Although evidence continues to indicate an urgent need to transition food systems away from industrialized monocultures and toward agroecological production, there is little sign of significant policy commitment toward food system transformation in global North geographies. The authors, a consortium of researchers studying the land-food nexus in global North geographies, argue that a key lock-in explaining the lack of reform arises from how most food system interventions work through dominant logics of property to achieve their goals of agroecological production. Doing so fails to recognize how land tenure systems, codified by law and performed by society, construct agricultural land use outcomes. In this perspective, the authors argue that achieving food system “resilience” requires urgent attention to the underlying property norms that drive land access regimes, especially where norms of property appear hegemonic. This paper first reviews research from political ecology, critical property law, and human geography to show how entrenched property relations in the global North frustrate the advancement of alternative models like food sovereignty and agroecology, and work to mediate acceptable forms of “sustainable agriculture.” Drawing on emerging cases of land tenure reform from the authors’ collective experience working in Scotland, France, Australia, Canada, and Japan, we next observe how contesting dominant logics of property creates space to forge deep and equitable food system transformation. Equally, these cases demonstrate how powerful actors in the food system attempt to leverage legal and cultural norms of property to legitimize their control over the resources that drive agricultural production. Our formulation suggests that visions for food system “resilience” must embrace the reform of property relations as much as it does diversified farming practices. This work calls for a joint cultural and legal reimagination of our relation to land in places where property functions as an epistemic and apex entitlement.

Large corporations largely control food production and distribution in the global food system and have generated a desire for locally produced food. Although small independent producers still contribute to regional food systems, there is little understanding about how they distribute and market their products. This thesis uses both semistructured interviews to investigate the distribution practices of urban, family, and regional producers in the New Orleans region and discourse analysis to disclose how localist discourse shapes producers marketing practices. The discourse analysis discovered that the web presence of local New Orleans restaurants, farmers, and Crescent City Farmers Market targeted concepts that reflect localist beliefs and values. It was also established that small producers respond to consumer demands, but still have the power to shape the regional food system through negotiating informal contracts and striving to enter into the niche market.

Des groupes agro-alimentaires se tournent vers les filières laitières artisanales pour assurer leur approvisionnement. De cette tendance émergent des business inclusifs (BI). Malgré l’engouement qu’ils suscitent auprès des acteurs du développement agricole, ils restent délicats à mettre en œuvre. Mais dans quelle mesure la coordination de ces BI relève de démarches inclusives ? Quelles sont les barrières à leur adoption et les conséquences sur leur durabilité? Un cas d’étude est analysé pour explorer ces questions, le projet DEEP (Danone Egypt Ecosystem Project). Initié en 2011 par le fond Danone Ecosystème, en partenariat avec Danone Egypte et l’ONG CARE, il promeut un business model réplicable de centres de collecte de lait (CCL) de vache auprès des petits producteurs, dans des coopératives agricoles publiques. Ce BI tente de sécuriser l’approvisionnement de la laiterie Danone et de contribuer au développement socio-économique des villages hôtes. Dans la thèse, un cadre analytique transdisciplinaire est élaboré ; la gestion de la qualité permet d’associer une approche chaîne de valeur (CV) et une approche système agroalimentaire localisée (SYAL). Des données socio-économiques sont collectées entre 2014 et 2016, individuellement et collectivement, auprès des acteurs directement ou indirectement impliqués dans ce BI. Si l’extrême diversité des activités, des objectifs et des ressources des acteurs qui « gravitent » autour du produit lait et du BI est mise en évidence, améliorer la qualité du lait semble être un but partagé. La distance et les asymétries de pouvoirs entre les partenaires limitent la promotion de stratégies répondant à la complexité et à la variabilité du contexte égyptien. Au dépend de la collaboration, des logiques d’intégration et de coercition s’installent dans la chaîne de valeur inclusive (CVI), pilotée en aval par l’entreprise avec l’ONG. Si la qualité sanitaire du lait fourni par les CCL s’améliore, la qualité compositionnelle se dégrade. L’entreprise rejette fréquemment les livraisons des CCL sans mécanisme de compensation et la CVI construite est fragile. Le BI est alors abordé en examinant l’évolution du SYAL laitier d’Halabeya. Après 6 années d’interventions, le CCL y est un acteur central des réseaux de collecte de lait. Il influence la qualité sanitaire via les institutions qui l’organisent (analyses de la qualité