Erin Nelson

With a background in International Development and Rural Studies, my research explores the development of more sustainable food systems with a focus on agroecology initiatives in Canada and Latin America. In particular, I am interested in how knowledge-exchange can build capacity for agroecological production, and how agroecology can contribute to ecological resilience and community wellbeing. I also examine the interplay between agroecology, gender equity, and food security, and am interested in the scaling up and out of community-based sustainable food efforts.

As a community engaged scholar, I work in close collaboration with a wide range of partners, including civil society organizations and farmer networks in Canada, Cuba, Mexico and other locations. I am adjunct faculty at Cuba's University of Pinar del Rio and work closely with Mexico's University of Chapingo. My work has been funded by SSHRC, the International Development Research Centre, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture.

Nelson, Erin; Hargreaves, Sarah; Muldoon, Dillon. 2023. Farmer Knowledge as Formal Knowledge: Farmer-Led Research for Ecological Agriculture in Ontario, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.
https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2023.124.010

Nimmo, E, Nelson, E, Gomez Tovar, L, Morejon Garcia, M, Spring, