Dr. Verena Seufert
Assistant Professor in Land Use and Food System Dynamics, Institute of Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Dr. Verena Seufert is an environmental scientist specializing in agriculture and food topics. She received her PhD degree from the Department of Geography at McGill University, and is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Seufert's research focuses on the question of how to do food better: How can we create a world where everyone has sufficient and nutritious food they enjoy eating? How can we produce our food without destroying the very natural resources that food production depends on? How can we create a food system that is more just and more sustainable? There are many purported answers to the question of how to do food better. Paleo! Organic! GMO! Vegan! Local! Global! But what do we actually know about these supposed solutions? Debates around these issues are often very passionate, but typically not sufficiently informed by good science. A particular focus of Seufert's work has been to assess these debates as objectively as possible, using rigorous scientific tools, to make sense of different claims, and allow us grow and eat food in a better way. Seufert has published her research in internationally renown journals (including, for example, Nature and Science Advances). She has given many invited talks (including keynotes) at international conferences, and her research has appeared in numerous print, online, radio and TV media outlets.
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Dr. Verena Seufert is an environmental scientist specializing in agriculture and food topics. She received her PhD degree from the Department of Geography at McGill University, and is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Seufert's research focuses on the question of how to do food better: How can we create a world where everyone has sufficient and nutritious food they enjoy eating? How can we produce our food without destroying the very natural resources that food production depends on? How can we create a food system that is more just and more sustainable? There are many purported answers to the question of how to do food better. Paleo! Organic! GMO! Vegan! Local! Global! But what do we actually know about these supposed solutions? Debates around these issues are often very passionate, but typically not sufficiently informed by good science. A particular focus of Seufert's work has been to assess these debates as objectively as possible, using rigorous scientific tools, to make sense of different claims, and allow us grow and eat food in a better way. Seufert has published her research in internationally renown journals (including, for example, Nature and Science Advances). She has given many invited talks (including keynotes) at international conferences, and her research has appeared in numerous print, online, radio and TV media outlets.
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Kann der Ökolandbau die Welt satt machen? Eine neue Studie bescheinigt der Biolandwirtschaft, effektiver zu sein als gedacht. Dennoch dürfte das Fazit der Forscher echten Bioverfechtern nicht sehr schmecken.
The Canadian Business Journal
On Friday March 10th, the Globe and Mail released an article featuring an interview with Dr. Verena Seufert, the lead author of a new study on organic agriculture from the University of British Columbia. This paper, co-authored by Dr. Navin Ramankutty, sought to ‘assess organic agriculture’s performance and identify how we can improve it’, exploring the nuances of organic agriculture that make it complex to evaluate its environmental, livelihood and health benefits.
The Link, Radio Canada International
Many people pay a premium to make sure the food they eat is grown organically. But a new study by scientists at Montreal's McGill University suggests that feeding the world without destroying the planet is going to take a combination of both organic and conventional agriculture. Marc Montgomery speaks with a co-author of the study, which is published in the journal Nature.
The Atlantic
Earlier this week, like any insufferable Brooklynite, I found myself in need of some baby spinach. A little pressed for time, I chose to forgo a run to my normal grocery store for a quick trip to my neighborhood bodega.
Manitoba Co-Operator
Organic agriculture has benefits but it is not a silver bullet for global food security, a new study says. Too much scientific uncertainty exists for organic agriculture to be considered a better alternative to conventional farming, says the study by two University of British Columbia researchers.
Vancouver Sun
Whether organic food delivers health and environmental benefits depends a great deal on who you are and where it is grown, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.
Fusion
It’s easy to think that buying organic food helps to support local communities and protect the environment from the heavy hand of big agriculture. But the reality is not so clear cut. A detailed new analysis finds that organic farming is not always more upstanding than its conventional counterpart.
CNN
Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges? That's been the premise and promise of the organic movement since its origins in the 1920s: farming that's healthy, ecological, and socially just.
The Conversation
Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges? That’s been the premise and promise of the organic movement since its origins in the 1920s: farming that’s healthy, ecological, and socially just.
Globe and Mail
Organic foods, often touted as the more sustainable option for consumers, are no “Holy Grail” for the global food system, according to a new study. The paper, written by University of British Columbia researchers, challenges the widely held assumption that organic food products are automatically healthier or more sustainable than their conventional counterparts. Once lower yields are taken into account, the study finds that organic production can in some ways be considered less sustainable.
Business in Vancouver
Hewing to a strict organic food diet can increase your grocery bill by up to 50% and might have only marginal increased health benefits, according to a new study published in Science Advances by two researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Le Devoir
Alors que l'agriculture biologique a la réputation d'être moins productive que l'agriculture traditionnelle, une nouvelle étude publiée dans la revue Nature démontre qu'elle rivalise plutôt bien quand il s'agit de plantes vivaces et de légumineuses cultivées selon les règles de l'art et dans certaines conditions agroécologiques particulières.
Daily Mail
Organic farming, supported by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, may not be better for the planet. A major study of organic farms reports that some benefits of cutting out pesticides are being undone because so few crops are produced.
CBC News
The increasing demand by consumers for organic food may have confused the actual reason the practice was first pioneered in the 1920s. That's one conclusion of the UBC study, Many Shades of Gray: The Context-Dependent Performance of Organic Agriculture. The recent study weighed the costs, benefits and sustainability of organic agriculture.
