Papers by Manuel González de Molina
Sustainability, Jul 28, 2021
In recent years, the transition to sustainability at a food systems' scale has drawn major attent... more In recent years, the transition to sustainability at a food systems' scale has drawn major attention both from the scientific and political arenas. Agroecology has become central to such discussions, while impressive efforts have been made to conceptualize the agroecology scaling process. It has thus become necessary to apply the concept of agroecology transitions to the scale of food systems and in different "real-world" contexts. Scaling local agroecology experiences of production, distribution, and consumption, which are often disconnected and/or disorganized, also reveals emergent research gaps. A critical review was performed in order to establish a transdisciplinary dialogue between both political agroecology and the literature on sustainable food systems. The objective was to build insights into how to advance towards Agroecology-based Local Agri-food Systems (ALAS). Our review unveils emergent questions such as: how to overcome the metabolic rift related to segregated activities along the food chain, how to feed cities sustainably, and how they should relate to the surrounding territories, which social subjects should drive such transitions, and which governance arrangements would be needed. The paper argues in favor of the re-construction of food metabolisms, territorial flows, plural subjects and (bottom-up) governance assemblages, placing life at the center of the food system and going beyond the rural-urban divide.
Ager: Revista de estudios sobre despoblación y desarrollo rural = Journal of depopulation and rural development studies, Oct 1, 2018
Resumen: El presente artículo presenta una investigación comparada en cuatro comarcas andaluzas, ... more Resumen: El presente artículo presenta una investigación comparada en cuatro comarcas andaluzas, de cara a identificar estrategias de supervivencia de pequeños operadores alimentarios en el contexto local. Para ello cruza distintas características territoriales y diferentes cadenas de distribución, en relación con tres alimentos distintos (hortaliza, vino y carne fresca de ovino). El análisis mixto (cualitativo-cuantitativo) realizado ofrece una tipología de operadores, así como los principales discursos que articulan sus estrategias frente a los mercados globales. La discusión aporta reflexiones relevantes respecto a las formas de articular la investigación, las políticas y organismos públicos, y los operadores locales de cara a incrementar la sostenibilidad de los sistemas agroalimentarios locales, así como límites y nuevos retos identificados para la transición hacia la sostenibilidad del sistema agroalimentario a escala regional. Palabras clave: pequeño comercio alimentario, redes alimentarias híbridas, sistemas alimentarios locales, circuitos cortos de comercialización.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Jan 16, 2023
Official population consumption data are frequently used to characterize the diet of countries; h... more Official population consumption data are frequently used to characterize the diet of countries; however, this information may not always be representative of reality. This study analyses the food consumption of the Spanish population by reconstructing the whole food chain. The results have been compared with the data provided by the National Consumption Panel to which the food losses/waste reported in the literature along the distribution chain have been added. The difference between them allowed a new calculation of the estimated food consumption that was subjected to a dietary-nutritional analysis. Most of the foods were consumed more than those officially reported (range of 5-50%). The unhealthy ratios of consumed foods and recommended servings were: meat products (Rcr = 3.6), fruits and legumes (Rcr = 0.5), and nuts (Rcr = 0.14). Caloric intake surpasses needs. The results were consistent with the data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Spain, as well as with the prevalence of associated diseases. To make a judgment about the quality of a country's diet, it is necessary to have reliable data on food consumption, as well as energy and nutrient intake. This study encourages other authors to implement this method to verify and quantify the possible difference between official and real consumption data.
Springer eBooks, 2023
Alier started doing research in agricultural economics at St Antony's College in Oxford from 1966... more Alier started doing research in agricultural economics at St Antony's College in Oxford from 1966 to 1973, publishing La estabilidad del latifundismo and an upgraded English version of this same book, which dismissed the hypothesis of the supposedly backward 'feudal' character of Andalusia's large states , 1971). His work also rejected the 'primitive' character of the labourers' resistance and rebellions claimed by some Marxists and the Spanish Communist Party, which was then leading the resistance to Franco's dictatorship. He then went to Cuba and Perú to study, with Verena Stolcke, how surplus was extracted from those who worked the land either through hired labour or different agrarian systems of tenancy, treating these peasant economies in ways that went beyond orthodox neoclassical economics , 1978a). This research connected him with the views of the Russian Narodnik Aleksandr V. ; Martínez Alier, 1978b), then being revived by Theodor Shanin (1971, 1973, 1974) and others. His contributions had a broad impact on international debates on the agrarian question of the time , together with the books and articles on Spanish agriculture of his friend José Manuel Naredo (1971( , 1978a( , b, and Naredo et al., 1975)).
