My research focuses on sustainable food systems and their role in responding to climate change, resource scarcities, new technologies, and demands for social justice. My current focus is evaluating the potential for diet change and local food systems to contribute to solving the health, environmental/climate, and equity crises. My main research currently at the U of California and UCSB is the Healthy Beverage Initiative.

The UCSB Healthy Beverage Initiative Research Group

The Healthy Beverage Initiative (HBI) of the University of California (UC) has the goals of decreasing sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) on our campuses, and increasing the availability of tap water as an alternative. The UCSB Healthy Beverage Initiative Research Group (UCSB HBIRG) began in fall 2019 as part of the UC HBI.

The UCSB HBIRG is dedicated to understanding our campus beverage environment and its effects on students, staff and faculty. Based on our research to date, we are advocating for the termination of UCSB's pouring rights contract with PepsiCo, because this contract has negative effects on health, social equity and the environment, and is in conflict with the public good mission of our campus.

By the end of 2021 we will also complete an assessment of the environmental benefits of different scenarios for reducing sales of SSBs and other commercial beverages on campus, including bottled water, and increasing tap water accessibility. 

In future we plan to estimate the health and environmental benefits of reducing SSB consumption and increasing water consumption. The reduced risk of disease from lower SSB consumption has been shown to decrease health care costs and their environmental impacts.

For more information see the UCSB HBIRG website.

HBIRG is also on Instagram and Facebook.