Papers by Marta G. Rivera-Ferre
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, Apr 6, 2023
Traditional agroecological knowledge (i.e. TAeK) is gaining recognition for its potential contrib... more Traditional agroecological knowledge (i.e. TAeK) is gaining recognition for its potential contribution to climate change adaptation in food systems, ecosystems restoration and food insecurity. Despite the existing literature on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and its nexus with food security, how gender critically influences the distribution of such knowledge within agri-food systems has not yet been systematically analysed. In this regard, this systematic review attempts to answer four questions: 1) How does the literature on gender and TAeK in agri-food systems evolved temporally, geographically and in different agroecosystems? 2) How are gender and intersectionality mainly approached by such literature? 3) How do the articles address gendered dimensions in TAeK within the agri-food system activities? 4) What are the main drivers of change that influence TAeK and adaptive responses? The results show the gendered nature of TAeK in relation to food production, processing, and conservation activities, and how these activities are linked to tasks and activities, gender-specific knowledge, and spaces where gender discrimination is reproduced. The review also identifies elements that delimit and/or take part of the development of TAeK, such as gendered access to resources, gendered institutions, and the identification of the main drivers of change and impacts of TAeK erosion and biodiversity loss. These results are discussed in terms of power relations that interact with sociocultural norms and practices according to the specific geographical context and agroecosystem.
Regional Environmental Change, 2024
Mediterranean pastoral systems are providers of a wide array of Nature's Contribution to People (... more Mediterranean pastoral systems are providers of a wide array of Nature's Contribution to People (NCP). They are 'complex systems' characterized by limited resources and socio-economic dynamics currently threatened by climate and social changes. Despite a growing number of scientific articles dealing with NCP, there is a high risk that the existing literature has left out the complexity of such systems. In the light of ongoing social, economic, and climatic changes in the Mediterranean basin, neglecting the complexity of pastoral systems can lead to significant research biases, missing the priorities affecting the stability and continuity of such systems. A combination of frameworks of analysis provided by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was applied to understand if and to what extent the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems has been considered in the available literature. Most of the 126 papers report studies conducted in the European Union zone (102 papers), with the majority in Spain (50). Fewer studies have been conducted in the Middle East (15 papers) and Africa zones (9 papers). Despite results confirming the importance of pastoral systems as providers of NCP, most of the eligible papers focused on regulating NCP. A lack of a multisectoral approach and integration of knowledge suggests that the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems has been overlooked by researchers. The creation of 'hybrid knowledge' bridging the expertise of different stakeholders could be the key ingredient to properly address the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems. • Mediterranean (Med) pastoral systems are providers of NCP • Literature on Med-pastoral systems is focused on regulating NCP • Literature on Med-pastoral systems is biased towards EU • The complexity of Med-pastoral systems is overlooked in the literature • Med-pastoral systems require a multiscale, multisectoral, and integrated analysis Keywords Biodiversity • Ecosystem services • Extensive grazing • Grasslands • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Communicated by Jacqueline Loos These authors Graeme Dean, Matteo Francioni, and Paride D'Ottavio contributed equally to this paper.
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, Jul 25, 2016
Livestock play a key role in the climate change debate. As with crop-based agriculture, the secto... more Livestock play a key role in the climate change debate. As with crop-based agriculture, the sector is both a net greenhouse gas emitter and vulnerable to climate change. At the same time, it is an essential food source for millions of people worldwide, with other functions apart from food security such as savings and insurance. By comparison with crop-based agriculture, the interactions of livestock and climate change have been much less studied. The debate around livestock is confusing due to the coexistence of multiple livestock farming systems with differing functions for humans, GHG emission profiles and different characteristics and boundary issues in their measurement, which are often pooled together. Consequently, the diversity of livestock farming systems and their functions to human systems are poorly represented and the role of the livestock sector in the climate change debate has not been adequately addressed. In this article, building upon the IPCC 5AR findings, we review recent literature on livestock and climate change so as better include this diversity in the adaptation and mitigation debate around livestock systems. For comparative purposes we use the same categories of managerial, technical, behavioural and policy-related action to organise both mitigation and adaptation options. We conclude that different livestock systems provide different functions to different human systems and require different strategies, so they cannot readily be pooled together. We also observe that, for the different livestock systems, several win-win strategies exist that effectively tackle both mitigation and adaptation options as well as food security.