Estudios Rurales, Oct 7, 2022
Con-ciencia social: anuario de didáctica de la geografía, la historia y las ciencias sociales, 2014
demasiado centrada en el crecimiento económico, y con que los desafíos teóricos y metodológicos q... more demasiado centrada en el crecimiento económico, y con que los desafíos teóricos y metodológicos que la realidad plantea no han sido asumidos del todo en el seno de la historiografía agraria en España. El artículo reivindica la necesaria renovación del discurso historiográfico a partir de un cambio teórico y epistemológico, en concordancia con los avances que se han producido en la ciencia contemporánea, especialmente en el ámbito de las llamadas "ciencias de la sustentabilidad". Finalmente reivindica un tipo de narrativa que coopere en la resolución de los problemas reales que tiene planteados el mundo rural, otorgándole una dimensión práctica o aplicada al conocimiento histórico.
Agroecología, 2016
El área mediterránea es especialmente vulnerable al cambio climático (CC). Muchos estudios han ev... more El área mediterránea es especialmente vulnerable al cambio climático (CC). Muchos estudios han evaluado los efectos negativos del mismo sobre el rendimiento y las regiones de cultivo del trigo. Al mismo tiempo, la agricultura mediterránea contribuye de forma importante al CC. Resulta por ello pertinente potenciar estrategias de adaptación y mitigación del CC, tales como el secuestro de carbono (C) en suelo y la reducción de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI). La variedad de cultivo y el manejo pueden alterar ambos aspectos. En este artículo se evalúan las diferencias en la huella de C debidas a la variedad de cultivo empleada y en función del manejo. Concretamente, se han comparado variedades tradicionales (VT) y modernas (VM) de trigo bajo manejo ecológico y convencional en condiciones mediterráneas de secano. Hipotetizamos que las diferencias en la producción debidas a ambos o a una combinación de ambos inducen diferencias en la huella de C de los agroecosistemas. Los resultados apuntan a un importante potencial de acumulación de C de las VT de trigo con manejo ecológico, en comparación con VM con dicho manejo o con manejo convencional. Por un lado, el rendimiento de grano de la VT en ecológico fue superior, permitiendo disminuir la huella de C por unidad de producto. Por otro lado, se observó una menor presencia de hierbas con las VT, lo que puede reducir la necesidad de laboreo para controlarlas. Además, la mayor producción de paja y raíces de las VT compensa la menor biomasa de hierbas, aumentando el potencial de secuestro de C, que a su vez contribuye a reducir huella de C por producto comercializable y a mejorar la calidad edáfica, imprescindible para la adaptación al CC. Palabras clave: Cereal, agricultura ecológica, emisiones de GEI, productividad primaria neta, intensificación agroecológica. Old wheat varieties contribution to climate change mitigation in rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems.
Sustainability, Oct 16, 2018
The high grain yield of modern varieties (MV) respond to the increase in fossil-based inputs, and... more The high grain yield of modern varieties (MV) respond to the increase in fossil-based inputs, and the widespread belief that they are more productive than old varieties (OV) is biased. This belief focuses only on marketable biomass, without considering the consequences on agroecosystem sustainability of the reductions in other portions of NPP. Additionally, field comparisons of OV and MV were normally conducted under industrialized farming conditions, which is detrimental for OV performance. Both trials carried out in this study comparing wheat OV and MV show that, under Mediterranean rainfed conditions and traditional organic management, aerial and belowground biomass production of OV is higher than that of MV, without significantly decreasing yield and enabling a better competition against weeds. From the data of our trials, bibliographic review and information from historical sources, we have reconstructed the NPP and destinations of biomass of Spanish wheat fields . Varietal replacement entailed the reduction in residues and unharvested biomass (UhB), which involved soil degradation in rainfed cereal fields and undermining heterotrophic trophic webs. Our results suggest that OV can increase the sustainability of rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems at present through the improvement of soil quality, the reduction of herbicides use, and the recovery of biodiversity.
