Celebrate Food Diversity
This page has been archived, and may no longer be up to date

Solution: an eco-farming revolution

Food is taste and nourishment. Food is family and culture. Food is science, identity and religion. Food is connection. But do we know where our food comes from, how it is grown and by whom? The answer is a revolution in ecological farming. Unlike our current broken industrial ag model, eco-farming answers these questions as it is a food system, with people and farmers at its heart.

Eco-farming combines modern science and innovation with respect for nature and biodiversity. It ensures healthy farming and healthy food. It protects the soil, the water and the climate. It does not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs or use genetically engineered crops. And it places people and farmers – consumers and producers, rather than the corporations who control our food now – at its very heart.

It is a vision of sustainability and food sovereignty in which food is grown with health and safety first and where control over food and farming rests with local communities, rather than transnational corporations.

Ecological Farm in Brazil. 5 Dec, 2014 © Peter Caton / Greenpeace

Seven basic principles about eco-farming you should know

  • Food sovereignty – Producers and consumers, not corporations, should control the food chain and determine how food is produced.

  • Rewarding rural livelihoods – Eco-agriculture is instrumental in rural development, food security and fighting poverty.

  • Smarter food production and yields – Eco-agriculture can create higher yields to help feed the world.

  • Biodiversity – Promoting diversity in crops, instead of monocultures like corn and soy, is essential to protecting nature.

  • Sustainable soil – Soil fertility can improve using eco-farming methods and refraining from chemical fertilizers and inputs.

  • Ecological pest protection – Farmers can control pest damage and weeds effectively through natural means instead of chemical pesticides.

  • Food Resilience – Diverse and resilient agriculture, not monoculture crops, is the best way to protect communities from shocks from climate and food prices.

Jump-start an eco-food revolution by sharing this page. Then click to see What You Can Do now.

To read more on Greenpeace's 7 Principles on Ecological Farming, click here.

The latest updates

 

Filipino farmers share 'seeds of hope'

Blog entry by Wilhelmina Pelegrina | 19 December, 2014 1 comment

Ecological farmers in the Philippines have pooled their expertise and resources and travelled close to 600 km (370 miles) to help farmers in Dolores, Eastern Samar, get back on their feet following Typhoon Hagupit. Communities were...

Farmer-to-farmer seed delivery to help Dolores recover from Typhoon Hagupit

Press release | 19 December, 2014 at 6:00

Dolores, Eastern Samar, Philippines, 19 December 2014 – A farmer-to-farmer delivery of ecological seeds took place today in Dolores, Eastern Samar in the Philippines to help farmers regenerate agricultural land badly damaged by Typhoon Hagupit.

Fighting a government-assisted land grab with #peoplepower in Hungary

Feature story | 4 December, 2014 at 21:00

Many progressive farmers have for years been producing food ecologically around the world. They are the growing evidence that ecological farming is a real and better alternative to the industrial and chemical intensive farming system which is...

Contamination from GE crops does happen: nearly 400 incidents since GE crops were...

Blog entry by Janet Cotter and Becky Price | 12 November, 2014 1 comment

Genetically engineered (GE - also called genetically modified, GM) crops raise many concerns, particularly for the environment. One of the main concerns for consumers, farmers and traders is contamination from GE crops. Now, a...

"Smart" breeding, where science and farmers' knowledge meet

Blog entry by Dr. Janet Cotter | 28 October, 2014 4 comments

Plant breeding is the key to providing us with varied and better quality foods. Although conventional plant breeding has existed for hundreds of years, it was often time-consuming and labour-intensive. But, breeding methods have come a...

61 - 65 of 277 results.

Categories