Who we are: core staff
Tara Garnett initiated, and runs the Food Climate Research Network, now based at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute, and previously at the University of Surrey. She is also a fellow of the Oxford Martin School.
She has worked on food related issues for over 20 years, first in the NGO community and, since 2005 within the academic sector. As such she is concerned not only with the production of knowledge but on how it is communicated to and interpreted by policy makers, civil society organisations and industry. Her work centres on the food system’s contribution to climate changing emissions and on the options for reducing them. A particular focus is the relationship between emissions reduction objectives and other social and ethical concerns, notably human health, food security and nutrition, livelihoods, and animal welfare. Some of Tara’s publications can be found here.
Tara is keen to collaborate through the FCRN with other organisations to undertake research, organise events and build and extend interdisciplinary, intersectoral knowledge in this field. Her email address is taragarnett@fcrn.org.uk
The website manager, John Jackson, has a degree in Zoology from Durham University and a PhD from the University of Reading on the biochemical toxicology of avian serum esterases. In 1995 he jumped tracks into the world of design, working for a small design company for three years. In 1998 he left to set up the Argument by Design (tAbD). Primarily a freelance project, tAbD has links with a loose network of designers and web developers who collaborate on an ad hoc basis. He concentrates on standards-compliant web design and development, with a particular interest in environmental, educational and social welfare projects. He has been working on the FCRN website since 2007. You can email John: johnjackson@fcrn.org.uk.
Marie Persson is the Communications and network development officer at FCRN. She joined the FCRN team in September 2012 and her role involves coordinating communications and outreach activities, networking and knowledge exchange. Marie is a Master student in International Administration and Global Governance (Gothenburg University, Sweden) and she has completed master-level studies in Communication for Development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Uppsala University in Sweden.
Before joining the FCRN Marie worked as a consultant and intern with the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre. She has also worked with smallholder farmers in Honduras. She is interested in issues at the nexus between development and environment, especially governance and institutional aspects and new prosperity measures beyond GDP. Get in touch with Marie: mariepersson@fcrn.org.uk
Associates
Leonardo Marques is a Lecturer at Coppead Graduate School of Business from Rio de Janeiro and a final year PhD candidate at Manchester Business School. He holds an MSc in Operations and Supply Chain Management and a BSc in Industrial Engineering, both from the Federal University or Rio de Janeiro. Leonardo has taught a diversity of modules at BSc, MSc and MBA-level in both Brazil and the UK. Prior to taking an academic focus, he has worked as a consultant and a sourcing manager for over 8 years helping companies from several industry sectors such as fashion, telecommunications, personal care, and healthcare. His main areas of expertise are operations, supply chain management, sourcing, logistics, sustainability and social network analysis. His PhD thesis looks at the diffusion of sustainability best practices across food supply networks supported by online technology.
He is currently collaborating with the FCRN to help to understand the knowledge exchange dynamics within the FCRN website and to explore ways to foster further engagement and the diffusion of sustainability research.
Huw has an MPhil in Geography and the Environment from Oxford University. Having previously graduated from the Australian National University and being employed at Melbourne University he subsequently moved to the UK. He is particularly interested in the energy-water-food nexus and in food security and trade as they relate to the countries of Asia, especially China. He studied and worked in China for two years and speaks Chinese at an advanced level. He wishes to use the FCRN network to access the latest thinking on food and climate matters, and to engage with sector leaders from across diverse disciplines. Also to be able to contribute specific knowledge of Chinese and Australian environmental, food and policy issues.
Elin studies the environmental impacts from food production and consumption from a system perspective using mostly life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool. Her current work revolves around the definition and design of sustainable diets for the future, work that she is doing for the Future Agriculture initiative here at SLU. She is interested in questions such as what we choose to use our agricultural land for, how resource efficient and less environmentally damaging food production systems can be designed and how we can measure different aspects of sustainability in this context. Currently in Oxford working as a visiting researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, she is also an Associate with the FCRN network.
Andreas trained in anthropology and economics (PhD, environmental anthropology, 2005) and worked in China for 16 years on natural resource management and agricultural extension, mostly in rangeland management and livestock services. Since 2008, much of his work has focused on payments for environmental services, including climate change mitigation in agriculture. Since 2011 he has been based in the UK, and is Director of Values for Development, a company providing research and advisory services on climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture, and linking international organizations with partners in China. He was a co-researcher on FCRN’s study of China’s changing food system.
Volunteers
Sarah-Jane Tucker is working as an intern for the FCRN and is a part-time Msc Food Policy student at City University, with a particular interest in issues relating to sustainable food. She holds a BA(Hons) Business and Marketing Communications and a CIM Diploma in Marketing. Prior to raising three young children, Sarah-Jane had a small internet consultancy business for SME’s and enjoyed sales and marketing roles at McSaatchi, News International and MCI Worldcom.