Journal of Cleaner Production, Sep 1, 2018
Agriculture represents about 11% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe). Many cl... more Agriculture represents about 11% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe). Many climate change mitigation strategies have been evaluated in Mediterranean agroecosystems, including their soil organic carbon sequestration potential. High residue yielding old varieties could constitute a useful alternative, especially for organic farming, which lacks specific genetic material. In this study, old and modern wheat varieties were evaluated under organic (ORG) and conventional (CON) management during a 3-year field experiment under rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Field measurements of biomass components, literature emission factors, and soil organic carbon modeling were combined in an attributional Life Cycle Assessment, in order to estimate GHGe from "cradle to farm gate". The resulting yield-based carbon footprints of old wheat varieties were significantly lower than those of modern varieties both under CON management, decreasing from 263 to 144 g CO 2 e kg -1 , and under ORG management, decreasing from 29 to -43 g CO 2 e kg -1 . Our results indicate that climate change mitigation strategies in Mediterranean rainfed cereal cropping systems should focus on diminishing GHGe from machinery and fertilizer use, and promoting carbon sequestration. The combination of organic management and old cereal varieties can constitute a promising climate change mitigation strategy in these systems, as low area-M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT scaled GHGe of organic management are combined with enhanced carbon sequestration and a good yield performance of old varieties under these conditions.
Journal of Cleaner Production, Jun 1, 2019
Mechanization of agriculture drastically increases labour productivity in crop production, playin... more Mechanization of agriculture drastically increases labour productivity in crop production, playing a major role in industrialization by freeing up workforce for industry and services. These historical processes are well studied, but there is much less knowledge on their environmental implications, particularly the carbon footprint. In this work, we aimed to reconstruct the complete historical process of mechanization in Spanish agriculture at the national scale, estimating the carbon footprint of traction through a life cycle assessment approach. The assessment includes greenhouse gas emissions from working animals and feed production, and accounts for the historical changes in the energy efficiency of the industrial production of machinery and fuels. The results reveal an increase in the carbon footprint of traction from 3.1 Pg CO 2 e yr -1 in 1900 to 11-12 Pg CO 2 e yr -1 in the 1970s and 1980s, decreasing to 7-8 Pg CO 2 e yr -1 in 2010-2014. Areabased emissions ranged 185-242 kg CO 2 e ha -1 yr -1 in 1900-1933, when the practical totality of traction was animal, and 503-540 kg CO 2 e ha -1 yr -1 in the 21 st century, when animal traction had almost completely disappeared. Product-based emissions were similar at the beginning and at the end of the study period, as the productivity growth offset the area-based emissions growth. The results show a large peak in emissions during the main decades of the mechanization process. Thus, the large savings observed in the last three decades start from a very high emission level. The carbon footprint of traction could be reduced by mimicking the logic of traditional organic systems but still benefiting from modern technological efficiency, through the self-production of the fuel. Our analysis, however, shows that a simple shift to biofuels may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions and consume a large share of the current agricultural output. Therefore, its combination
Ecology and Society, 2018
Agrarian metabolism applies the social metabolism framework to agriculture. It focuses on the stu... more Agrarian metabolism applies the social metabolism framework to agriculture. It focuses on the study of the exchange of material and energy flows between a society and its environment for producing useful biomass. These flows must maintain the fund elements of the agroecosystem in sufficient quantity and of sufficient quality for them to continue providing ecosystem services. This methodology was applied to Spanish agriculture between 1960 and 2008, a period characterized by a deep process of intensification based on external inputs (EIs). We specifically focused on nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), carbon (C), and energy flows, and on the three fund elements that they sustain such as soil, biodiversity, and woodland. The results show that the growing incorporation of EIs has broken the equilibrium between land and biomass uses required by traditional farming, lowering the density of internal energy loops. On cropland, the relative fall in unharvested biomass had a negative effect on both biodiversity and the soil, which reduced the replenishment of organic C between 1960 and 1990. The sharp increase in internal and external flows of biomass for animal feed hardly contributed to increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) between 1990 and 2008 because of the fact that these flows had increasingly lower C:N ratios. The massive importation of N in feed and mineral fertilizers (553 and 1150 Gg in 2000, respectively) increased the surplus and the losses of N, which in turn could have a negative impact on biodiversity, water, and the atmosphere. The scenario constructed without imported animal feed would allow a reduction in the environmental impacts related to the excess of N, with hardly any negative effect on SOC replenishment, and improving energy return rates in the form of total, unharvested, and accumulated phytomass.
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Mediterranean olive growing characterizes, identifies, and can sustain the socioeconomic viabilit... more Mediterranean olive growing characterizes, identifies, and can sustain the socioeconomic viability of rural areas, not only through the production of primary products but also through the management of renewable natural resources, and the conservation of landscape and biodiversity. However, high levels of mechanization, monocultures, intensive farming techniques, and the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are threatening the environment and affecting rural communities in turn. In the last years, the agroecological discourse emerged as a transdisciplinary science merging agronomy, ecology, and socioeconomic sciences with the purpose of responding to socioeconomic and environmental concerns, responding to the globalized industrial food processing and intensive agriculture. In this context, the research project Sustainolive, guided by an international consortium of stakeholders from academia and the productive sector, has the aim of promoting sustainability in the olive oil se...
