Changes in farming and land-use practices over the last 60 years have resulted in a significant decline in overall agrobiodiversity. This decline in domesticated crop and livestock breeds, as well as edible wild plant and animal species, is occurring at an incredible rate.

This paper focuses on the contributions that agroecology can make to dietary diversity and high-quality human diets by promoting more biodiverse, equitable and sustainable food systems.

In sharp contrast to the drive for increasing uniformity in industrial food and farming, agroecology thus seeks to regenerate social, economic and ecological diversity throughout food systems and the landscapes in which they are embedded.

As such, agroecology contributes to sustainable diets – defined as “diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations [and which are] protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources”. Agroecology and sustainable diets are increasingly recognised in scientific, policy and civil-society arenas as pillars of sustainable food-system development.