New World Agriculture and Ecology Group
The New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG) is an organization focused on sustainable agriculture, conservation biology and social justice.
History
Originally known as the New World Agriculture Group, NWAEG (pronounced "new-ag") became active in the 1980s. NWAEG drew inspiration from the 1970s-1980s Science for the People movement, and many of its founding members were active in Science for the People.
NWAEG's best-known project was an intensive effort to provide agricultural research and extension services to the Nicaraguan people during the Sandinista era. Cuba and Chiapas, Mexico are locations of other NWAEG projects, exemplifying the group's informal focus on Latin America.
Statement of principles
"The New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG) is an international organization which analyzes the problems of contemporary agriculture and the environment in order to develop and implement alternatives. We base our work on the premise that the recurrent problems of the human condition, including hunger, poverty, disease, and war, result from power differences between classes.
"Since solutions to agricultural problems are neither wholly technical nor wholly social, we attempt to integrate both technical and social approaches in our research and its applications. We seek to go beyond reforms that do not address the unequal distribution of wealth and power in the world, and we reject approaches to science that pretend to be politically neutral.
"As progressives who recognize the political and ideological nature of science and technology, we strive consciously to direct our work in alliance with the oppressed. As an organization, we also strive to overcome hierarchy, elitism, sexism, and racism. We have an anti-imperialist and humanitarian vision, and are not aligned with any political party."