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), 2020
Universidad de Jaén, 2000
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 2021
ABSTRACT Alternative food systems and networks, which have emerged around the world, are often fr... more ABSTRACT Alternative food systems and networks, which have emerged around the world, are often fragmentary, reduced in size and frequently unfold in parallel, hardly linked to each other. Agroecology faces the challenge of scaling up these initiatives to gain size and a significant impact on food production and consumption. Within the agroecological movement, however, diverse conceptions exist of what a sustainable food system should be. It is thus necessary to reach an extensive consensus, from the perspective of agroecology, on the principles guiding the construction of such a system. This paper discusses the principles that would best steer the building of Agroecology-based Local Agri-food Systems (ALAS). To this end, a critical review of the scientific literature on alternative food networks and systems was performed. In so doing, we highlighted the aspects that one could consider as purely agroecological in nature and sought to bring them together to form a coherent proposal. Consequently, the present paper systematizes the main contributions of literature on alternative food networks and systems, taking into account the characteristics of sustainability from an agroecology viewpoint, and identifies the issues requiring further development. Several principles are proposed to define local food systems, based on the four dimensions of sustainability: environmental health, economic viability, social equity and the right to decide what, how and for whom food is produced.
Environmental Research Letters, 2021
Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilization has helped boost agricultural yields, but it is also respons... more Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilization has helped boost agricultural yields, but it is also responsible for direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Fertilizer-related emissions are also promoted by irrigation and manure application, which has increased with livestock industrialization. Spanish agriculture provides a paradigmatic example of high industrialization under two different climates (temperate and Mediterranean) and two contrasting water management regimes (rainfed and irrigated). In this study, we estimated the historical evolution of the C footprint of N fertilization (including all the life cycle GHG emissions related to N fertilization) in Spanish agriculture from 1860 to 2018 at the province level (50 provinces) for 122 crops, using climate-specific N2O emission factors (EFs) adjusted to the type of water management and the N source (synthetic fertilizer, animal manure, crop residues and soil N mineralization) and considering changes in the industrial efficien...
Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the Sustainability of Local Food Systems, 2017
Agri-food systems are sustainable when they can meet human needs while maintaining the basic fund... more Agri-food systems are sustainable when they can meet human needs while maintaining the basic funds and ecosystem services of agoecosystems and cultural landscapes in both a reproducible way and a healthy ecological state, at local, regional and global scales. This axiological definition involves a large research agenda to explore the operative criteria and indicators needed to know how to achieve this goal. It has to be a transdisciplinary research, capable of linking some of the already existing methodologies, like Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA), Material and Energy Flow Accounting of Social Metabolism (MEFA), Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), Agroecology, Landscape Ecology, Political Ecology and valuation of site-specific Biocultural Heritages of Peasant Knowledge. We will examine these approaches and the accounting methods, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, so as to combine them in innovative ways within a common framework focused on the interactive relations among societal and ecological metabolisms. To do so in a non-eclectic manner requires an agroecological perspective when accounting energy and material flows of farm systems, linking them with landscape ecology patterns and processes which sustain farm-associated biodiversity and derived ecosystem services, and adopting at all times an environmental history standpoint.
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Papers by Manuel González de Molina
1. Inclusió social, sostenibilitat ambientals i educació per a la ciutadania
Andrew Dobson
2. Biomímesis: un concepte clau per a pensar la sustentabilitat
Jorge Riechmann
3. Moviment de justícia ambiental. Estratègia argumentativa i força simbòlica
Henri Acselrad
4. Reflexions sobre ecologia política des del Sud
María Teresa La Valle
5. De la reivindicació ambiental i els drets humans. Ventures i desventures
María Eugenia Rodríguez
6. Ecolatria i ideologia: la ètica ambiental a debat
Carmen Velayos
7. Cultura i medi ambient
Alejandro Miquel
8. Naturalesa i societat en perspectiva històrica; la història ambiental
Manuel González i Víctor Toledo
9. La perspectiva biofísica de la relació home-natura: economia ecològica
Jesús Ramos
10. Canvi social i crisi ecològica a les Illes Balears
Bernat Riutort i Joaquín Valdivielso