My dissertation examined the cultural politics and the political economy of gastrodevelopment – a term that describes how cities are increasingly turning to food culture as a motor for economic development. I examine this broader topic through fieldwork in Tucson, Arizona, which was the first city in the US to gain recognition as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. This is a designation that recognizes the unique agricultural and food heritage of the region and is also meant to leverage food culture as a means of sustainable development in cities around the world. I examine how food culture is being used as a means of economic development in Tucson and who can claim the value produced through the celebration and commodification of food heritage.

>> Read "Consuming the creative city: Gastrodevelopment in a UNESCO     City of Gastronomy."

>> Watch this talk I gave in the cities@Tufts series. 

>> Listen to it as a podcast.

>> Read our report on how to make Tucson's Gastrodevelopment project more socially just. 

Before the pandemic, I was conducting fieldwork in north India. This work focused on farmers' narratives of agrarian change amidst a shift (back) to organic farming. This work is also concerned with themes of development, place, and social movements.

>> Read my paper "Embodied political ecology: Sensing agrarian change in north India."

>> Read my paper "Rights of nature” in translation: Assemblage geographies, boundary objects, and translocal social movements" about rights of nature discourse in India.

Building food system resilience: COVID-19's impacts on southern Arizona's food system

This collaborative project examines the impacts of COVID-19 on the local food system of southern Arizona. The study consists of a survey with food producers; interviews with food producers, distributors, and food system organizations; and focus groups with food system actors. The aim of the project is to document the impacts of the pandemic on southern Arizona's food system, derive lessons from these disruptions, and support the development of a more resilient local food system.

>> View our public report on the impacts of COVID-19 on southern Arizona's food system.

>> Read our op-ed on the impacts of the pandemic and the need for workforce development programs in Arizona agriculture.