du lait, fixation des prix ou connaissances sur l’hygiène). La promotion d’un pôle concentrant l’offre de services agricoles pour les fournisseurs du CCL échoue. Une multitude d’entreprises familiales de proximité, organisées en réseaux spécialisés mais non coordonnés, l’assurent. Il semble que la généricité de la construction de CVI durable doive passer par la systématisation de processus de partenariat. En Egypte, une cellule de coordination villageoise pourrait être créée. Réunissant divers acteurs clef du SYAL, elle pourrait activer les ressources territoriales aux profits des habitants et du BI, en l’associant dans un comité de pilotage avec des représentants de l’état, de l’entreprise investisseuse et de l’ONG. Ce comité de pilotage s’attacherait à bâtir un business model adapté au territoire et aux besoins des partenaires, puis à piloter la CVI construite. L’utilisation de l’amélioration de la qualité du lait pourrait catalyser l’action collective. Par la sensibilisation des partenaires, l’implication de l’état, le recours à des facilitateurs et la possibilité pour les territoires de communiquer sur ces interventions, limiter les asymétries de pouvoir devient envisageable. Original par son utilisation de la gestion de la qualité comme un facteur d’inclusion, le cadre d’analyse permet d’aborder des échelles variées et plus ou moins distantes et pose les bases d’un cadre d’action favorisant la territorialisation des partenariats de BI. Ainsi, bâtir des CVI durables, c’est contribuer à l’émergence de territoires autonomes, voie prometteuse dans les pays du Sud comme du Nord. / Agri-food companies turn to traditional dairy sector to ensure their supply of milk. Inclusivebusinesses (IB) have emerged from this trend. Despite the enthusiasm raised among the playersof agricultural development, such businesses remain difficult to implement. But to what extentdoes IB coordination fall into an inclusive approach? What are the obstacles to the adoption ofsuch processes and the consequences for their sustainability? A case study is analyzed to explorethese issues, the DEEP project (Danone Egypt Ecosystem Project). Initiated in 2011 by the DanoneEcosystem fund, in partnership with Danone Egypt and the NGO CARE, it promotes a replicablebusiness model of cow milk collection centers (MCC) in public agricultural cooperatives targetingsmall producers. This IB’s aims are to secure the sourcing of Danone’s dairy and to contribute tothe socio-economic development of associated villages. In this thesis, a transdisciplinary analyticalframework is developed; the quality management has been used to link a value chain (VC)approach and a localized agri-food system (SYAL) approach. Socio-economic data were collectedbetween 2014 and 2016, individually and collectively, directly or indirectly from the playersinvolved in this IB. While the extreme diversity of the activities, objectives and resources of actorsevolving around the milk product and the IB is highlighted, improving the quality of the milk seemsto be a common goal. Both the distance and the differences in power between partners limit thepromotion of strategies responding to the complexity and variability of the Egyptian situation.Logics of integration and coercion take place within the inclusive value chain (IVC) drivendownstream by the company with the NGO, to the detriment of collaboration. If the sanitaryquality of the milk provided by the MCC is improving, its compositional quality deteriorates. Thecompany frequently rejects deliveries from MCCs, without a mechanism for compensation, whichlead to the precarity of such built IVC. The IB is therefore discussed by examining the evolution ofthe dairy SYAL from Halabeya. After 6 years of interventions, the MCC became a central playerwithin the milk collection networks. It influences milk sanitary quality through the institutions thatorganize it (milk quality analyses, pricing or hygiene knowledge). The promotion of a hubdelivering agricultural services to MCC suppliers fails. Numerous local family businesses, organizedin specialized networks lacking of coordination, ensure it. It seems that the genericity of theconstruction of sustainable IVC must go through the systematization of partnership processes. InEgypt, a coordination cell in the village could be established. Bringing together various key actorsof the SYAL, this cell could activate the territorial resources in favour of the inhabitants and the IB,by associating it in a steering committee with representatives of the state, the investing companyand the NGO. This steering committee would work on building a business model adapted to theterritory and to the needs of the partners, before piloting the IVC built. Using milk qualityimprovement could catalyze the collective action. By raising awareness of partners, involving thestate, using facilitators and giving the capacity for the territories to communicate on theseinterventions, therefore limiting the differences in power becomes possible. Through its use ofquality management as an inclusion factor, the analytical framework allows approaching distantscales, and lays the foundations for an action framework fostering the territorialization of IBpartnerships. Therefore building sustainable IVCs go hand in hand with the emergence ofautonomous territories, a promising path towards the Southern countries as well as the Northern.