The Conversation
Food is an emotional topic. Everyone cares about what they eat. Food often has a strong cultural, religious or even political meaning attached to it. Organic food is no different in that respect. People buy organic out of hedonistic values of pleasure and health as well as out of altruistic values of environmental sustainability, social justice and animal welfare.
La Presse
Comment nourrir une population mondiale grandissante tout en réduisant les impacts de l'agriculture sur l'environnement? Des chercheurs des universités McGill et du Minnesota ont comparé les rendements des cultures biologiques et conventionnelles, et ont déterminé que la solution réside dans un mélange des meilleures pratiques.
Scientific American
A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment
The Agenda, TVO
Radio New Zealand, Sunday Morning Show
Roundhouse Radio, Vancouver
CBC, BC Almanac
The Morning News with Bruce Kenyon, News Talk 770, Calgary
Books
Research
Published by Nature
Published by Global Change Biology
Published by Science Advances
Published by Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Published by Environmental Research Letters
Published by Food Policy
Ph.D.
in GeographyMcGill University
Diploma
in BiologyUniversity of Würzburg
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Kann der Ökolandbau die Welt satt machen? Eine neue Studie bescheinigt der Biolandwirtschaft, effektiver zu sein als gedacht. Dennoch dürfte das Fazit der Forscher echten Bioverfechtern nicht sehr schmecken.
The Canadian Business Journal
On Friday March 10th, the Globe and Mail released an article featuring an interview with Dr. Verena Seufert, the lead author of a new study on organic agriculture from the University of British Columbia. This paper, co-authored by Dr. Navin Ramankutty, sought to ‘assess organic agriculture’s performance and identify how we can improve it’, exploring the nuances of organic agriculture that make it complex to evaluate its environmental, livelihood and health benefits.
The Link, Radio Canada International
Many people pay a premium to make sure the food they eat is grown organically. But a new study by scientists at Montreal's McGill University suggests that feeding the world without destroying the planet is going to take a combination of both organic and conventional agriculture. Marc Montgomery speaks with a co-author of the study, which is published in the journal Nature.
The Atlantic
Earlier this week, like any insufferable Brooklynite, I found myself in need of some baby spinach. A little pressed for time, I chose to forgo a run to my normal grocery store for a quick trip to my neighborhood bodega.
Manitoba Co-Operator
Organic agriculture has benefits but it is not a silver bullet for global food security, a new study says. Too much scientific uncertainty exists for organic agriculture to be considered a better alternative to conventional farming, says the study by two University of British Columbia researchers.
Vancouver Sun
Whether organic food delivers health and environmental benefits depends a great deal on who you are and where it is grown, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.
Fusion
It’s easy to think that buying organic food helps to support local communities and protect the environment from the heavy hand of big agriculture. But the reality is not so clear cut. A detailed new analysis finds that organic farming is not always more upstanding than its conventional counterpart.
CNN
Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges? That's been the premise and promise of the organic movement since its origins in the 1920s: farming that's healthy, ecological, and socially just.
The Conversation
Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges? That’s been the premise and promise of the organic movement since its origins in the 1920s: farming that’s healthy, ecological, and socially just.
Globe and Mail
Organic foods, often touted as the more sustainable option for consumers, are no “Holy Grail” for the global food system, according to a new study. The paper, written by University of British Columbia researchers, challenges the widely held assumption that organic food products are automatically healthier or more sustainable than their conventional counterparts. Once lower yields are taken into account, the study finds that organic production can in some ways be considered less sustainable.
Business in Vancouver
Hewing to a strict organic food diet can increase your grocery bill by up to 50% and might have only marginal increased health benefits, according to a new study published in Science Advances by two researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Le Devoir
Alors que l'agriculture biologique a la réputation d'être moins productive que l'agriculture traditionnelle, une nouvelle étude publiée dans la revue Nature démontre qu'elle rivalise plutôt bien quand il s'agit de plantes vivaces et de légumineuses cultivées selon les règles de l'art et dans certaines conditions agroécologiques particulières.
Daily Mail
Organic farming, supported by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, may not be better for the planet. A major study of organic farms reports that some benefits of cutting out pesticides are being undone because so few crops are produced.
CBC News
The increasing demand by consumers for organic food may have confused the actual reason the practice was first pioneered in the 1920s. That's one conclusion of the UBC study, Many Shades of Gray: The Context-Dependent Performance of Organic Agriculture. The recent study weighed the costs, benefits and sustainability of organic agriculture.
The Conversation
Food is an emotional topic. Everyone cares about what they eat. Food often has a strong cultural, religious or even political meaning attached to it. Organic food is no different in that respect. People buy organic out of hedonistic values of pleasure and health as well as out of altruistic values of environmental sustainability, social justice and animal welfare.
La Presse
Comment nourrir une population mondiale grandissante tout en réduisant les impacts de l'agriculture sur l'environnement? Des chercheurs des universités McGill et du Minnesota ont comparé les rendements des cultures biologiques et conventionnelles, et ont déterminé que la solution réside dans un mélange des meilleures pratiques.
Scientific American
A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment
Books
Research
Published by Nature
Published by Global Change Biology
Published by Science Advances
Published by Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Published by Environmental Research Letters
Published by Food Policy
Ph.D.
in GeographyMcGill University
Diploma
in BiologyUniversity of Würzburg
LOCATION
Amsterdam, Netherlands