Discursive mindscapes in regenerative agriculture: implications for transformation

This thesis uses action-oriented practice-research to explore regenerative agricultural discourse and its transformative potential. The analysis identifies nine discourses contributing to the over-arching discourse of regenerative agriculture (a discourse coalition). The thesis describes these component discourses and discusses tensions that may make RA vulnerable to co-optation and greenwashing, diluting its transformative potential. Processes of discursive structuration and institutionalisation may result in regenerative agriculture shedding its more transformative elements. Instead, agricultural transformation requires discourses that divest the logic of coloniality and encourage place-sourced, relational interpretations of regenerative agriculture. These need to tell a story that can be globally shared, but locally adapted. You can view the thesis here.

“At the base of a banner tree were thousands of spiders sitting in their web. The farmer asked, ‘what is the value of those spiders?’ I guessed, they trap the insects and therefore protect the bananas? ‘Maybe…’ he answered. He didn’t know. ‘None of us know!’ he exalted. ‘All we know is that this tree produces beautiful bananas. Be careful, attempts to understand this tree quickly become attempts to control it.’” It’s sometimes more important to accept and value the mystery of the spiders.

Gordon 2023, p.18