O presente trabalho visa analisar o impacto da agenda de Objetivos do Milênio (ODM) definida pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) na criação e no desdobramento de projetos voltados para o desenvolvimento sustentável, com foco na ótica dos pequenos agricultores brasileiros. Para que este objetivo pudesse ser alcançado, foi empenhada uma pesquisa qualitativa exploratória por meio de estudos de caso sobre os projetos \"Rede de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional\" e \"Clima da Caatinga\", promovidos pela Prefeitura de Maracanaú (CE) e pela Associação Caatinga, respectivamente. A amostra foi selecionada tendo por critério de representatividade a condecoração dos projetos na edição de 2013 do Prêmio ODM Brasil, a sua localização no estado mais premiado (Ceará), e a divisão do prêmio nas categorias \"Governos Municipais\" e \"Organizações Sociais\". A pesquisa contou com a realização de entrevistas em profundidade e entrevistas em grupo com lideranças e beneficiários dos dois projetos que, somadas às análises de documentos de fontes primárias e secundárias e observação não estruturada dentro do contexto de execução dos projetos, propiciou a elucidação dos papel e influência da ONU e das políticas públicas para o desenvolvimento e amadurecimento dos projetos estudados. Verificou-se que as iniciativas da ONU no âmbito do programa Objetivos do Milênio, apesar de produzirem baixo impacto na motivação que levou à criação dos projetos analisados, assumiram papel relevante para os seus respectivos desdobramentos, contribuindo para a sua reorientação ao planejamento de longo prazo e facilitando o estabelecimento de parcerias estratégicas. Além disso, as políticas públicas de incentivo se mostraram uma relevante ferramenta no processo de intervenção e transformação de realidades de vulnerabilidade social e degradação ambiental. Ante a isto, concluímos que os incentivos promovidos pelas organizações internacionais na esteira da definição de agendas sustentáveis, como os ODM, possuem grande potencial contributivo para a consolidação de projetos que visem a promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável. / This paper aims to analyze the impact of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) defined by the United Nations (UN) on the creation and deployment of projects focused on sustainable development, focusing on the perspective of small Brazilian farmers. In order to achieve this objective, a qualitative exploratory research was undertaken through case studies on the \"Food and Nutrition Security Network\" and \"Caatinga Climate\" projects, promoted by the City Hall of Maracanaú (CE) and the Caatinga Association , respectively. The sample was selected considering the presence of the projects in the 2013 edition of the Brazil ODM Award, its location in the most contemplated state (Ceará), and the division of the award in the categories \"Municipal Governments\" and \"Social Organizations\". The research included in-depth interviews and group interviews with leaders and beneficiaries of the two projects, which, together with the analysis of documents from primary and secondary sources and unstructured observation within the context of project execution, provided the elucidation of the roles and influence of the UN and public policies for the development and maturing of the studied projects. Following the investigation, it was found that UN initiatives under the Millennium Development Goals, although having a low impact on the motivation that led to the creation of the projects analyzed, have played a relevant role in their respective developments, contributing to their reorientation to the long-term planning and facilitating the establishment of strategic partnerships. In addition, the public policies have proved to be an important tool in the process of intervention and transformation of realities of social vulnerability and environmental degradation. It was concluded that the incentives promoted by international organizations through the definition of sustainable agendas, such as the MDGs, have great contributory potential for the consolidation of projects regarding the promotion of sustainable development.

