Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Social and political policy, human activities, and environmental change affect the ways in which microbial communities assemble and interact with people. These factors determine how different social groups are exposed to beneficial and/or harmful microorganisms, meaning microbial exposure has an important socioecological justice context. Therefore, greater consideration of microbial exposure and social equity in research, planning, and policy is imperative. Here, we identify 20 research questions considered fundamentally important to promoting equitable exposure to beneficial microorganisms, along with safeguarding resilient societies and ecosystems. The 20 research questions we identified span seven broad themes, including the following: (i) sociocultural interactions; (ii) Indigenous community health and well-being; (iii) humans, urban ecosystems, and environmental processes; (iv) human psychology and mental health; (v) microbiomes and infectious diseases; (vi) human health and food security; and (vii) microbiome-related planning, policy, and outreach. Our goal was to summarize this growing field and to stimulate impactful research avenues while providing focus for funders and policymakers.

Agri-Food Markets towards Sustainable Patterns

In recent decades, the confluence of different global and domestic drivers has led to progressive and unpredictable changes in the functioning and structure of agri-food markets worldwide. Given the unsustainability of the current agri-food production, processing, distribution and consumption patterns, and the inadequate governance of the whole food system, the transition to sustainable agriculture and food systems has become crucial to effectively manage a global agri-food market able in supporting expected population growth and ensuring universal access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all. Based on a critical review of the existing international literature, the paper seeks to understand the evolutionary paths of sustainability issues within agri-food markets by analyzing their drivers and trends. An extensive analysis was conducted highlighting the development and importance of the body of knowledge on the most important sustainability transition frameworks, focusing mainly on the relationship between markets, trade, food and nutrition security, and other emerging issues within agri-food markets. Finally, the study makes suggestions to extend the research in order to improve basic knowledge and to identify opportunities to design meaningful actions that can shape agri-food markets and foster their transition to sustainability.

Challenging the Agrarian Imaginary: Farmworker-Led Food Movements and the Potential for Farm Labor Justice

This article addresses the need for more engagement between the alternative food movement and the food labor movement in the United States. Drawing on the notion of agrarian imaginary, I argue for the need to break down divides between producer and consumer, rural and urban, and individual and community based approaches to changing the food system. I contend that farmworker-led consumer-based campaigns and solidarity movements, such as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) current Campaign for Fair Food, and The United Farmworkers’ historical grape boycotts, successfully work to challenge this imaginary, drawing consumers into movement-based actions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with farmworkers and farmworker advocates in California and Florida, this research illustrates the possibilities for alternative food movement advocates and coalitions to build upon farmworker-led campaigns and embrace workers as leaders.