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BIO

V. Ernesto Méndez serves on the leadership team of the Institute for Agroecology as Co-Director and is a Professor of Agroecology at �պ�����’s Department of Agriculture, Landscape, and Environment (ALE). His research and teaching focus on agroecology, agrifood systems, smallholder coffee systems, participatory action research (PAR), and transdisciplinary research approaches.

At �պ�����, he is also a faculty member of the Food Systems Graduate Program, fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, and active in advancing issues of inclusion, equity, and belonging. He has over 25 years of experience working with smallholder farmers and Indigenous communities in Latin America and collaborating in agroecology initiatives in a wide diversity of regions. Recently, these efforts have expanded across the world and currently include education and research initiatives in the Northeast U.S.A., Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Since 2022, he serves as vice-president of the board of directors of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA). 

Selected Publications

Méndez, V.E. et al (Special Issue Editors) (2024-) Agroecology and conscious food systems for flourishing of people, places, and planet. Challenges

Brock, S., Baker, L., A. Jekums, F. Ahmed, M. Fernandez, M. Montenegro de Wit, F.J. Rosado-May, V.E. Méndez, C. Anderson, F. DeClerck, M. Anderson, R. Bezner Kerr, B. Hoare, H.Wittman, A. Peeters, P. Gubbels, C. Stancu, S. Bellon, J. Lundgren, S. Renduchintala , V.Thallam , J. Maland Cady, P. Rogé (2024) A wider lens of evidence is essential for food systems transformations. Nature Food 5: 342-345. Link

Gliessman, S.R., V.E. Méndez, V.M. Izzo and E.W. Engles (2022) Agroecology: Leading the transformation to a just and sustainable food system. 4th Edition. Ed. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis: Boca Raton, FL.

Guzmán Luna, A., C.M. Bacon, V.E. Méndez, M.E. Flores Gómez, J. Anderzén, M. Mier y Terán Giménez Cacho, R. Hernández Jonapá, M. Rivas, H.A. Duarte Canales and Á.N. Benavides González (2022) Toward Food Sovereignty: Transformative Agroecology and Participatory Action Research With Coffee Smallholder Cooperatives in Mexico and Nicaragua. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6:10.3389/fsufs.2022.810840

Cuéllar, M., D.López-García, A.Azevedo-Olival, N.P.Laranjeira, V.E. Méndez, et. al. 2021. Building Agroecology with people. Challenges of participatory methods to deepen on the agroecological transition in different contexts. Journal of Rural Studies, 83. .

Méndez, V.E., M. Caswell, S.R. Gliessman & R. Cohen. 2017. Integrating Agroecology and Participatory Action Research (PAR): Lessons from Central America. Invited Article for a Special Issue on “Agroecology at the Crossroads: Challenges for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems”. Sustainability [open access] 9(5):705. .

Méndez, V.E., C.M. Bacon, R. Cohen and S.R. Gliessman (2015) Agroecology: a transdisciplinary, participatory and action-oriented approach. Advances in Agroecology. CRC Press/Taylor and Francis.

Associations and Affiliations

• Faculty Fellow, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, �պ�����
• Faculty, Food Systems Graduate Program, �պ�����
• Adjunct Professor, M.S. Agroecology/Sustainable Rural Development, Universidad Internacional de Analucía
• Adjunct Professor, Graduate Program in Environment and Society, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain
• Affiliated Researcher Community Agroecology Network

Awards and Achievements

(2020). University of California, Santa Cruz.

Hubert W. Vogelmann Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship (2015).College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Vermont.

Lynne Bond Outstanding Faculty Service Learning Award (2015). Community and University Partnerships Office (CUPS), University of Vermont.

Area(s) of expertise

Agroecology, Participatory Action Research, Food Security and Sovereignty, Transdisciplinarity, Agroecology Principles