L'agriculture périurbaine (AP) est devenue un thème central dans la recherche, impliquant un débat scientifique multidisciplinaire. L'agriculture effectuée dans les zones périurbaines est mobilisée afin d'avoir un développement territorial et donner aux agriculteurs une chance de maintenir leur activité. En Italie, l'analyse sur la AP ont été axés sur les villes métropolitaines, alors que peu d'études ont évalué AP sous l'influence des villes moyennes, qui sont le plus touchés par l'urbanisation. Le récent débat sur la sécurité alimentaire a surgi réflexions sur la contribution potentielle de la AP dans l'alimentation des consommateurs urbains, même dans les pays développés. La connexion entre l'AP et le système alimentaire local (SAL) a été mobilisé par plusieurs organisations et chercheurs, en soulignant les avantages environnementaux, économiques et sociaux de la production "proximale". Néanmoins plusieurs auteurs ont demandé des analyse plus spécifiques sur la participation effective des agriculteurs dans SAL. Peu d'études ont porté sur les pratiques mises en place au niveau territorial par les agriculteurs périurbains, afin d'évaluer comment les stratégies productives des agriculteurs sont intégrés avec le SAL. Pour cette raison, une analyse agronomique au niveau territorial est exigée. Le but de cette recherche est de développer une méthodologie pour l'évaluation de la production potentielle fournie par AP au SAL. Pour faire ça la recherche réponds à trois questions: Quelle production alimentaire est mis en place actuellement dans les espaces périurbains? Comment les agriculteurs produisent pour le SAL? Dans quelles conditions l'AP peut produire pour le SAL? L'analyse est basée sur l'interaction de deux approches: le système de production et les approches du système alimentaire. Le cas d'étude est l’AP de Pise, une ville moyenne en Toscane (Italie). La zone périurbaine se compose de six municipalités, caractérisée par un étalement urbain récent et représentatif du système agricole en Méditerranée. L'analyse est basée sur des entretiens aux agriculteurs et aux acheteurs locaux de leurs productions. L'analyse montre que la AP a une composition hétérogène d’exploitations en termes d'intensité, quantité et qualité des aliments produits. Il ya un haut degré d'hétérogénéité de la production de l'intensité qui est lié à l'hétérogénéité des choix commerciaux entre les chaînes alimentaires locales et globales. Le choix de circuit alimentaire semble être caractérisé par des indicateurs sur la gestion de l'exploitation et l'utilisation des terres, plutôt que indicateurs sociaux. En considérant la quantité de production alimentaire, la différence entre les indicateurs de capacité productives décrit la différence dans les estimations basées sur l'analyse statistique et territoriale, et il quantifie le manque entre ce qui est produite et ce qui est réellement disponible pour SAL. Ce manque reflète les stratégies des différents agriculteurs à participer dans les SAL: la plupart des agriculteurs coordonne stratégies hybrides de commercialisation entre le marché local et le marché global. L'analyse de réseau révèle que même dans le SAL, les agriculteurs hybrident différentes typologies de SAL; l'analyse parallèle des autres acteurs du SAL (transformateurs et commerçants) démontre la difficulté de s'approcher à l’AP impliquées dans ces stratégies commerciales hybridées. Les agriculteurs répondent que la capacité de production pour SAL est affectée par plusieurs contraintes liées principalement à la réglementation et aux réseaux commerciaux. Les agriculteurs périurbains sont adaptant aux nouvelles possibilités de la proximité géographique aux zones urbaines, mais un effort de coordonner ces initiatives individuelles est nécessaire. Cette coordination doit intégrer la dimension territoriale qui affecte la production alimentaire périurbaine, afin de mieux répondre aux besoins de développement territorial. / Periurban agriculture (PA) is becoming a central topic in research, involving debates from different disciplines. Agriculture performed in periurban areas is conceived as a tool to have territorial development and to give farmers a chance to maintain their activity. In Italy, analysis on PA have been especially done for metropolitan areas, while few studies have assessed PA under the influence of medium-sized cities, which are the most affected by the recent urbanization. While the debate has started in valorizing the PA’s multifunctionality, the recent claims on food security have arisen reflections on its potential contribution in feeding urban consumers, even in developed countries. The connection between PA and local food system (LFS) has been mobilized by several organizations and researchers, highlighting the environmental, economical and social benefits of such “proximal” production. Nevertheless several authors have claimed for in-depth analysis about the effective participation of farmers in LFS. Moreover, few studies have been focused on the practices put in place at territorial level by periurban farmers, in order to assess how productive strategies are integrated with farmers’ local commercial strategies. For this reason an agronomic analysis at territorial level is required. The overall purpose of this research is to develop a methodology for the assessment of the food production provided by PA and how it is integrated to LFS. To do so, the research answers to three questions: What current food production is performed by PA? How do