Challenging the Mainstream: Italy’s Food and Farming Movement Beyond Ecological Agriculture

Foodthink Insights

Internationally, an increasing number of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners have begun to promote and adopt the concept of “agroecology”. While this term remains somewhat unfamiliar in the Chinese-speaking world and is often translated as “ecological agriculture”, the latter fails to capture the rich connotations of agroecology, which integrates science, practice, and social movements.

In what context was agroecology first proposed? How has it evolved? And which communities in Italy are putting agroecology into practice? On 18 July, Chiara Bartoletti, a PhD student at the University of Venice, shared her observations and involvement in the agroecology movement with Foodthink. This article is based on her presentation.

I. From the Green Revolution to Agroecology

In the 1940s, the renowned agronomist Norman Borlaug developed a high-yield, disease-resistant semi-dwarf wheat variety in Mexico by hybridising North American and Japanese wheat. Over the following thirty years, these semi-dwarf varieties spread across the globe.

In 1968, when William Gaud of the US Agency for International Development first coined the term “Green Revolution”, semi-dwarf wheat became a symbol of anti-hunger humanitarianism, and technological advancement became the face of universal pacifism. Two years later, Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his scientific contributions.

◉ A 1971 report on Borlaug in a local US newspaper. Source: Minneapolis Sunday Tribune

Undeniably, the high-yield wheat varieties of intensive production helped many escape hunger. However, the implementation of the Green Revolution in regions such as Latin America and India caused significant harm to local social and ecological environments.

Those who benefited most from intensive production were predominantly multinational corporations and large landowners. As export-oriented structures replaced small-scale peasant farming, many farmers lost the land they relied on for basic survival, as well as their indigenous farming wisdom.

Monoculture also threatened local ecological balance. The high yields of hybrid varieties typically required vast amounts of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. This not only exacerbated the competitive disadvantage and social inequality faced by smallholders due to high input costs, but also significantly depleted soil organic matter and destroyed diverse agro-ecosystems.

As agricultural production became increasingly unsustainable, the importance of agroecology became evident.

In the 1930s, the Russian agronomist Bensin first proposed the concept of agroecology. While traditional agronomy focused on the study of the crops themselves, agroecology emphasised a systemic research approach. By mimicking natural ecosystems, it sought to establish agricultural systems that could ensure crop yields while protecting soil health and biodiversity. Its methods included the long-term observation and measurement of local ecosystems, the use of cover crops to manage pests and diseases, and the design of circular agricultural systems integrating crop and livestock farming.

◉ In the 1980s, American scientist Altieri further developed agroecology.

Agricultural technology is inseparable from the political and economic systems in which it exists. Changes in the global food system highlighted the scientific importance of agroecology and laid its social foundation.

Scientists of the time began to reflect on whom their research was actually serving. They sought to embed knowledge within society; in the practice of agroecology, this meant reducing external inputs and making the most of existing local peasant resources and techniques.

A classic example is the “Three Sisters” planting method used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Maize, squash, and beans complement one another: the maize provides a climbing structure, the beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and the squash vines cover the ground to retain moisture. This is similar to traditional Chinese agricultural practices such as “rice-fish co-culture” and “mulberry-dyke fish ponds”—combining indigenous wisdom with Western science to create actions that are truly beneficial for local people and their environment.

◉ Smallholders in Aohan, Inner Mongolia, and Shitoucheng, Yunnan, also have their own versions of “Three Sisters” planting. Photo: Foodthink

The environmental movement that began in the 1960s further propelled the development of agroecology.

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s *Silent Spring* alerted the public to the pitfalls of modern agricultural technology. Before this, there was almost no public awareness of the hazards that chemical pesticides posed to the environment and human health.

In response to the advocacy of Carson and other scholars, activists, and civil society, US authorities took action. In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established, and in 1972, the use of the highly toxic pesticide DDT was officially banned.

II. The Agroecology Movement in Italy

In other European countries facing similar challenges, the agroecology movement has also found a foothold, and Italy is no exception.

The majority of Italian farms are family-run enterprises, which lack the competitive edge of intensive industrial farms in the global market. Furthermore, income from agricultural employment is 30% lower than in other industries. In regions plagued by rural depopulation and the decline of traditional farming, the political dimension of the agroecology movement is particularly pronounced.

I would now like to share a few examples of agroecological practices I observed during my time in Italy.

The Commons

Mondeggi

Located 12 kilometres from the centre of Florence, Mondeggi was historically an aristocratic estate before being nationalised by the provincial government in the 1960s. For the following forty years, the farm primarily produced monocultures of commercial crops, such as grapes, olives, and wheat.

Following the company’s collapse in 2009, the government attempted to transfer the land to private enterprises, which met with local resistance. From 2011, local residents began occupying the land, leading to the establishment of *Mondeggi bene comune* (Mondeggi as a Common) in 2014.

