Research

The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems was born with the mission to build a community of researchers working together to co-create scientific knowledge and evidence-based tools and developments to build a sustainable global food system.

We convene a diverse group of CSFS Associate Faculty, research associates, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from a range of UBC Faculties: Land and Food Systems, Science, Medicine, Arts, and Forestry, support staff and international visitors.

Our research addresses the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of food systems. The interdisciplinary and collaborative research network we support spans a variety of research themes, from land management to Indigenous food sovereignty; from sustainable practices in organic and conventional food production to the study of ecosystem services provided by biodiversity in agroecosystems. A list of current and past research projects led by CSFS Associates can be found below. We are committed to open-access research and data to support widespread knowledge dissemination; see our Dataverse for access to our published datasets.

The UBC Farm is a core facility supporting teaching, research and community engagement for the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, and serves as a long-term Living Laboratory where many of the research ideas proposed by CSFS Associates and external researchers are developed, tested and monitored. To find out about conducting research at the UBC Farm or further collaborations, visit research at the UBC Farm or contact our Janet Moore, Research and Innovation Curator.

Meet our CSFS Associates

Find plain language summaries of our research by visiting:

Our Researchers in the News

Most honey in America is fake — here’s why that matters

Most honey in America is fake — here’s why that matters June 2, 2023 CSFS Associate and biochemistry and molecular biology professor Dr. Leonard Foster said that it’s hard to know how much of the honey in America is fake. “The best way to make sure that you’re getting real honey is to buy directly […]

B.C. scientists bracing for a deadly bat fungus

B.C. scientists bracing for a deadly bat fungus May 15, 2023 CSFS Associate Dr. Matthew Mitchell (Land and Food Systems) and Aaron Aguirre (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability) will spend the summer collecting data on bats in Metro Vancouver. White-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease, has spread across Canada from the east and north […]

Bats in Vancouver: The secret city nightlife

Bats in Vancouver: The secret city nightlife May 12, 2023 CSFS Associate Dr. Matthew Mitchell (Faculty of Land and Food Systems) talks about his research this summer on bats in Vancouver, white-nose syndrome and bat populations across the province. “They’re really under threat. We have 16 species of bats in BC and half of those […]

CSFS Research Programs

BC Food Web

Diversified Agroecosystems Research Cluster

Seed Hub

CSFS Research Projects

Search to view projects by topic or researcher, and toggle between current and archived projects.

Researcher Profiles

CSFS Associate Jennifer Black

Associate Professor

I care about health equity and I care about ensuring that all Canadians can live a healthy, productive life that allows them to meet their full potential. Making sure that people have access to food (and dignity).

Prof. Sean Smukler

Associate Professor

The UBC Farm has the potential to connect researchers on campus, especially those who are interested in food systems, food production and the environment. This project is really an opportunity to get a bunch of farmers and scientists together at the UBC Farm and start building connections.

Adrien Kroese

International Research Student

We define the sustainability of a system by its contribution to environmental preservation, economic welfare and social justice, and by its ability to continue to function in time. Given that definition, is what we picture as a sustainable farm actually sustainable?

Prof. Navin Ramankutty

CSFS Associate

I study food security and sustainability on a global scale… More specifically, my research works with global data sets… [I analyze] data to examine how agriculture is changing in different parts of the world and how different farming characteristics or management systems influence environmental outcomes.

Prof. Leonard Foster

Professor

Bee health is currently a big concern and everybody agrees that we need to do more to improve the health of bees and the viability of the industry.

Hughie Jones

PhD Candidate

People should know the UBC Farm is a research intensive place. It’s a multifunctional space; they’re not only getting food and products out of the Farm but they’re also contributing to community knowledge about what is happening there from a research standpoint.

Alexandra Lyon

Postdoctoral Researcher

I see agriculture and the food system as one of the ways that people have a large influence on the environment. I hope that my work has an impact on the environment in a positive way and it helps build towards a more sustainable farming system, contributing to human health.

Dr. Gabriel Maltais-Landry

Former CSFS Postdoctoral Researcher

Agriculture is one of the most important activities on earth in terms of its impact on natural ecosystems, and nutrient management is a huge leverage point to improve the sustainability of our society.

Dr. Craig Borowiak

Visiting Researcher

One of my primary motivations for visiting the CSFS was that I wanted to be around people who understand these community-based food systems better than I did and who could help me understand how to assess the impact of community gardens

Dr. Lisa Powell

Postdoctoral Researcher

The UBC Farm isn’t only a physical space. It also represents a larger network of researchers and outreach activities going on – both activities happening on the ground at the Farm but also those related to sustainable food systems happening beyond the Farm itself.

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Research

Research

Meet our CSFS Associates

Our Researchers in the News

Most honey in America is fake — here’s why that matters

B.C. scientists bracing for a deadly bat fungus

Bats in Vancouver: The secret city nightlife

See all news

CSFS Research Programs

CSFS Research Projects

Search to view projects by topic or researcher, and toggle between current and archived projects.

Researcher Profiles

I care about health equity and I care about ensuring that all Canadians can live a healthy, productive life that allows them to meet their full potential. Making sure that people have access to food (and dignity).

The UBC Farm has the potential to connect researchers on campus, especially those who are interested in food systems, food production and the environment. This project is really an opportunity to get a bunch of farmers and scientists together at the UBC Farm and start building connections.

We define the sustainability of a system by its contribution to environmental preservation, economic welfare and social justice, and by its ability to continue to function in time. Given that definition, is what we picture as a sustainable farm actually sustainable?

Bee health is currently a big concern and everybody agrees that we need to do more to improve the health of bees and the viability of the industry.

People should know the UBC Farm is a research intensive place. It’s a multifunctional space; they’re not only getting food and products out of the Farm but they’re also contributing to community knowledge about what is happening there from a research standpoint.

I see agriculture and the food system as one of the ways that people have a large influence on the environment. I hope that my work has an impact on the environment in a positive way and it helps build towards a more sustainable farming system, contributing to human health.

Agriculture is one of the most important activities on earth in terms of its impact on natural ecosystems, and nutrient management is a huge leverage point to improve the sustainability of our society.

One of my primary motivations for visiting the CSFS was that I wanted to be around people who understand these community-based food systems better than I did and who could help me understand how to assess the impact of community gardens

The UBC Farm isn’t only a physical space. It also represents a larger network of researchers and outreach activities going on – both activities happening on the ground at the Farm but also those related to sustainable food systems happening beyond the Farm itself.