o Response-to-failure analysis of food system interventions

This research goal stems from our previous work with farming communities in several developing countries including Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Honduras and Bolivia. This project focuses on response-failure analysis of food system initiatives and the evaluation of current food systems analysis frameworks using carefully synthesized food system dimensional indicators including food security, nutrition, equity/equality and environmental stewardship. Our context-based dashboard for selecting the optimal food system frameworks uses multi-criteria decision assessment tools.

o Agri-food quality and sustainability dynamics along the value chain

In this project we focus on value chain assessment to understand the food system being evaluated and determination of potential constraints; on tracking nutrient loss at different nodes of the value chain and the impact processing on nutritional quality and the environment.

o Promoting Sustainable Healthy Diet Through Consumer-Based Food Choices decision Platform

It addresses the consumer dilemma of choosing healthy food versus sustainable food which is implicated in diet-related, preventable chronic diseases. The research focuses on developing a digital platform that will allow consumers to access the nutritional quality of their food choices at the point of purchase, as well as the contribution to healthy living and the environmental impact and cost.

o F-CODS Educational platform

In the project we are developing an educational and gaming platform for teaching of environmental nutrition in schools. The goal of this research has been to promote sustainable healthy food choices among elementary and high schoolers using different nudging techniques to trigger consumer behavior change

o Techno-Eco-Environmental optimization of Pea-Protein Processing and Starch (Co-Product)

Project focuses on multi-pathway process synthesis/simulation of pea-starch utilization and the optimization of their product-process efficiency. We model technical efficiency and perform trade-off analysis of processing techniques, product quality, economics (using life cycle costing (LCC) and Techno-economic analysis (TEA), environmental impact (using life cycle assessment (LCA)) and environmental cost (using human health cost and eco-system quality cost analysis).

o Rice Sector Circularity: Examining the Non-Energy Utilization Potential of Rice By-Product at Different Spatial Scale

Rice production has steadily increase over the years, however the effective utilization and exploitation of its associated by-products (straw, husk and bran), remains a challenge. We seek to provide evidence of rice systems circularity potential beyond environmental stewardship by providing techno-eco-environmental data and trade-offs of non-energy utilization pathways of rice by-products. We examine the potential of non-energy pathways of rice by-product at different spatial scale. The evaluation includes the technical, economic, environmental impact, and environmental cost. The collective circularity potential evaluated through a single score trade-off analysis using different multi-criteria decision analysis tools and Monte Carlo simulation provides input data for farmers/processor level decision making and policy formulation