Political Ecology, Food Studies, Environmental Humanities

My work centers on the theme of ‘just transitions’ in agri-food systems, asking how sustainability efforts can generate more equitable and inclusive futures.

My research and teaching focus on sustainability and climate resilience in agri-food contexts. I take a place-based, empirical approach, examining contemporary dynamics as well as how historical processes condition agri-food systems and efforts to make them ‘better.’ I am particularly interested in the role of environmental knowledge (how do we come to know food’s environmental problems and how does this influence solutions?) and how initiatives and policies address social inequities. I approach food from ‘farm to fork’ through multi-sited ethnographies. This involves work with farmers and rural communities as well as actors across food systems. I strive to decenter human perspectives through more-than-human methods and to explore complex human experiences through participatory arts-based approaches (e.g. Photovoice) that disrupt the researcher-researched dynamic.

Since 2022, I have been a Researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. I have Bachelor’s degrees in Zoology and English, a Master’s in Sustainability and Environment, and a PhD in Geography. Before joining the Stockholm Resilience Centre, I was a Fellow in Gender, Environment and Development at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and a Postdoc at the University of Oxford.

My work addresses four interlinked topics and themes:

Agri-food sustainability: My research within this theme has considered dairy, plant-based proteins, and almonds. This began during my postdoc with the LEAP project at Oxford, which considered responses to the links between animal food systems and climate change. My current five-year project (2022-2026), AFTER: Agri-food Transformation for Equitable Resilience, focuses on almonds. Funded by the Swedish Agency for Sustainable Development, AFTER asks how almonds (a drought-tolerant plant) have become water-intensive, including the implications for landscapes and livelihoods. Through knowledge co-production and more-than-human ethnography (with plants, soils, and pollinators), I examine systemic obstacles to sustainability and equity.

Climate-smart agriculture: This research asks what climate resilience means for smallholder farmers within Africa's 'New Green Revolution.' It focuses on Rwanda, where I have spent more than three years since 2012, including two years of community-engaged and multi-sited fieldwork. My writing focuses on how development programs influence climate vulnerabilities and adaptation pathways, the gendered dimensions of agrarian change, and agroecology. This work was funded by the US Agency for International Development and Fulbright.

Forest restoration and Regenerative agriculture: Regenerative agriculture and forest restoration are framed as ‘nature-based solutions’ to environmental problems. I have examined landscape restoration initiatives and reforestation agendas in Rwanda, focusing on their implications for rural livelihoods. Since 2019, I have studied regenerative agriculture in Europe. This emerging movement emphasizes soil care and agro-ecosystem restoration to improve the resilience of farms and rural communities.

Political ecologies of plant health: This interdisciplinary project (2025-2029) focuses on the ongoing epidemic of Xylella fastidiosa in Mediterranean Europe. Grounded in political ecology and the environmental humanities, it employs Q-methodology, interviews, and multispecies ethnography to explore how plant health intersects with broader processes of agrarian change. We also use landscape walks and participatory Photovoice workshops to understand the visceral, emotional experience of landscape transformation.