Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems

After a remote ceremony for undergrad I finally got to walk the stage with a Master of Science in Sustainable Food Systems from the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University 🎓 Aside from this monumental accomplishment I am celebrating being selected as the Outstanding Graduate Student for the School of Sustainability, graduation with distinction, and status as a USDA NextGen Scholar. Achievements like this wouldn’t be possible without the support of my friends, family, and collegues. Special thank you to Kathleen Merrigan, PhD for her tireless work in advancing a more just, sustainable, and equitable food system. Additional thanks to Swette Center staff for their hard work in keeping such an amazing and growing program running! Onward and Upward from here! 🎈 If you are interested in learning more about the program, please don’t hesitate to reach out. #asugrad #sustainability #foodsystems ASU College of Global Futures

From agricultural conferences to press releases to Capitol Hill hearings, the Hagstrom Report has it covered. To kick off our 2024 Food Policy Immersive in Washington, D.C., our graduate students shared a casual backyard dinner with Jerry Hagstrom, award-winning agricultural journalist and executive editor of the Hagstrom Report. Over pizza and drinks, Mr. Hagstrom detailed his experiences chasing the latest agricultural news and delivering it daily to his subscribers. Student Emily Cai reflected on the night in our recent blog—read it here: https://bit.ly/3BlNPJO

As part of this year’s Food Policy Immersive, our graduate students were lucky enough to meet with five Senate Agriculture Committee staff members in Washington, D.C. 🏛️ The timing couldn’t have been better—just hours before, the Senate and House agriculture committees released competing outlines for the next #FarmBill. It was a rare opportunity for our students to witness the legislative process in real time and engage directly with policy experts shaping the future of food and agriculture. Read more about this visit in our recent blog post, written by student Jacob DeFant: https://bit.ly/4gwgU44

Our latest field day at Little Lighthouse Farm was the perfect way to cap off an incredible year for our Arizona Transition to Organic Partnership Program (#TOPP)! 🌱 Rachel Opio, urban farmer and TOPP mentee, inspired us all with her journey in transitioning to organic. From rebuilding soil health and managing cover crops to navigating organic certification, conserving water, and caring for urban livestock—there's nothing she can't do. The day was packed with learning, and we even had the chance to get our hands dirty and plant some herbs. Over the course of this year, we’ve watched the Arizona TOPP community of organic farmers grow and thrive. #Organic isn’t just good for the planet—it’s good for business, for health, for animals, and for building stronger communities. 🤝 We're excited to continue growing organic together in the years ahead! -- TOPP is a nationwide program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP). 👉 If you want to learn more about TOPP and how we’re helping Arizona farmers transition to organic, visit arizonatopp.org

Poor governance hides massive costs in our food systems, from skewed priorities to missed sustainability goals. True Cost Accounting (#TCA) offers a way forward—shifting from monetisation to holistic assessments that integrate transparency, equity, and accountability. Curious? Dive into our latest #thinkpiece written by Nadia El Hage Scialabba hailing from Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems to uncover how TCA can empower stakeholders with the full picture. 📄 Read it now! 👉 https://bit.ly/4i0XJ40 #Sustainability #TrueCostAccounting #GoodGovernance #FoodSystemsTransformation #ImpactMeasurement #TrueCostofFood #Governance #SOFA2024 Olivia Riemer, Lisa Maria Klaus, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection

Join our faculty team at ASU’s School of Sustainability! 🌍 We're looking for an Assistant Professor in Sustainable Food Systems to begin August 2025. This is a full-time, tenure-track faculty position for a passionate leader ready to inspire and drive meaningful change. Within this position, you will instruct students on both an undergraduate and graduate level, conduct publishable research, contribute to grant proposals, and play various other roles in academic and social sustainability efforts. Review of applications will begin November 22, 2024, and continue every two weeks thereafter until the search is closed. 👉 Apply now with the link: https://lnkd.in/gURCBXfa

Our recent field day at Duncan Family Farms, LLC was filled with learning, connecting, and advancing an #organic food future! 🌱 Arnott Duncan and his team guided us through a behind-the-scenes tour of their compost yard, basil greenhouse, and fields of abundant organic leafy greens. The day also featured informative presentations about organic food & agriculture from Arnott, USDA representatives, the AZ Department of Agriculture, and Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to Duncan Family Farms for being inspiring leaders in organic farming! Want to learn more about how we’re helping Arizona farmers transition to organic through mentorship, training, events, and ongoing support? 🚜 Visit arizonatopp.org -- This event was hosted by the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems as part of the Arizona Transition to Organic Partnership Program (AZ TOPP). #TOPP is a nationwide program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP).

Our students are ready to make their mark! During our 2024 Food Policy Immersive in Washington, D.C., our graduate students had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Carlos Ortiz, National Program Leader at USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Dr. Ortiz manages the #USDANextGen program, which is a multi-million dollar investment to provide institutions (like us!) with the resources necessary to foster the next generation of food systems leaders. Student Alissa Haskins wrote all about our conversation with Dr. Ortiz and the insights he shared about the NextGen program in our recent blog post. 👉 Check it out here: bit.ly/3AhoEYj

One of the best decisions I have ever made- SO thankful for this opportunity, it has been AMAZING so far. Looking forward to the rest of this year, along with the next.

I am so proud to be part of this year's ASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems graduate student cohort! I've already learned so much from everyone. ASU has provided a really effective framework for learning and connecting with cohort members from afar. This semester we've been taking a class called "Managing Natural Resources for Food Production" taught by Professor Joe Dobrow and several knowledgeable guest lecturers including Kathleen Merrigan, PhD, Gene Kelly, Ariel Patton, and Katy Sparks. We have covered the evolution of the US food system in the past 150 years, the effects of climate change on our food system, true cost accounting, soil health, plant nutrients, agri-chemicals, organic and regenerative methods, biotechnology and crop breeding, and most recently agroforestry. These past few months have been eye opening to say the least. I am more inspired than ever to effect meaningful change to Hawaii's food system.