Agroecology, Nutrition and Health

29 January 2025. 2025 02:00 PM (CET). Agroecology, Nutrition and Health Unleashing the potential of agroecology to ensure healthy and nutritious diets

Current food systems face major environmental, climate and health challenges, while responding to food security and nutrition challenges. In this context, countries have negotiated and adopted for the first Global Action Plan on Biodiversity and Health at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP16 in Cali last October 2024. In a literature review, a majority of studies (78%) found evidence of positive outcomes in the use of agroecological practices on food security and nutrition of households in low and middle-income countries. 

Indeed, Agroecology Principles and Elements constitute a holistic approach with multiple co-benefits on biodiversity, climate adaptation and mitigation, and soil health, while providing nutritious food for all.  For this Webinar Series #4, the Agroecology Coalition is hosting a conversation on the role of agroecology in ensuring nutrition and healthy diets, while producing food in a sustainable manner, and what available evidence do we have on this topic. 

Moderator: Stacia Nordin, Registered Dietitian, Founder and Director, Never Ending Food Permaculture Malawi

• 

  Rachel Bezner Kerr

  Professor of Global Development, Cornell University

• 

  Patrizia Fracassi

  Senior Nutrition and Food Systems Officer, Food and Nutrition Division, FAO

• 

  Raiza Rezende

  Co-Founder, Regenerative Healthcare European Association (RHEA)

• 

  Dominique Barjolle Musard

  Senior Researcher, ETH Zurich / University of Lausanne

Shared resources: 

Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen and co (2022) Nutrition as a driver and outcome of agroecology

The principles of agroecology do not explicitly state a link with nutrition. Yet, we argue that among them, input reduction, biodiversity, economic diversification, social values and diets, fairness, connectivity and participation are directly linked to nutrition. Nutrition can serve as a critical outcome and driver of agroecological practices and can drive transformative change across the food system.

Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Biovision Foundation, WWF International, Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and the Agroecology Coalition. 2024 Boosting Biodiversity Through Agroecology: Guidance for Developing and Updating National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food. 76 pp.

Willets and co. (2024) Implementing the Global Action Plan on Biodiversity and Health

Food Forward NDCs 
Food Forward NDCs is a guidance tool to support the enhancement and implementation of NDC ambitions for agriculture and food systems transformation. It will help countries to strengthen their NDCs by providing easy and accessible content to identify policy measures and practices and information about their climate change mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development benefits.