◉ The commons are located in the outskirts of Florence, in central Italy.

The commons cover 120 hectares, with 73 hectares of cultivable land, and are currently managed by over 450 members and volunteers. Through ecological restoration and social activism, they fight against monoculture and the encroachment of agri-capital on the village.

Years of intensive farming had left the land depleted, overgrown with invasive species, and devoid of biodiversity. The members of the commons have worked to restore the soil using the principles of agroecology. They have established farmer bases to collectively tend to over 5,000 olive trees and 20 vegetable gardens, harvesting the direct fruits of their own labour.

Additionally, the commons employ crop rotation for cereals, legumes, and fodder crops, cultivate ancient wheat varieties rich in genetic diversity, and have introduced livestock and beekeeping.

To enter the mainstream market, producers are often forced to drive down land rents and labour costs. At the commons, however, the land is held collectively and members contribute their labour voluntarily. This significantly eases the economic burden of operation, allowing agroecological practices to take root more easily.

◉ Mondeggi uses democratic participatory meetings to make decisions.

Mondeggi holds regular general assemblies for democratic discussion and technical exchanges to improve cultivation methods. Their slogan, “Mondeggi Commons: a farm without bosses”, perfectly encapsulates the diversity of their agricultural vision.

Farmers and aspiring new farmers can attend the commons’ Farmer’s School every two years, which offers several months of free courses in skills such as beekeeping and carpentry. Since last year, the school has introduced a theoretical course titled “Farming Gaia”, teaching agroecology, political philosophy, sustainable agricultural practices, food sovereignty, and care practices focused on public affairs and collective action.

◉ The Farmer’s School organised by the commons.

While policies and markets lean heavily towards industrial-scale farming, the Mondeggi commons resists the corporate leasing of land through an alternative system of land tenure and civic participation, achieving a diverse form of ecological agriculture.

Independent Organic Farmers’ Community (Campi Aperti)

Campi Aperti

Campi Aperti is an organic farmers’ market initiated by a student organisation. It is dedicated to promoting organic, local, and non-industrial ecological agriculture, advocating for food sovereignty and protecting the interests of small-scale farmers.

Participants in Campi Aperti share a belief in the solidarity economy. Rather than relying on official certification systems, they employ Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), visiting farms directly to rebuild trust between consumers and producers.

◉ The Campi Aperti organic farmers’ market. Image source: Asia Giannelli, ZERO Magazine.

Consumers at the market can see that, compared to the conventional produce of large agri-corporations, food grown by small organic farmers is fairer to both the environment and the workers. These farmers eschew chemical fertilisers and pesticides, avoid the exploitation of cheap labour, and prioritise seasonality and local production.

Those involved with Campi Aperti are more than just vendors and shoppers; they are a community of producers and consumers concerned with the food system and the conscious protection of nature and their local environment. Through this trust-based economic model, Campi Aperti has spent the last twenty years building an alternative to the mainstream industrial food system.

Because processed foods such as homemade jams and breads produced by partner farmers lack official production licences, Campi Aperti cannot hold its markets in city squares. This obstacle prompted the organisers to launch *Genuino Clandestino* (meaning “Genuine Clandestine”) in 2010—an independent certification system designed to bypass the cumbersome procedures and high costs of the official bureaucracy.

◉ A gathering of farmers organised by Genuino Clandestino.

The organisers argue that it is profoundly unfair for government departments to apply the same production processes and metrics to small-scale produce as they do to industrial food. Small farmers lack the resources for such investments, and their production methods do not carry the same risks inherent in industrial processing lines.

Genuino Clandestino has extended the values of Campi Aperti across Italy, gradually forming a radical network of food sovereignty communities.

Within this community, farmers are neither passive “underclass” workers nor land-owning capitalists, but citizens who find faith and social value in agroecology. Every year, Genuino Clandestino convenes small farmers from across Italy for an annual meeting to discuss the organisation’s current state and future development. They aim to involve more people in the food sovereignty movement, launching farmers’ markets in new cities and organising farmer exchanges and seed swaps.

Beyond these two grassroots organisations, others are attempting to change the existing food and agriculture system from different angles. *Terra!* (Land!) promotes ecological agriculture within a framework of social justice through research and policy advocacy. *Cambiare il campo* brings together farmers, social activists, scholars, and rural residents to explore the possibilities of alternative food systems.

These examples demonstrate that the interconnectedness between plants, animals, and the environment emphasised by agroecology is not confined to the realm of agricultural science, but extends directly into the social sphere.

Those involved in the agroecology movement believe that farmers, consumers, and nature itself—which cannot speak for itself—all fail to benefit from the mainstream food system. Consumers and producers must unite, using their belief in a better future to resist unjust agricultural policies and power structures.

Unless otherwise stated, images are from the guest speaker’s presentation.

Compiled and Edited by: Jeni, Zein