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, 1999
In recent years there has been a notable increase in outdoor pig production systems; however, the... more In recent years there has been a notable increase in outdoor pig production systems; however, the nutritional requirements of these animals have not been well established. To make nutritional decisions relating to the needs of grazing animals, accurate estimations of the herbage intake and value have to be made. N-alkanes found in the wax cuticle of plants have been used as markers to measure the intake of grass by grazing ruminants (Dove and Mayes, 1991). This experiment studied the use of the methodology in grazing pigs.The intake and the digestibility of grass, and the effect of level of supplementary concentrate feed, were measured in late spring and late summer in two studies each with eight multiparous, pregnant sows. In the Spring study sows were nose rung to prevent rooting, but only unrung sows were available for the Summer study.
This paper draws together contributions to a scientific table discussion on obesity at the Europe... more This paper draws together contributions to a scientific table discussion on obesity at the European Science Open Forum 2008 which took place in Barcelona, Spain. Socioeconomic dimensions of global obesity, including those factors promoting it, those surrounding the social perceptions of obesity and those related to integral public health solutions, are discussed. It argues that although scientific accounts of obesity point to large-scale changes in dietary and physical environments, media representations of obesity, which context public policy, pre-eminently follow individualistic models of explanation. While the debate at the forum brought together a diversity of views, all the contributors agreed that this was a global issue requiring an equally global response. Furthermore, an integrated ecological model of obesity proposes that to be effective, policy will need to address not only human health but also planetary health, and that therefore, public health and environmental policies coincide.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 27, 2022
PASTINNOVA project focuses on the sustainability of Mediterranean pastoralism and aspires to deli... more PASTINNOVA project focuses on the sustainability of Mediterranean pastoralism and aspires to deliver innovations and business models that pertain to the particularities of pastoral systems in the Mediterranean, accounting for a broad range of socio-cultural, economic, environmental and policy aspects. This paper presents how the project will utilize a co-creation approach, based on the theory of Living Laboratories, in order to upscale existing innovations and have a positive impact on the livelihoods of pastoral areas and people (especially vulnerable ones), while increasing the marketability of pastoral food products and favouring multifunctionality.
The Jounal of Peasant Studies, 2023
The agrarian question dealing with peasants' reproduction in adverse global conditions is a topic... more The agrarian question dealing with peasants' reproduction in adverse global conditions is a topic of deep debate closely linked to farm viability. Approaches that define viability in monetary terms cannot explain peasants' way of farming. Holistic approaches can better analyse this question but existing frameworks leave aside aspects of reproduction. Here, we revise sustainable livelihoods and resilience frameworks through a feminist lens and propose livelihoods reproduction to address some blind spots. We do so through a literature review and a case study of olive oil farms in Spain. Our analysis highlights the importance of household labour distribution for farm viability.
Agriculture and Human Values
Social Ecological System (SES) research highlights the importance of understanding the potential ... more Social Ecological System (SES) research highlights the importance of understanding the potential of collective actions, among other factors, when it comes to influencing the transformative (re)configuration of agri-food systems in response to global change. Such a response may result in different desired outcomes for those actors who promote collective action, one such outcome being food sovereignty. In this study, we used an SES framework to describe the configuration of local agri-food systems in Andean Ecuador in order to understand which components of the SES interact, and how they support outcomes linked to five food sovereignty goals. Through a survey administered to mestizo and indigenous peasants, we analyze the key role played by the Agroecological Network of Loja (RAL) in transforming the local agri-food system through the implementation of a Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). This study demonstrates that participation in the RAL and PGS increases farmers’ adoption of a...
