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Fig. 1. Monocultural potato field.<\/em>\u00a0Wikipedia. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Monoculture.<\/p>\n Picture a farm. What comes to mind? Rows on rows of corn, barns full of chickens, all sprawling over acres of clear-cut land? This is the dominant approach to agriculture, known as capital intensive farming, which involves using nature for human needs on large-scale farms (Halpin, 2026). This approach typically involves converting natural habitat to agricultural land, thereby displacing native species and causing biodiversity loss (Halpin, 2026; Nath & O\u2019Reilly, 2016; Owino et al, 2022). These losses are exacerbated by the monoculture method of growing crops, meaning a single crop is grown at a time (Nath & O\u2019Reilly, 2016). Finally, this model of food production relies on synthetic inputs, such as pesticides, to successfully grow crops (Halpin, 2026). Any problems that arise are solved with a science and technology-forward approach (Halpin, 2026). The goal is standardization, efficiency, and mass production, and it is driven by business interests (Habib, 2025).<\/p>\n However dominant this food production model might be, it is not sufficient for meeting the nutritional needs of our growing human population. 690 million people went hungry in 2022, and this number will rise to more than 840 million by the end of the decade (Owino et al, 2022). Furthermore, as climate change progresses and the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere increases, plant protein and micronutrient contents will continue to drop, resulting in poorer nutritional values (Owino et al, 2022). So, in the face of these issues, what can be done?<\/p>\n Fortunately, there are already alternative models of food production that treat farms as ecosystems and nature as more than just for human use (Halpin, 2026). Alternative models of food production involve using more, smaller farms instead of few large farms, and limiting growth on the whole (Halpin, 2026). Polyculture, which involves multiple types of crops in the same space so they can form interrelationships, replaces monoculture (Frey & Czolba, 2017; Halpin, 2026). This also means using fewer to no synthetic inputs, as well as less technology and energy intensive farming methods (Halpin, 2026). This results in farms that are more sustainable and resilient, soil that is healthier and with higher moisture and carbon retention, and a lower agricultural environmental impact on the whole (Halpin, 2026).<\/p>\n Fig. 2. Food forest. <\/em>Hobby Farms.\u00a0www.hobbyfarms.com\/permaculture-food-forest-farm\/.<\/p>\n So, what do alternative models of food production actually look like in practice? One example is the food forest, a system that was and still is used in many Indigenous communities worldwide (Frey & Czolba, 2017). Food forests are a type of polyculture that mimics a natural forest system, except that the plants are deliberately chosen as continual food sources for humans (Frey & Czolba, 2017). With careful cultivation, food forests can produce food all year round, as different plants come in and out of season (Frey & Czolba, 2017).<\/p>\n Fig 3. An indoor small scale hydroponic system<\/em>. Terrascope. https:\/\/terrascope2024.mit.edu\/?page_id=312.<\/p>\n Another alternative to conventional agriculture bypasses the issue of poor soil health altogether. Soil-less agriculture, including techniques such hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics, reduces the need for pesticides and inputs, thereby reducing many of the environmental harms involved in agriculture (Habib, 2025; Terrascope, 2024). These types of farms can be constructed vertically and are \u201cstackable,\u201d so they take up less space than conventional farms (Habib, 2025; Terrascope, 2024). Like food forests, they are capable of producing food year-round (Habib, 2025). In my opinion, this makes soil-less agriculture uniquely suited to urban areas that could not ordinarily support agriculture, helping to shorten food chains and provide food security.<\/p>\n What models of alternative agriculture do you find the most intriguing? Where do you see potential for improving models of food production? Are there any drawbacks to alternative agriculture as compared to conventional agriculture, and how can we overcome them?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n References<\/p>\n Frey, D. & Czolba, M. (2017). The Food Forest Handbook: Design and Manage a Home-Scale Perennial Polyculture Garden<\/em>. New Society Publishers. https:\/\/research.ebsco.com\/c\/rd5flh\/ebook-viewer\/pdf\/adbxc6enhr\/page\/pp_v<\/a>.<\/p>\n Habib, M., Singh, S., Jan, S., Jan, K., & Bashir, K. (2025). The future of the future foods: understandings from the past towards SDG-2.<\/em> NPJ. file:\/\/\/C:\/Users\/iphec\/Downloads\/The%20future%20of%20future%20foods_understandings%20from%20the%20past…-1.pdf.<\/p>\n Halpin, J. Personal communication [lecture], September 10, 2026.<\/p>\n Nath, T.K. & O\u2019Reilly, P. (Eds.) (2016). Monoculture Farming: Global Practices, Ecological Impact and Benefits\/Drawbacks.<\/em> Nova. https:\/\/research.ebsco.com\/c\/rd5flh\/ebook-viewer\/pdf\/vemm43pem5\/page\/pp_ii<\/a>.<\/p>\n Owino, V., Kumwenda, C., Ekesa, B., Parker, M.E., Ewoldt, L., Roos, N., Lee, W.T., & Tome, D. (2022). The impact of climate change on food systems, diet quality, nutrition, and health outcomes: A narrative review. <\/em>Frontiers. https:\/\/courses.dickinson.edu\/d2l\/le\/lessons\/13187\/topics\/184293<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/11221658\/food-forest-boehnlein-featured.jpg\")
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