In their efforts to conserve agricultural biodiversity, farmers' movements in Western Europe redefine the conditions under which their members participate in society. Governance arrangements for the conservation of agro-biodiversity are used to redistribute or communalize available resources; to oppose institutional threats to farmer’s culture, knowledge and livelihoods; to (re)build a common rural identity and citizenship; and to encourage self-determination and foster empowerment. Under the banner of peasant, local and/or organic agriculture, through the reintroduction of traditional varieties, the creation of new varieties using farm-based knowledge, and the redesign of innovation models, individual farmers are connected to collective movements demanding justice and a more efficient agricultural model.

Join us for a presentation by Dr. Brendan Coolsaet, Associate Professor and Master’s Programmes Director, European School of Political and Social Sciences (ESPOL), Lille Catholic University, France. He will explore some of the justice concerns driving the struggles of contemporary European farming movements.

The event will open with a brief introduction by Food Studies and Environmental Studies faculty member Dr. Kristin Reynolds, followed by a presentation and discussion.

The talk is in conjunction with Reynolds’ Social Justice in Sustainable Food Systems course.