Agroecological Principles from a Bibliographic Analysis of the Term Agroecology

Agricultural developments over the previous half-century have highly increased food, feed and fiber production. Yet, global food output and distribution still falls short of feeding the world with unintended harm to the environment and society. Agriculture requires new approaches that meet the challenges of sustainable and equitable food production. One prevailing alternative, agroecology, is an approach that promotes environmental conservation, ecosystem health and social equality in the global food system. However, the field of agroecology remains disjointed by a number of working definitions and conflicting agendas. Lack of a clear definition of the term can lead to misuse or overgeneralization that hinders effective dialog, collaboration, and development of the discipline.