Research summary
We live in a time of rapid socio-economic change, price volatility, growing environmental constraints on food production, and rising concerns about food quality. We need a better understanding of the impacts of national food policies on social development, environmental change, labour market dynamics and food security. As Canada Research Chair in the Political Economy of Food and Wellbeing, Dr. Sébastien Rioux aims to shed light on the impact of these policies on food quality in Canada and the role of food in labour market restructuring in the United Kingdom and the United States.
To do this, he is drawing on human geography, political economy and environmental studies to build a food “agriculture-development nexus.” He and his research team are emphasizing the need to link production with consumption. In the context of growing pressures on land and water alongside climate change, they are also examining the socio-ecological foundations upon which food production is built. Their work will address a major gap in the available research by detailing how food relations are central to labour market dynamics.