We have an especially robust tradition of studying food through an ecological lens, examining how eating connects people to one another, to land, and to animals—crucial relationships to better understand the political stakes of future food production and sustainability.

Our research combines perspectives from medical anthropology, political ecology, science and technology studies, and the emerging field of planetary health drawing on eco-Marxist, multispecies and decolonial thinking. Grounded in ethnography, we inquire how the extraction of resources—from the earth and oceans, arable land and watertables, livestock and microbial ecologies—transforms landscapes, reshapes social and environmental relations, and unevenly distributes power, value and vulnerability. We analyse how interventions presented as solutions unfold between sites and across scales and how they prioritize particular visions of (multispecies) coexistence over others. We also study how markets and cultures of expertise shape the ways in which we respond to global challenges and how visions of the future emerge through practices of valuing—from scientific research, pricing, checklists and benchmarks to more mundane embodied appreciations such as tasting and cooking.

We are committed to intervening in policy debates, engaging with the broader public, and producing knowledge collaboratively.

Affiliated researchers