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2015
CC-BY-SA Strategy that all people need to benefit from a just transition, we insist that social i... more CC-BY-SA Strategy that all people need to benefit from a just transition, we insist that social inequalities within territories must be taken into consideration. Recognizing these important contributions, we have a number of specific concerns about the F2F Strategy. Production Ensuring sustainable food production means concrete changes in business as usual. However, the F2F Strategy does not address the causes of our current challenges in sustainable and structural ways. The F2F Strategy fails to recognize that there are various food systems and production models in Europe and that issues such as pesticide and antimicrobial use, excess fertilization, biodiversity loss, labour exploitation, and unhealthy diets promotion are essentially linked to the industrial food system. This lack of recognition restricts the ability of the F2F Strategy to adequately support small-scale producers and peasant agriculture. Instead, the F2F Strategy highlights precision farming and the digital transformation of farms, with an active role for the financial sector, rather than public policies. This can lead to further promotion of farm concentration and accelerate the disappearance of small-scale farmers that are the core of agroecology and a sustainable food systems approach. In this regard, we note that post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) National Strategic Plans will play a central role in achieving the goals of the F2F Strategy. While the Commission's CAP reform proposal has been deemed compatible with the Green Deal and the F2F Strategy4, we call on the EC to take the necessary legal, financial and practical measures to ensure there is full alignment between the F2F Strategy and the future CAP. Agroecology The F2F Strategy fails to recognize the role of agroecology in European food systems and its potential. In the F2F Strategy, agroecology is defined in a limited way, despite the ample recognition by farmers, social movements and international organisations of its key role in integrating ecological principles into the design and management of agricultural systems. While we are pleased to see a focus on new knowledge and innovations to scale up agroecological approaches in primary production, this should not be used to delay action. While more research is always valuable, there is already a wealth of peer-reviewed science about agroecology which provides evidence for immediate action. 5,6 From this perspective, gene editing remains a false solution that should not be pursued-not only in light of the judgment of the EU Court of Justice, 7 but as a matter of avoiding further privatization of food systems. With regards to sustainable food production, and in the context of the current crises, more ambitious targets are needed to promote ecological practices that increase biodiversity and soil fertility, reduce erosion and contamination of soils, water and air, support adaptation to climate change and decrease energy consumption. The F2F Strategy highlights and recognizes the potential of organic farming, especially in relation to opportunities for youth, but fails to adequately define organic agriculture. It also fails to pay enough attention to farm renewal, access to land and extensive livestock farming.
Global Change Biology, 2020
Sustainability, 2019
In the context of nutritional disaffection with a dominant food and agricultural system and the s... more In the context of nutritional disaffection with a dominant food and agricultural system and the social questioning of everyday nutritional habits, we studied what Eating Well means to people and what role organic food plays in their lives. We conducted 11 discussion groups that were carried out in Andalusia, Spain; participants had different socio-demographic characteristics—they lived in either rural or urban areas, had different purchasing channels, and practiced varying degrees of organic food consumption. The investigation revealed (1) the motives and limitations for the consumption of organic foods, as perceived by the consumers of organic foods, and (2) the everyday strategies practiced to overcome these limitations. In both cases, this research transcends the classical analyses focused on the price of a product, when proposing a framework for alternative strategies that are based on the ordinary knowledge and practices of the consumers, by looking at consumption through an in...
Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics, 2016
Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics, 2016
Climate and Development, 2021
ABSTRACT Land supplies multiple goods and services vital to humans and the environment. In the la... more ABSTRACT Land supplies multiple goods and services vital to humans and the environment. In the last decades, increasing evidence of growing land degradation are made apparent. A limited and depleting resource base, the reliance on climate-sensitive sectors and its large population, make South Asia highly vulnerable to climate change. Observed changes in climate include increases in temperature and increased monsoon variability and rainfall pattern leading to drought and flooding. Projected changes include increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing cyclonic activity and higher variability of rainfall, all having enormous impacts on farming communities. At the same time, the region is rich in traditional agricultural knowledge (TAK), specialized in managing local agroecosystems to ensure food availability, tackling climatic risks and other ecological uncertainties. Particularly relevant is TAK related to land management to preserve soil fertility and avoid soil erosion. Ethnographic research is a valuable source of TAK, although this is rarely analysed with a climate change perspective. Based on a qualitative systematic review, and an expert's on-line survey, in this paper we review land management TAK and assess its potential for climate change adaptation. The review shows there is a vast amount of untapped TAK ethnographic research with potential for climate change adaptation.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
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Papers by Marta G. Rivera-Ferre
formas de organización de agricultores y productores, desde La Vía Campesina a las cooperativas de consumidores, pasando por la investigación aplicada desde la agroecología, están de acuerdo en la denuncia del “control corporativo de la producción y el consumo” (Altieri 2009: 35; Sevilla 2006: 164, Pérez-Vitoria 2010: 226). Desde todos estos frentes se denuncian las consecuencias de dicho poder que intenta desarticular estrategias de cooperación social, tradicionales o innovadoras (Ploeg 2008): especulación de materias primas que lleva al desabastecimiento y a la pérdida de formas de vida ancladas en una agricultura sostenible; aumento de los oligopolios que dictan qué y cómo nos alimentamos; fuertes medidas de apoyo económico y judicial a quienes mercantilizan en su beneficio las semillas o la distribución de los alimentos; impactos medioambientales que no son considerados en el “debe” de la agroindustria transnacional; fuertes barreras al desarrollo de redes de comercialización locales; tecnología e investigación públicas orientadas mayoritariamente hacia una agricultura insostenible; entre otras.
