Agroecology Knowledge Hub

Culture and food traditions: by supporting healthy, diversified and culturally appropriate diets, agroecology contributes to food security and nutrition while maintaining the health of ecosystems

Agriculture and food are core components of human heritage. Hence, culture and food traditions play a central role in society and in shaping human behaviour. However, in many instances, our current food systems have created a disconnection between food habits and culture. This disconnection has contributed to a situation where hunger and obesity exist side by side, in a world that produces enough food to feed its entire population.

Almost 800 million people worldwide are chronically hungry and 2 billion suffer micronutrient deficiencies. Meanwhile, there has been a rampant rise in obesity and diet-related diseases; 1.9 billion people are overweight or obese and non-communicable diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes) are the number one cause of global mortality. To address the imbalances in our food systems and move towards a zero hunger world, increasing production alone is not sufficient.

Agroecology plays an important role in re-balancing tradition and modern food habits, bringing them together in a harmonious way that promotes healthy food production and consumption, supporting the right to adequate food. In this way, agroecology seeks to cultivate a healthy relationship between people and food.

Cultural identity and sense of place are often closely tied to landscapes and food systems. As people and ecosystems have evolved together, cultural practices and indigenous and traditional knowledge offer a wealth of experience that can inspire agroecological solutions. For example, India is home to an estimated 50,000 indigenous varieties of rice – bred over centuries for their specific taste, nutrition and pest-resistance properties, and their adaptability to a range of conditions. Culinary traditions are built around these different varieties, making use of their different properties. Taking this accumulated body of traditional knowledge as a guide, agroecology can help realise the potential of territories to sustain their peoples.

Database

Humankind is facing a perfect storm of climate change, biodiversity loss, and multiple forms of malnutrition (stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity) coexisting in the same country, community, household, and even individual. Challenges from each of these areas are well known and recognized, but what seems to be missing in...
Policy brief/paper
2021
With the help of multiple partners, FAO has developed a global analytical framework for the multidimensional assessment of the performance of agroecology: Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE), which aims to: · Inform policymakers, development institutions, and other stakeholders by creating       references to the multidimensional performance of agroecology and...
Guidelines
2019
Misleading generalizations and hype are polarizing public discussions about meat and protein. Techno-fixes like fake meat, lab meats, plant-based alternatives, precision livestock and fish-farming are being promoted but could cause more harm than good for people and the planet. It’s time to set the record straight - to shift focus...
Video
2022
Agroecologie enables the improvement of agricultural production through the enhancement of local natural resources and traditional know-how. It contributes to maintaining biodiversity and restoring land in drylands, which are particularly threatened by global warming and food insecurity, while contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Within the framework of the AVACLIM...
Brazil
Innovation
2022
Among the objectives of the "Guidelines for Provincial Educational Policies on Agroecology" is to "encourage teachers and professionals to create areas of reflection and action in the school environment, focusing on the management of soil, water, plants, animals and at the same time establishing a healthy relationship of harmony with...
Guidelines
2020