“agroecología chatarra”: La captura corporativa de la agroecología para una transición ecológica parcial y sin justicia social

The report critiques the 'corporate capture' of agroecology by three major global initiatives: the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), the New Vision for Agriculture (NVA), and the Coalition for a New Economy of Food and Land Use (FOLU). It argues that these entities promote a restricted, 'junk' version of agroecology that focuses on productivity and technological innovation (such as precision agriculture and gene editing) rather than the social justice, redistribution of power, and food sovereignty central to genuine agroecology. The document concludes that these corporate-led models aim to 'change everything so that nothing changes,' preserving the dominance of transnational agribusiness while adopting a 'green' veneer.

• The document distinguishes between genuine agroecology—which integrates science, practice, and social movements to transform the industrial food system—and 'junk agroecology,' a restricted vision promoted by corporations to solve only partial environmental damages while maintaining inequality and power imbalances.
• The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), established in 2002 by Danone, Nestlé, and Unilever, views sustainable agriculture as a profitable and efficient way to produce safe products, focusing on internal certification and technological innovations like blockchain and big data.
• The New Vision for Agriculture (NVA), a World Economic Forum initiative led by 17 transnational companies including Cargill, Monsanto, and Syngenta, promotes 'sustainable agricultural intensification' to 'produce more with less,' emphasizing market-based approaches and technologies like gene editing.
• The Coalition for a New Economy of Food and Land Use (FOLU) seeks business opportunities in a 'greener' food system and, while more critical of market insertion than other initiatives, still relies heavily on technological determinism, including digitalization and genetic improvements.
• Corporate-led initiatives are driven by three 'obsessions': productivism (the belief that increasing production is the only way to feed the world), the search for new 'green economy' business opportunities to integrate small-scale producers into global value chains, and a shift toward 'multi-stakeholder' governance that favors corporate interests over state-led multilateralism.
• The report concludes that a true agroecological transition requires public policies that center small-scale food producers and rural/urban workers, align with human rights instruments like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants, and prioritize systemic social and environmental justice over market access.

APA

Alonso-Fradejas, A., Forero, L. F., Ortega-Espès, D., Drago, M., & Chandrasekaran, K. (2020). “agroecología chatarra”: La captura corporativa de la agroecología para una transición ecológica parcial y sin justicia social. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Agroecologia-Chatarra-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-resumen-executivo-ESP.pdf

Chicago

Alonso-Fradejas, Alberto, Lyda Fernanda Forero, Delphine Ortega-Espès, Martín Drago, and Kirtana Chandrasekaran. “agroecología chatarra”: La captura corporativa de la agroecología para una transición ecológica parcial y sin justicia social. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Agroecologia-Chatarra-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-resumen-executivo-ESP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alonso-Fradejas |first1=Alberto |last2=Forero |first2=Lyda Fernanda |last3=Ortega-Espès |first3=Delphine |last4=Drago |first4=Martín |last5=Chandrasekaran |first5=Kirtana |title=“agroecología chatarra”: La captura corporativa de la agroecología para una transición ecológica parcial y sin justicia social |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=April 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Agroecologia-Chatarra-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-resumen-executivo-ESP.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alonsofradejas2020agroecologa, author = {Alonso-Fradejas, Alberto and Forero, Lyda Fernanda and Ortega-Espès, Delphine and Drago, Martín and Chandrasekaran, Kirtana}, title = {{“agroecología chatarra”: La captura corporativa de la agroecología para una transición ecológica parcial y sin justicia social}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Agroecologia-Chatarra-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-resumen-executivo-ESP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }