If monocultures are able to be replaced by an alternative, the destructive forces from monocultures will not continue to harm people. The land alterations, the pesticide use, the deforestation, the movement of people from their homes, will all be reduced if agroecology becomes widespread. These factors are all issues that are currently contributing to the divide between nature and people. If the factors are eliminated due to the dwindling of monocultures, it is possible that the divide between nature and people can be mended.
The divide between nature and people will also be mended through the process of agroecology itself. The process involves passing down knowledge about the land and how plants work. If this farming knowledge becomes central to the farming industry, the scientific knowledge may be less important because rather than putting an emphasis on the ways that we can modify nature, the emphasis will be on how we can interact with nature to help us sustain our own life. Instead of people thinking about how they can make nature fit their needs, people will start thinking about how they can help to sustain nature in a way that also helps sustain their own life.
Agroecology is a way of farming that can bring proper knowledge to the land so that biodiversity, soil health, and the connection between humans and nature can improve. It focuses on taking the knowledge that has been passed down from farmers and indigenous people into practice of farming and producing food. Because of the knowledge being sourced from the farmers themselves, it empowers the communities as the agents for change. Now that agroecology is spreading, it is possible that it could be an alternative to industrial farming. If this is the case, monocultures as a whole could be limited or even eliminated.
Agroecology as an Alternative to Monoculture
Growth of the Movement?
Agroecology is currently not widely spread in the Americas despite being embraced by some UN nations. If more people across the Americas can embrace agroecology like the MST movement did, then maybe a system wide change can occur. There are many international movements focused on agroecology as a change, some even taking their roots in Latin America, but in order to change the system as a whole, the movements need to continue to grow.
Agroecology as a tool?
It is possible to use agroecology as a tool to help mend the divide between people and nature because of the way people interact with the land differently, and the social shift that agroecology calls for as a whole. It is also possible that agroecology could be used as a tool to mend the divide between different cultures because it required knowledge passed down and everyone living on the land has different historical knowledge of the land. Indigenous groups can help people become more knowledgeable and also mend the broken relationship with these groups.
