A Green New Deal for agriculture: Whither capitalism?

COVID-19 has highlighted the destructiveness of modern agro-industry upon biosphere and humanity. Its contribution to environmental degradation intertwines with socio-economic inequality and labor exploitation. There are increasing calls for a Green New Deal (GND) to counter these dangers. This chapter argues that a GND for agriculture must combat environmental degradation, social inequality and labor exploitation, rather than aim to re-boot capitalist economies. This chapter identifies a number of areas for discussion and political action – reorientation of state subsidies, workers’ rights, agrarian reform, the decommodification of food, agroecology, possibilities for urban agriculture, the application of new technologies and rewilding.