Towards stronger agroecology in Europe: Exploring areas of consensus and friction around its defining principles, and call for action

The study surveyed 207 scientists, practitioners, and social movement activists from 21 European countries using Q-methodology to rank agreement on 41 statements reflecting diverse agroecology principles. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct profiles: a political agroecology group advocating radical food system transformation (53%), a techno-optimist minority (15%) supportive of new innovations, and a third profile endorsing animal farming’s role. Participants showed strong consensus on agro-biodiversity, farm socio-economic resilience, spiritual connections to land, and banning agrotoxics and GMOs. However, they diverged on adopting new technologies for climate resilience and on challenging global power structures. These insights inform a more unified and systemic approach to advance agroecology in Europe.