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Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- List of Graphs and Tables -- List of Acronyms -- Part I: At Issue -- 1: Introduction -- 2: Focus on the United States -- 3: Global Perspectives -- Part II: Primary Sources -- 4: United States Documents -- 5: International Documents -- Part III: Research Tools -- 6: How to Research Food Security -- 7: Facts and Figures -- 8: Key Players A to Z -- 9: Organizations and Agencies -- 10: Annotated Bibliography -- Chronology -- Glossary -- Index.

In this paper we explore several themes based on our intertwined research and outreach activities. First, we examine and discuss emerging global food chains that are embedded in strategic alliances, joint ventures and relationships – in short in networks of power. Decisions are being displaced away from multiple actors situated in different localities to globalized decision–making located within a few firms that make up each cluster. While the roots of these phenomena are firmly grounded in long–term historical processes, it is important to document and understand what is emerging at the global level in order to create alternatives. Second, we discuss our outreach work with farmers, consumers and communities in helping them to frame and understand the changes that are taking place in the food and agriculture system. This is exemplified through a case study of the Kansas City Food Circle and its role in generating alternative visions from the consumption side of the food equation. This work is extremely important for challenging the global food system, and also for helping to empower farmers, eaters and communities to create alternatives. We lay out an analytical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the global system, and the opportunities found in the social, environmental and economic failures of the global system. In conclusion, the work described above rests on the recognition of different forms of agency that are appearing in the food system, agency that is located within the spaces provided by the unsustainable, unjust nature of the global system. We remain cognizant of the incredible networks of power that shape the production and consumption relationships in the food system. However, we remain hopeful that models of emerging alternatives can help relocalize production/consumption relationships in the food system in equitable ways. In other words, in relationships that are personalized and sustainable, and that are embedded in place and community.

Agroecology promotes the formation of networks based on principles of closeness, trust, and collective action among participating actors and with external institutions and agencies. This institutionalized vertical power is based on hierarchical relationships, which impact access to resources, policy influence, and the ability to navigate bureaucratic systems. This qualitative case study aims to investigate the intersection between power relations and linking social capital to comprehend the challenges actors in agroecological supply chains face in accessing external resources and operating under the current legal framework governing food supply chains in Colombia. We present the case of agroecological networks in Eastern Antioquia to uncover the impact of their relationships on existing power dynamics within networks and associated institutions. Our findings suggest that social capital does not consistently facilitate the enhancement of associativity within agroecological chains. Moreover, it can function as a mechanism of oppression and promote the formation of exclusive and exclusionary groups. La agroecología promueve la formación de redes basadas en principios de cercanía, confianza y acción colectiva entre los actores participantes, así como con instituciones y agencias externas. Este poder vertical institucionalizado se basa en relaciones jerárquicas que afectan el acceso a los recursos al igual que la influencia que puedan tener las políticas y la capacidad de navegar por entramados burocráticos. Este estudio de caso de índole cualitativa tiene como propósito investigar la intersección entre las relaciones de poder y la vinculación del capital social para comprender los desafíos que enfrentan los actores de las cadenas de suministro agroecológicas que buscan acceder a recursos externos y operar bajo el marco legal que actualmente rige las cadenas de suministro alimentario en Colombia. Presentamos el caso de las redes agroecológicas en el Oriente antioqueño para estudiar el impacto de sus relaciones en las dinámicas de poder ya existentes dentro de las redes e instituciones asociadas. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que el capital social no facilita la mejoría de la asociatividad dentro de las cadenas agroecológicas de manera consistente. Además, puede fungir como un mecanismo de opresión y promover la formación de grupos exclusivos y excluyentes.

AbstractAgroforestry practices offer a compelling addition to conventional agriculture as they provide a broad range of economic, ecological, and social benefits. Despite its recognized potential, broad on‐the‐ground adoption of U.S. agroforestry remains limited. Factors influencing agroforestry adoption and dissemination bottlenecks by actual practitioners are underexplored. While previous studies have focused mostly on landowner and farmer interests in agroforestry, without them necessarily being practitioners, this research details the perspective of those who have actively implemented some agroforestry practices. Early adopters of agroforestry represent an essential catalyst for future agroforestry diffusion. Better understanding of the factors influencing their decisions and reasons behind agroforestry practice adoption will help to support and promote wider adoption. This research study documents the what and why questions of early‐stage agroforestry adoption and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence both adoption and discontinuation decisions. Recommendations are offered to target and attract more agroforestry practitioners.