ABSTRACT
The number of publications on agroecology in Mexico has notably expanded during the last 20 years of the twentieth century and continues to grow in this new century. Many of the early publications present a denition of agroecology and mention related concepts, such as the agroecosystem. More recently, several articles also present the history of the concept to develop a theoretical framework that better categorizes where each contribution is located within the eld (Wezel et al. 2009). Nevertheless, only a few papers present an epistemological analysis on the construction of agroecological thinking, and none discuss the importance of intercultural processes in the construction of both the concept and the eld of agroecology. Notable contributions include Hecht (1999) who wrote “La evolución del pensamiento agroecológico (The evolution of agroecological thinking)” in the book Agroecología: Bases Científicas Para Una Agricultura Sustentable (Agroecology, the Scientific Basis for Sustainable Agriculture) Altieri (1999); Ruiz-Rosado (2006), who argues that agroecology is a transdisciplinary eld; and Guadarrama-Zugasti (2007), who explores paradigms from biotechnology, computing sciences, and others, in the construction of sustainable agriculture, and contrasts them with the development of agroecology. In 2010, SOCLA published a book edited by Altieri (2010b), Vertientes del Pensamiento agroecológico: Fundamentos y Aplicaciones (Approaches to Agroecological Thinking: Foundations and Applications), in which the use of new technologies, social equity, and the design of sustainable agroecosystems are discussed. The contributions by Wezel and Soldat (2009), Wezel et al. (2009), and Tomich et al. (2011) have been
CONTENTS
8.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 123 8.2 The Evolution of Agroecological Thinking: The Role of Mexico ........................................124 8.3 Important Contributions by Mexican Authors ...................................................................... 125 8.4 The Term Agroecology ......................................................................................................... 128 8.5 The Intercultural Nature of Agroecology .............................................................................. 130 8.6 The Intercultural Approach in Agroecology ......................................................................... 132 8.7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 134 References ...................................................................................................................................... 134
reviewed by Gliessman (2013) who argues that agroecology was also the result of a movement to resist the penetration of Green Revolution technology in the humid tropics of Mexico. Gliessman presents agroecology as a viable alternative to confront global challenges related to food production, environmental degradation, and improvement of life conditions.
