The main goals of an AES are the maintenance and improvement of the following facets of the food system (Helenius et al. 2020):
- The Biological diversity and the ecological community essential for ecosystem function
- The biotic soil, water, and atmospheric condition required by the ecological community
- Recycling of elements, called plant nutrients that the process of primary production of crop plants take up, but need again for the next harvest
- Energy-self-sufficiency of the system through its primary production by photosynthesis of solar energy
- Psychological, socio-cultural (mental, spiritual) connection to the food ecosystem of the people who eat by fostering a sense of food and food citizenship