The World’s Breadbasket in Transition | Event Preview

Brazil is a major global producer of food and meat, known as “the world’s breadbasket.” It is also among the largest consumers of pesticides and fertilizers. The beef we eat on a daily basis is very likely to have come from there.

Over the past decade or so, two diametrically opposite trends have emerged in this world breadbasket. On the one hand, industrial agriculture continues to expand, further encroaching on natural resources vital to the global ecosystem, such as the Amazon rainforest. On the other hand, a food and farming revolution is under way: an increasing number of small family farms are transitioning to agroecology, while grassroots forces such as the landless farmers’ movement are organising smallholders and connecting them to markets.

The latter is, in fact, a form of resistance to and response to the former. It also reflects the way the public and government in Brazil, a major agricultural power, are critically examining the existing system:

The Urgency of the Climate Crisis: Global climate change poses severe challenges to conventional agricultural models.
Reconsidering Pesticide Use: Brazil is one of the world’s largest users of pesticides. Growing evidence suggests that heavy pesticide use may be linked to rising risks of certain cancers and neurological diseases.
National Sovereignty and Ecological Protection: Calls at the political level to protect Brazil’s water resources, forests and biodiversity, and to safeguard national sovereignty are growing louder.
Safeguarding Community Rights: Pressure and demand to establish more protected territories for indigenous peoples and other traditional communities are steadily increasing.

Against this backdrop, and as an important destination for Brazilian agricultural exports, we need to understand these two trends in Brazilian agriculture and their distinct environmental, social, and political-economic impacts. Rather than focusing on the large industrialised farms that primarily produce export commodities such as soybeans, maize, sugar, and beef, this lecture turns its attention to small-scale family farming — because it is precisely these farms that produce most of the food actually served on Brazilians’ tables.

Although most smallholders in Brazil still rely on chemical inputs, the agroecological movement — one that eschews pesticides in favour of natural fertilisers — is steadily gaining ground. An increasing number of farmers and communities are actively researching and experimenting with food production methods that do not depend on synthetic chemicals.

Consumers, too, are becoming a key driver of this transformation. As the organic food market booms, people are beginning to openly discuss how their food is produced and to express a strong desire for something healthier, safer, and more sustainable. One might say that a truly systemic transformation begins the moment food producers — farmers — and consumers — the wider public — start to recognise that they are inextricably linked parts of the same system.

◉Our guest speaker, Bia Goll, has been engaged in a wide range of work across Brazil’s rural and urban communities for many years.

This Saturday, 12 September, 2:30–4:00 pm, we will be joined by Bia Goll, a veteran food and agriculture practitioner from Brazil, who will share the specifics of Brazil’s food and agriculture revolution through her work over the past two decades.

Why has Brazil, the ‘World’s Breadbasket’, had to undergo a transformation in its traditional agricultural model over the past decade?
Why is it small-scale family farming, rather than large commercial estates, that holds the key to food security and the future for Brazilians?
How exactly do these family farms work? What are their concerns?
How has family farming in Brazil been progressively moving away from reliance on pesticides and chemical fertilisers, towards ecological agriculture?
How can consumer choices drive transformation on the production side of agriculture?
Whether as producer or consumer, how should we understand our role in the wider food system so that we can collectively drive this sustainable transition?
Bia has run an eco-restaurant, has long been engaged in food and farming education, and has partnered with the government to create edible landscapes in the city — what observations and reflections can she share?

Readers in Beijing are welcome to sign up for the in-person event. To register, please scan the QR code on the poster or click ‘Read more’ at the end of the article.

If you are not based in Beijing or unable to attend in person, you are also welcome to reserve a place on the live stream:

– Guest Speaker –

Bia Goll

Based in São Paulo, Brazil, she is a seasoned regenerative agriculture practitioner and eco-gastronomy professional. Over twenty years, she has been dedicated to practising sustainable food systems: from helping farms transition to organic cultivation, to designing edible gardens, to running workshops that transform the way people eat.

From 2007 to 2015, Bia ran Otto Bistrot in São Paulo, insisting on non-industrial ingredients and bringing regenerative agriculture courses and art exhibitions into the restaurant space. From 2012 onwards, she provided menu development consulting for schools, businesses, and restaurants, and helped ranches and farms transition from conventional to organic growing. Since 2015, she has continuously organised zero-waste events of various scales.

In 2023, Bia collaborated with the São Paulo municipal government to launch the Renda Guaianaz project in the far eastern outskirts of the city, working with local communities to create a land art park. Over 8,000 plants were grown and consumed, and free regenerative agriculture and eco-gastronomy courses were offered throughout the year. She has also undertaken food art interventions in exhibitions in Berlin, Paris, and Mexico City, and designed eco-gardens, mini-forests, and kitchen gardens for municipalities, schools, and businesses.

Bia’s footprint spans nearly twenty countries worldwide. She has extensively researched the production of artisanal food and the creation of sustainable gardens. She has also worked with the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), indigenous communities, and urban fringe communities, using workshops and immersive experiences to open people’s eyes to new ways of understanding food.