By Laura Vang Rasmussen
I feel very fortunate to be given the opportunity to deliver the closing keynote at the second annual National Sustainability Society Conference hosted by the University of Notre Dame.
I presented our work on how to make the way we produce food more sustainable – published in Science in 2024: Joint Environmental and Social Benefits from Diversified Agriculture.” In the paper, we showcase how redesigning farming systems can simultaneously regenerate ecosystems and enhance human well-being.
I hope that our results can inspire new paths toward sustainability. The theme running through the conference was that a just and sustainable future requires the flourishing of both people and the planet. But to transform farming systems, we need new ways of thinking and new structures. Farmers need access to land, credit, training and, above all, community. Yet, there are lessons to be learnt from those places where farmers have managed to overcome structural barriers, such as The Soils, Food and Healthy Communities in Malawi.
Thanks to the National Sustainability Society, Frontiers Planet Prize, Dan Brown, Christopher Boone, Arun Agrawal, Cristy Watkins and many others! And of course to all collaborators of the research, especially Ingo Grass!