07 Jun 2023

Integrating Food Systems through Microbes

Explore how microbes connect soil, food, and ecosystems to create sustainable, community-driven food systems

Microorganisms tie food systems together, from soil to food processing to gut to waste products, and microbes can be used to create sustainable food production while working with the natural ecosystem. Traditional ecological knowledge, place-based food systems, and food sovereignty endeavors have long known that integrated food systems require a broader definition of “health”. This session will explore how microbiota can be used to sustain and integrate food, communities, and ecosystems.

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Dr. Aviaja Lyberth Hauptmann (Top Left) is an Inuk microbiologist from Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) specializing in microbial metagenomics. She leads the Greenland Diet Revolution project, focusing on the Indigenous Inuit diet and its human-microbial connections. Dr. Hauptmann is currently an assistant professor at Ilisimatusarfik, the University of Greenland, and the University of Copenhagen.

Dr. Kolawole Banwo (Center) is a Lecturer and Researcher in Food Microbiology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research focuses on traditional fermented foods, improving food safety, and functional food production. He is passionate about mentoring young academics and educating artisanal food producers on food safety. Dr. Banwo holds a PhD in Food Microbiology and collaborates with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Dr. Nina Moeller (Top Right) is an Associate Professor of Political Ecology at Coventry University and researcher in Sustainability Transitions at the University of Southern Denmark. With a background in philosophy, sociology, and anthropology, her work explores sustainability transitions, knowledge systems, and more-than-human relations. Dr. Moeller has worked with indigenous communities and subsistence farmers in Latin America and Europe on traditional health and food systems.