TY - JOUR
T1 - Weaving disciplines to conceptualize a regenerative food system
AU - El-Sayed, Sara
AU - Cloutier, Scott
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partially funded by the Neely Foundation Food and Agriculture Sustainability grant, an internal Arizona State University grant.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the Authors.
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - Traditional and Indigenous practices worldwide have aimed to create sustainable and regenerative food systems guided by nature and based on reciprocal relationships between humans and nonhumans. Unfortunately, not all sustainable food system approaches, while striving for less harm rather than a net-positive impact, have considered indigenous knowledge or justice for small-scale producers and their communities. This paper contextualizes and conceptualizes a regenerative food system that addresses harm to the planet and people while creating a net positive impact by integrating a different research and practice framework. First, we offer a positionality statement, followed by our definition and characterization of a regenerative food system; then we compare and contrast conventional and sustainable approaches, making a case for the need to create space for a regenerative food system. Next, we provide a framework of 13 principles for a regenerative food system by weaving the nature-inspired biomimicry framework of Life’s Principles (LPs) with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) principles, while verifying these practices as they are used among small-scale Indigenous producers from selected arid regions, primarily the U.S. Southwest.
AB - Traditional and Indigenous practices worldwide have aimed to create sustainable and regenerative food systems guided by nature and based on reciprocal relationships between humans and nonhumans. Unfortunately, not all sustainable food system approaches, while striving for less harm rather than a net-positive impact, have considered indigenous knowledge or justice for small-scale producers and their communities. This paper contextualizes and conceptualizes a regenerative food system that addresses harm to the planet and people while creating a net positive impact by integrating a different research and practice framework. First, we offer a positionality statement, followed by our definition and characterization of a regenerative food system; then we compare and contrast conventional and sustainable approaches, making a case for the need to create space for a regenerative food system. Next, we provide a framework of 13 principles for a regenerative food system by weaving the nature-inspired biomimicry framework of Life’s Principles (LPs) with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) principles, while verifying these practices as they are used among small-scale Indigenous producers from selected arid regions, primarily the U.S. Southwest.
KW - Arid Regions
KW - Biomimicry
KW - Food Systems
KW - Indigenous Knowledge
KW - Traditional Ecological Knowledge
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U2 - 10.5304/jafscd.2022.112.003
DO - 10.5304/jafscd.2022.112.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85135517059
SN - 2152-0801
VL - 11
SP - 23
EP - 51
JO - Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
JF - Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
IS - 2
ER -