I am an anthropologist and human geographer focusing on agriculture and food. As an interdisciplinary researcher, I’m interested in the way food interconnects the health of people, societies, animals and the environment. I do this through systems thinking, political ecology and more-than-human geography. My research has been focused primarily in the UK and Latin America. Having worked in diverse settings, I am interested in the role of social sciences and participatory methods in interdisciplinary projects (within and beyond academia) related to agrifood systems and sustainable, equitable development.

There are three principal strands to my research...

The first strand is on socio-ecological tensions between agriculture and the environmental conservation, with special attention to livelihoods and food security, notably under the dominant paradigms of intensive and/or agro-extractivist farming. Three projects speak to this. During my post-doctoral work on a NERC-AHRC-funded interdisciplinary project (2019-2021), my research focused on the socio-environmental struggles of campesinos at the intersection between farming, conservation policies and environmental change in the Colombian Páramos ecosystem. Recently, I've been Co-I on a largely biomedical project in Argentina looking at antibiotic use and resistance in livestock farming (2021-2024). I led the social science workstream exploring challenges of environment, health and livelihoods on dairy farms. With a University Strategic Fund (2023-2027), I am collaborating with the Schools of Biological and Geographical Sciences on rewilding, supervising two PhDs exploring the tensions and synergies between rewilding conservation and farming in the UK, from ecology and human geography perspectives.

The second strand focuses on the food systems of marginalised peoples in situations of protracted crises, considering malnutrition, food security and the nutrition transition with compounding factors such as conflict, climate change and oppression. In particular, I explore indigenous knowledge and biocultural heritage related to agriculture and health in contexts of protracted crises. This builds on early and current work primarily in Guatemala, with a commitment to equitable partnerships, transdisciplinarity and decolonisation. Through this work we developed a Food Systems in Protracted Crises Framework. This strand also links to various smaller projects about how our food production, trade, policies, culture and identity contribute to or hinder resilience, equitable societies, food security and healthy diets for all. 

The final strand of my work focuses on justice, activism, community engagement and collaboration, and food resilience. This began with generating a new oral history public archive for the British Library on food activism as part of my PhD (2018). Presently, as a founding member and co-lead of the UoB Food Justice Network (FJN) research group, and a Board Director of Bristol Food Network CIC, I support work and collaboration towards socio-ecologically just food systems, including through creative means, e.g. artist collaborations (see outputs from Brigstow-funded project ‘Who’s In Our Food’). A key project I am currently working on with colleagues at the University, Bristol Food Network, Feeding Bristol, and UWE is developing a Disaster Risk Plan (DRiPlan) for Food Security and resilience.   

At BVS I co-founded and co-lead the Sustainable Agri-Food Systems (SAFS) research community. I remain affiliated with several research groups in the Geography School, including the Political Ecology group. At University level I am the co-lead for the Food Security theme at the Cabot Institute for the Environment, and co-founder and co-lead of the Food Justice Network. Externally, I am a board director for the Bristol Food Network CIC, and sit on the Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC).