Sustainability News

We are honored to be recognized by FoodTank as one of the 122 organizations working towards building more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems in 2022! To see the full list, you can click here.

FoodTank’s mission is to build a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. They spotlight and support environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change. 

FoodTank brings food systems leaders together in new and exciting ways, such as through panels, workshops, summits, and even interactive musicals. The Swette Center had the privilege of partnering with them for the Wisdom of Indigenous Foodways Summit in January 2020. The event included many inspiring indigenous speakers that are passionate about indigenous foodways and rights, and connected them with allies eager to support them. The summit “showed that it is important to listen to Native communities, learn from their agricultural practices, and protect their rights to protect the food system.” 

In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Gina Nichols, Assistant Research Professor. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Joshua MacFadyen, Affiliate Global Futures Scholar in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture, University of Prince Edward Island.

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Milan Shrestha, Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Senior Lecturer in the School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures.

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Jane Coghlan, Student Worker. 

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Carly Wyman, Senior Research Specialist. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Bryan Leonard, Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Assistant Professor in the School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures.

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By Luke Swette, Swette Center Student Worker 

Hawai’i remains one of the most beloved states in the country because of its beauty and deep-rooted culture. However, this has not prevented the islands from facing numerous challenges, both socially and economically. For example, it is home to the most sought-after seafood and produce, yet its average grocery prices continue to rise. This is happening for a variety of reasons, mainly because larger corporations make it harder for small businesses to thrive. Among other things, Hawai’i’s food security is an important issue that becomes more complicated the more it is researched.

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For the culmination of his work for the summer as a student worker for the Swette Center, Tucker Larson spent a week at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Upstate New York. Read more about his visit and how it relates to what he is learning at ASU below. 

A sustainable food system is far from linear. Web might be the most accurate representation. It is a flow of materials facilitated by communication networks through the system promoting resilience and diversity. When you pull on one piece of the web, the other sides start to stretch and become distorted. The makeup of each system is different and the results from interactions with one will not necessarily be the same when imposed on another. Each piece of the system and the connections they share with one another make up the foundation, determining how it can flex and adapt. Our food systems will never function sustainably if they are not understood in a larger picture, and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is working to further that understanding. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Marco Janssen, Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Professor in the School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures; Director for the Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Jesse Dart, Assistant Research Professor. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Netra Chhetri, Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory & Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, College of Global Futures. 

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By Elora Bevacqua, Swette Center Student Worker 

At first glance, gardening may seem like just a bunch of plants, but upon further inspection, it has enormous impacts on people and their well-being. The recently published article, Gardening for Food Well-Being in the COVID-19 Era, was based on a study done by Estève Giraud, Sara El-Sayed, and Adenike Opejin. The trio looked into the impacts of gardening on well-being in schools, related to COVID-19 and food justice. To assess the relationship between gardening and these variables, they conducted three studies that built on each other. These studies took place between 2018-2021 with the pandemic becoming an added factor. The group concluded that gardening has significant impacts on a child’s hedonic well-being which is associated with a sense of pleasure and positive emotions. Children in the study enjoyed the pleasures of being outdoors, tasting fresh produce, and interacting with their peers and teachers. Additionally, gardening had an impact on the eudemonic well-being of teachers which is associated with a sense of fulfillment and purpose in life. Gardening with their students gave them a sense of purpose. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Daniel Fischer, Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory & Associate Professor for Consumer Communication and Sustainability, Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.

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By Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University

President Joe Biden has called for an all-of-government response to climate change that looks for solutions and opportunities in every sector of the U.S. economy. That includes agriculture, which emits over 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent every year – more than the total national emissions of the United Kingdom, Australia, France or Italy.

Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are concerned about climate change and willing to make lifestyle changes to address it. Other surveys show that many U.S. consumers are worried about possible health risks of eating food produced with pesticides, antibiotics and hormones.

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Colleen Hanley, Senior Food Systems Specialist. 

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By Kelly McClelland, M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems Graduate

A truly sustainable food system is a food system that provides healthy food for all communities. In my food systems career in Flint, MI, I have observed that adequate nutrition is especially important in a community that has been subject to environmental injustice and social inequality. The Flint Water Crisis and COVID-19 pandemic have both highlighted that in order to support community-wide health in Flint, a sustainable local food system that provides equitable access to healthy options must be cultivated.

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Dr. Joni Adamson, President's Professor, Environmental Humanities, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, & Distinguished Global Futures Scholar, GFL.

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center senior fellows to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. 

Read on for an interview with Alexander Müller, Former State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture.

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By Katie Poirier, M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems Graduate 

In the mid-20th century, Arizona was one of the most productive agricultural states. Warm temperatures contributed to plentiful harvests of crops such as cotton, alfalfa, and citrus. Arizona’s central cities and rural towns identified with agricultural production. This agricultural tradition is reflected in the Arizona state flag, and occupies 3 of 5 coveted C’s of Arizona (cotton, citrus, cattle, copper, and climate).

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