farmers produce for the LFS? Under which conditions PA can produce for the LFS? The analysis is based on the interaction of two approaches: the farming system and the food system approaches. The case study is the PA around the city of Pisa, a medium-sized city located in Tuscany (Italy). The periurban area’s border consists of six municipalities, characterized by a recent urban sprawl and representative of Mediterranean coastal farming systems evolution. The analysis is based on interviews to farmers and the local buyers of their productions. The analysis shows that PA is composed by an heterogeneous composition of farms in terms of intensity, quantity, and quality of food production. There’s a high degree of heterogeneity of intensity’s production which is linked to heterogeneity of commercial choices between local and global food chains. This choice seems to be characterized mainly by indicators on farm management and land use, more than indicators on social characters of farmer, as age or formation. Considering the quantity of food production, the difference among potential, effective and real food capacity outlines the difference in estimates based on statistical and territorial analysis; it also quantifies the lack between what is effectively produced and what is really available for the LFS. This lack reflects different farmers’ strategies in participating in alternative and local food chains; especially most of the farmers coordinate hybrid strategies between alternative/local and conventional/global food chains. The network analysis highlights that even in LFS, farmers hybrid different typologies of local food networks. The parallel analysis of other LFS’ actors (processors and final sellers) demonstrates the difficulty in approaching a PA involved in such hybrid commercial strategies. If local buyers principally asserts that not all the production produced in periurban area is available for LFS, farmers reply that the capacity of producing for LFS is affected by several constraints mainly linked to regulation and commercial networks. Periurban farmers are thus adapting to the new opportunities of the geographical proximity to urban area, but an effort in coordinate such individual initiatives is needed. This coordination should integrate the territorial dimension that affects periurban food production, in order to better address issues on territorial development of such areas.

Les villes n’ayant pas vocation à produire elles-mêmes leurs moyens de subsistance sont un point de départ pour l’étude du système alimentaire. L’approvisionnement alimentaire du cœur dense des métropoles participe à l’amont au métabolisme territorial, impliquant des échanges matériels entre la société organisatrice du système alimentaire et la biosphère qui la sustente. Si des analyses historiques des modalités de l’approvisionnement alimentaire de la capitale ont été produites, ses mécanismes contemporains complexes sont aujourd’hui méconnus. Un objectif de la thèse réside en l’établissement d’un récit circonstancié de la trajectoire socio-écologique de l’approvisionnement alimentaire du cœur de la métropole parisienne, de la fin de l’Ancien Régime à nos jours. Inscrites dans un paysage économique mondialisé, les aires de préhension alimentaire de Paris confirment l’existence d’une empreinte globale du système alimentaire parisien. Cependant, des initiatives récentes promeuvent un retour à un approvisionnement de proximité. Le tournant 2010-2011 marque l’essor de ces démarches nouvelles, jusqu’alors ignorées ou considérées comme marginales et anecdotiques tant par le grand public que par la plupart des acteurs décisionnaires du système alimentaire. La reterritorialisation de l’approvisionnement est issue d’une construction sociale de proximités tant géographique qu’organisée, dont les prétextes et les intérêts des acteurs qui l’encouragent sont multiples. Un second objectif est donc constitué par l’analyse des politiques de trois acteurs (public, associatif et privé) quant à l’avènement d’une transition dans le système alimentaire, impliquant un rapprochement entre les aires de production et les bassins de consommation. Prenant appui sur un cadre théorique fondé par l’écologie territoriale, l’analyse des trajectoires et transitions socio-écologiques et les apports de l’école de la proximité, cette thèse propose une vision pluridisciplinaire de l’évolution du système alimentaire du cœur de la métropole parisienne. / Cities are not meant to produce their own livelihood, and so, they are an interesting starting point to the study of the food system. Based on a threefold theoretical framework – territorial ecology, socio-ecological paths and transitions, and proximity strategies – this thesis aims at a multidisciplinary analysis attesting how the food system has been evolving inside the Paris metropolis. The thesis gives a detailed account of the food supply’s socio-ecological trajectory, from the end of the Ancien Régime to the present day. The 2010-2011 turning point settles new initiatives aiming at proximity foodsheds – which had hitherto been ignored altogether or considered marginal and minor. Reterritorialization of the supply is the result of social constructions of geographical and organized proximities. This work also investigates the policies of three food-system stakeholders (public, community and private) regarding an impending transition in the socio-ecological pathway that would imply a merger between production and consumption foodsheds.

