While agroecology has been most robust in shaping the ecological design of agroecosystems and enhancing food production, its relationship with health requires further exploration and support. Emerging research highlights agroecology’s significant potential to contribute to planetary and human health (Gallegos-Riofrío et al., 2022a). Agroecological practices create opportunities for meaningful work and foster deep connections with nature—interactions that, in other contexts, have been linked to improved mental and physical well-being (Gallegos-Riofrío et al., 2022b). This UVM IFA research program, coordinated by Carlos Andres Gallegos-Riofrío and Amaya Carrasco-Torrontegui, aims to engage faculty, students, and global partners in exploring the connections between agroecology and health. It fosters dialogue across disciplines, including public health, nutrition, psychology, anthropology, and sociology, while linking agroecology to global frameworks such as Planetary Health, Nature and Human Health, and One Health. Additionally, it integrates diverse ontologies within the human-nature nexus, drawing from eco-systemic and relational philosophies (see Gallegos, Zent & Gould, 2022).



Our promise:
Agroecology to nurture a reciprocal, supportive, and co-learning space with the capacity to amplify holistic views for life and good living (cosmovisions), diversify the nature and health evidence (e.g., by including agrarian communities), and mobilize strategic action with genuine inclusion.
Agroecology plays a crucial role in restoring and healing Mother Earth. It aligns with a planetary health perspective that recognizes health as an interconnected system encompassing nature, humans, and the ecological networks that sustain life. This research program of the IFA focuses on the intricate links between Agroecology, Health, Nutrition, and Cognition, exploring how agroecological transitions can serve as pathways to individual, community, and planetary well-being.
This hub is supported by a global network that brings together keepers and advocates of ancestral and traditional epistemologies in the Andes, researchers at the University of Vermont and U.S. institutions (e.g., Nature and Human Health Alliance), Indigenous and Latin American scholars, and practitioners from grassroots organizations and NGOs in both the Andes and the U.S. Additionally, it fosters community-based partnerships, such as the Initiative.
“Considering that planetary health (i.e., intertwined human-ecosystem health) is largely contingent on the Ethnosphere (i.e., the planet's rich cultural web), we encourage future studies to test nature's mental health/wellbeing effects pluralistically and beyond an unrepresentative subset of humankind.”
(Gallegos-Riofrío, Arab, Carrasco-Torrontegui & Gould, 2022: 9)
From the perspectives of health, well-being (Buen Vivir), and nutrition, these collaborations form part of the Knowledge Network for Agroecology Transformations constellation, strengthening the collective understanding and application of agroecological principles across diverse contexts.
“[...] soil, water, sun, wind, human being, and every living being live in harmony, connected. When the human being alters this order of nature, there comes hunger, famine, diseases, and therefore, malnutrition and displacement of populations from one place to another”
(Kichwa-Puruwá Elder, Caliata 2018; see: Gallegos-Riofrío et al., 2021a: 71)
Project Research Leads
Carlos Andres Gallegos-Riofrío
Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Agroecology
c.a.gallegos@uvm.eduPostdoctoral Associate • Co-coordinator of Andes Region in Agroecology Support Team
Amaya.Carrasco@uvm.edu