Agroecology in the belly of the beast: Reflections and contradictions from the U.S. Agroecology Summit 2023

Abstract

In February 2023, the Institute for Agroecology (IFA) was formally recognized by the University of Vermont. We are a group of scholars who aim to leverage our privileges and positions within the academy to support farmers, activists, and move­ments in the struggle for agroecology and food sovereignty. International collaborators have often asked us to consider how we can do more to build out agroecology in the United States—the so-called “belly of the beast” of industrial agriculture and racialized capitalism (Robinson, 2021)—and how we can act, from the U.S., to support the growth of agroecology in other places. . . .