O presente trabalho visa analisar o impacto da agenda de Objetivos do Milênio (ODM) definida pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) na criação e no desdobramento de projetos voltados para o desenvolvimento sustentável, com foco na ótica dos pequenos agricultores brasileiros. Para que este objetivo pudesse ser alcançado, foi empenhada uma pesquisa qualitativa exploratória por meio de estudos de caso sobre os projetos \"Rede de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional\" e \"Clima da Caatinga\", promovidos pela Prefeitura de Maracanaú (CE) e pela Associação Caatinga, respectivamente. A amostra foi selecionada tendo por critério de representatividade a condecoração dos projetos na edição de 2013 do Prêmio ODM Brasil, a sua localização no estado mais premiado (Ceará), e a divisão do prêmio nas categorias \"Governos Municipais\" e \"Organizações Sociais\". A pesquisa contou com a realização de entrevistas em profundidade e entrevistas em grupo com lideranças e beneficiários dos dois projetos que, somadas às análises de documentos de fontes primárias e secundárias e observação não estruturada dentro do contexto de execução dos projetos, propiciou a elucidação dos papel e influência da ONU e das políticas públicas para o desenvolvimento e amadurecimento dos projetos estudados. Verificou-se que as iniciativas da ONU no âmbito do programa Objetivos do Milênio, apesar de produzirem baixo impacto na motivação que levou à criação dos projetos analisados, assumiram papel relevante para os seus respectivos desdobramentos, contribuindo para a sua reorientação ao planejamento de longo prazo e facilitando o estabelecimento de parcerias estratégicas. Além disso, as políticas públicas de incentivo se mostraram uma relevante ferramenta no processo de intervenção e transformação de realidades de vulnerabilidade social e degradação ambiental. Ante a isto, concluímos que os incentivos promovidos pelas organizações internacionais na esteira da definição de agendas sustentáveis, como os ODM, possuem grande potencial contributivo para a consolidação de projetos que visem a promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável. / This paper aims to analyze the impact of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) defined by the United Nations (UN) on the creation and deployment of projects focused on sustainable development, focusing on the perspective of small Brazilian farmers. In order to achieve this objective, a qualitative exploratory research was undertaken through case studies on the \"Food and Nutrition Security Network\" and \"Caatinga Climate\" projects, promoted by the City Hall of Maracanaú (CE) and the Caatinga Association , respectively. The sample was selected considering the presence of the projects in the 2013 edition of the Brazil ODM Award, its location in the most contemplated state (Ceará), and the division of the award in the categories \"Municipal Governments\" and \"Social Organizations\". The research included in-depth interviews and group interviews with leaders and beneficiaries of the two projects, which, together with the analysis of documents from primary and secondary sources and unstructured observation within the context of project execution, provided the elucidation of the roles and influence of the UN and public policies for the development and maturing of the studied projects. Following the investigation, it was found that UN initiatives under the Millennium Development Goals, although having a low impact on the motivation that led to the creation of the projects analyzed, have played a relevant role in their respective developments, contributing to their reorientation to the long-term planning and facilitating the establishment of strategic partnerships. In addition, the public policies have proved to be an important tool in the process of intervention and transformation of realities of social vulnerability and environmental degradation. It was concluded that the incentives promoted by international organizations through the definition of sustainable agendas, such as the MDGs, have great contributory potential for the consolidation of projects regarding the promotion of sustainable development.

