Paivi Abernethy
PhD, MRes, MSc (cand.scient.)
community-based research & practice - bridging public health & environment for governance towards sustainable development
food security
What is a food security & why does it matter?
"When all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life"
(World Food Summit 1996)
My academic interest in food security focuses on the compilation of knowledge for decision-making and policy development in relation to issues such as pesticide and GMO safety, health and livelihoods of farmers, local food system infrastructure, etc. Whose knowledge and needs count? As Brian Wynne (2011) pointed out, science should inform decision-making, not define the issues at hand.
Wynne, B. (2011). Intolerance: Science informs, not defines. Nature, 471(7338), 305.
For me, food security ties directly into environmental justice, children's environmental health, social justice, and integrated health and sustainability - ecosystem approach to healthy sustainable community development.
Since its start 2010, I have been part of the Editorial Committee for
The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD),
an online, international, peer-reviewed publication focused on the practice and applied research interests of agriculture and food systems development professionals.
