ABSTRACT

The current public health crisis has shed light on one of food systems’ most pressing challenges: reaching sustainable food security for all in a way that meets environmental and socio-economic sustainability. It has further confirmed that the logic of industrial agriculture has led our food systems down an unsustainable path, and that we must urgently change course. Agroecology is increasingly offered as the transformative and comprehensive solution that delivers benefits across all dimensions of sustainability. Yet, proponents of “business-as-usual” approaches continue to insist that producing higher, more resilient yields – particularly through new genomic techniques such as CRISPR/Cas – will serve as the means to ensure long-term food system resilience. Given the urgency for food systems transformation and drawing on agroecology as the paradigm shift we need, this article considers how new technologies can be assessed to evaluate their compatibility with food systems sustainability. Using the example of CRISPR/Cas, this article offers a preliminary framework for assessment based on FAO’s 10 Elements of Agroecology. The purpose here is not to offer a comprehensive and definite assessment of CRISPR/Cas, but to serve as an example to highlight the need for holistic assessment tools when considering the development and uptake of new agricultural technologies.

摘要

当前的公共卫生危机揭示了粮食系统最紧迫的挑战之一：以符合环境和社会经济可持续性的方式实现所有人的可持续粮食安全。它进一步证实了工业农业的逻辑已使我们的粮食系统走上了不可持续的道路，我们必须紧急改变道路。农业生态学日益成为一种变革性的综合解决方案，可为可持续发展的各个方面带来益处。但是，“惯常做法”方法的支持者继续坚持认为，尤其是通过诸如CRISPR / Cas之类的新基因组技术，将产生更高，更具弹性的产量，将成为确保长期食品系统弹性的手段。鉴于食品系统转型的紧迫性以及将农业生态学作为我们需要的范式转变，本文考虑了如何评估新技术以评估其与食品系统可持续性的兼容性。本文以CRISPR / Cas为例，为基于粮农组织的10种农业生态要素提供了一个初步的评估框架。这里的目的不是要提供对CRISPR / Cas的全面，明确的评估，而是要作为一个例子，强调在考虑开发和采用新的农业技术时，需要使用整体评估工具。本文提供了基于粮农组织“农业生态学的十大要素”进行评估的初步框架。这里的目的不是要提供对CRISPR / Cas的全面，明确的评估，而是要作为一个例子，强调在考虑开发和采用新的农业技术时，需要使用整体评估工具。本文提供了基于粮农组织“农业生态学的十大要素”进行评估的初步框架。这里的目的不是要提供对CRISPR / Cas的全面，明确的评估，而是要作为一个例子，强调在考虑开发和采用新的农业技术时，需要使用整体评估工具。