Cette thèse décrit les systèmes de production agricole en termes de flux biogéochimiques d’azote (N), de phosphore (P) et de carbone (C) dans les territoires français de 1852 à 2014 suivant une approche socio-écologique qui permet d’appréhender les logiques qui les gouvernent. Les résultats obtenus mettent en lumière à l’échelle des territoires français le lien systémique entre structures de production, bilans N et P et variations des stocks de C organique dans les sols agricoles. Les systèmes agricoles intensifs et spécialisés engendrent les pertes environnementales et les consommations de ressources par unité de surface agricole les plus considérables et accentuent l’ouverture des cycles d’N et de P. Cependant, c’est seulement après la seconde guerre mondiale que certaines régions françaises se sont spécialisées dans la grande culture ou, à partir des années 1980, dans l’élevage intensif. La période des années 1950 à 1980 est marquée par l’accélération des rendements des cultures végétales, de la densité de cheptel et de l’usage des fertilisants minéraux. Les conséquences en ont été une augmentation des bilans N et P et des apports de C aux sols agricoles, causant des pertes considérables d’N vers l’hydrosphère et l’atmosphère et l’augmentation des stocks de P et de C dans les sols. Néanmoins, l’accumulation du C n’a été rendue possible que par le recours aux fertilisants minéraux et au machinisme agricole consommant des énergies fossiles. Ainsi, le stockage du C dans les sols représente un effet secondaire du passage d’un métabolisme énergétique dépendant de l’énergie solaire à un métabolisme fondé sur la combustion d’énergie fossile. / This work investigates agricultural systems from the angle of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) fluxes in French regions from 1852 to 2014, following a socio-metabolic approach stressing out the underlying logic behind these material fluxes. Results brought out by this research highlight the systemic relation between production pattern and N and P balances, and changes in soil organic C stocks in agricultural soil. Intensive specialized agricultural systems generate high environmental losses and resource consumption per unit agricultural surface and present largely open nutrient cycles due to substantial trade flows. Conversely, integrated crop and livestock farming have more limited N and P consumption and lead to lower air and water contamination. Long-term analysis shows that only after the Second World War, under the pressure of strong interventionist policies, some French regions specialized into crop or livestock farming. Particularly, the period from the 1950’s to the 1980’s was marked by a concomitant acceleration in crops yields, livestock production and use of mineral fertilizers. This resulted in increased N and P balances over cropland and grassland and growing C inputs to cropland, causing important losses of N to the hydrosphere and atmosphere, together with the accumulation of P and C stocks in soils. However, C accumulation resulting from increased crop production was permitted by the increased recourse to mineral fertilizers and agricultural machinery which consumes fossil-fuel energy. Therefore, C storage in cropland was a side-effect of the shift from an energy metabolism based on solar energy to one based on fossil-fuel combustion.

This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens. First, two current environmental and societal problems are highlighted: the industrialized food system and what Richard Louv has termed, "Nature Deficit Disorder," in children. School gardens are then presented as an effective tool that can address and remedy such issues. Lastly, a how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools is provided as well as a few sample lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the garden in each subject across the curriculum.

To address the negative environmental, political, and social consequences of the dominant, industrialized global food system, communities around the world have developed goals and values underlying a sustainable food system. Conceptualizing food production, distribution, and consumption as systems helps clarify the ways food affects social and natural environments, with the distribution element as the critical juncture where the product reaches the consumer. Urban food systems are a particularly important environment in which to study movements toward sustainability. This paper focuses on the movement for a sustainable food system in Portland, Oregon, with particular focus on the city’s markets for food acquisition – food retail, farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture endeavors, restaurants, food service and distribution companies, institutional purchasing programs, and community gardens, as well as the organizations that support the work of these businesses and programs. Leaders in the field of sustainable food systems are now beginning to operate with a strategy for change that emphasizes incorporating sustainable food products and sustainable food system values into mainstream food markets instead of remaining in niche, alternative markets as has occurred in the past. This notion is supported by economic and social theories including the consumer information model, stakeholder theory, social movement theories of change, and network theories. This paper explores the extent to which Portland food distribution businesses, programs, and organizations attempt to fulfill the goals of a sustainable food system movement with moving from niche to mainstream in mind. The fact that the movement is in fact acting according to new strategies for change emphasizing the mainstream is indicated by the movement’s extensive consumer education and creative use of marketing, strong social and business networks, and organized local policy influences.