Este sistema alimentario, tejido mundialmente desde las grandes cadenas de distribución, no es sustentable, ni medioambiental, ni socialmente (Gliessman 2007 y 2010, Varios Autores 2007). No invita a la participación o a la creación de alternativas, antes al contrario. No es de extrañar por tanto que el ámbito de la denuncia de estos mercados
globales se dirija hacia la falta de democracia, no sólo alimentaria sino también sociopolítica, a la que están conduciendo las empresas transnacionales y sus sistemas agroalimentarios. La democratización del sistema alimentario a favor de los pobres, de los grupos excluídos o ausentados bajo cualquier forma de dominación centro/periferia
(Norte-Sur, campo-ciudad, patriarcado) o de los descontentos con la calidad de nuestra comida, viene tomando cuerpo como demanda central de redes críticas y movimientos sociales en cualquier rincón del mundo (Holt-Giménez 2009, Cuéllar y Calle 2009, Shiva 2006). Los mercados globales producen desafección alimentaria, incitan a productores y consumidores a trazar nuevas estrategias de cooperación al margen de los mercados mundializados, desde ese referente doblemente global: internacional, planetario, por un lado; y por otro, situando el consumo como uno de los sustratos fundamentales en la
reproducción de desigualdades en ámbitos como el acceso a la subsistencia, la procura de una sustentabilidad social y medioambiental, o simplemente, la capacidad de decidir colectivamente sobre asuntos que nos afectan (Calle, Soler y Vara 2009; Lang y Heasman 2004).
No es tan sólo una cuestión de democratizar económica y productivamente las redes que nos abastecen de alimentos. Como viene estableciendo la crítica agroecológica, se trata de democratizar el conocimiento, de co-producir otras reglas de juego entre quienes se
oponen a esta situación de injusticia (Sevilla 2006: 202 y ss., Cuéllar y Sevilla 2009: 50). Dicha crítica se inspira en los procesos participativos y colectivos de manejo de recursos naturales que tienen en la inclusión, el desarrollo endógeno y la sustentabilidad ecólogica sus razones de ser (Ottmann 2005, Guzmán y otros 2000). Desde ahí ha surgido el concepto de soberanía alimentaria para referirse globalmente a esa necesidad de
democratizar las relaciones de producción y consumo si queremos seguir viviendo y habitando (dignamente) este planeta. Frente al epistemicidio, al ecocidio y a la injusticia de una modernización capitalista impuesta desde Occidente sobre todos los ámbitos de
producción alimentaria, personas de La Vía Campesina se proponen ir más allá: “construir también desde lo local formas de vida alternativas concretas” (Paul Nicholson, en Bárcena 2009: 40).
Context: Vulnerable food systems Covid-19 has exposed even more limits and dysfunctions in our globalized food systems: from our reliance on underpaid farm and food sector workers operating in poor working conditions (most often women and migrants), the risks associated with intensive animal farming, including zoonoses, to barriers facing small-scale producers when trying to access local markets, to gender inequalities and the additional risks faced by people with pre-existing diet-related health conditions. Covid-19 is also set to aggravate other shocks (e.g. crop failures or abrupt changes in food prices due to climate change and other extreme events), and threats (e.g. biocultural erosion, degrading soil fertility, ageing farm population, land concentration, lack of farm renewal). These shocks and threats reveal the fragility of the European food systems, which the SAPEA report makes clear is even more vulnerable due to its interdependent nature and the fact that the EU imports large quantities of food and feed from third countries, while also being a major exporter of food products.
Food Sovereignty as a solution: Small-scale food producers from across Europe have been advancing a positive and constructive strategy rooted in the principles of food sovereignty to address these problems. Food sovereignty presents a viable alternative to the economic policies which have led to current food crises and offers concrete tools and direction for democratic systemic change across our food systems. Food sovereignty is grounded in 6 pillars: the right to food and nutrition, public policies that value and support small-scale food providers, localised food systems, local control over natural food producing resources, traditional knowledge, and agroecology. As the concept is being increasingly co-opted, it must be restated that food sovereignty is a democratic process focused on the rights of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and on their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.