, dismissed by those benefitting from the current system as it threatens the power they possess. The health of the planet is also hanging in the balance, with unsustainable capitalistic agricultural processes contributing heavily to this problem. It doesn’t have to be this way – we, the people, possess the power to change these