Episode summary
What does “sustainable agriculture” actually mean, and why do scientists disagree about it? This episode explores how two influential scientific discourses - Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification - start from different values, ask different questions, and often talk past each other. Drawing on an interdisciplinary study at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, ecologist Riccardo Bommarco and ethicist Helena Rocklinsberg examine how those different approaches shape research, priorities, and solutions. The conversation turns to what might change when scientists begin to listen to each other across divides.
Article: Progress towards sustainable agriculture hampered by siloed scientific discourses (Klara Fischer et al., 2025)
Figures from the article
Fig. 2: Bibliometric frequency analysis of KeyWords Plus
Fig. 3: Bibliometric co-occurrence network of KeyWords Plus.
About Riccardo Bommarco
Riccardo is a Professor in Agricultural Entomology at the Department of Ecology at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He performs research on insect and plant ecology in agricultural landscapes, and how each influences plant protection, pollination and yield of agricultural crops. Riccardo leads the Bommarco Lab, an interdisciplinary researcher group focused on ecology, economics, policy and conversions of agriculture and food systems.
About Helena Rocklinsberg
Helena Rocklinserg is Senior Lecturer in animal ethics at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Her main field of research is animal ethics and food ethics, often performed in an interdisciplinary setting. SHe is teaching at all educations related to animals, i.e. at the program for agronomy, animal protection, and veterinary medicine.
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Report: Can regenerative agriculture deliver nutritious food and a just food system? (TABLE, 2026)
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Behind the paper
"The research for this article was performed with support from the Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. IDA was established to promote interdisciplinarity across the university. Through our participation in IDA, we spent one day per week for eight months discussing interdisciplinarity in agricultural research. Our team held a mix of competencies in research areas and methods, including, but not limited to, communication research, rural development, entomology, hydrology, theoretical biology, applied ethics, discourse analysis and systems analysis. In our discussions and joint writing, we could make use of our broad competence and diverse experiences, but this diversity also sometimes made our joint work difficult, leading to misunderstandings and slowing progress. Writing the article as an interdisciplinary team was an important learning process for us." - Klara Fischer
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