The transition towards a food system that is resilient to the impacts of climate change will require drastic changes from production to consumption, and may require short-term sacrifices.

Recent farmer revolts in Europe coupled with significant shifts in our global climate system have sparked a flurry of concern and discussion in the media and public discourse. This focused mostly on the impact of policies aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.

In this article, we argue that the protests were stimulated by deeper political-economy problems in agriculture and food systems rather than environmental regulations. These factors point to why an ecological transition in food systems (including in South Africa) remains imperative, but the shift must be accompanied by interventions to address power and resource inequities for a more fair and sustainable food system.

For many analysts, the recent farmer protests across Europe question the wisdom of regulations to address agriculture's environmental problems, including its contributions to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

For example, a recent Daily Maverick article by Wandile Sihlobo drew attention to our country's economic vulnerabilities to the European farmer protests, and the potential blowback of policy interventions motivated by environmental concerns, such as reduced pesticide and artificial fertiliser use.

However, the motivations behind the protests are not as simple as Sihlobo asserted. They were not provoked simply by environmental...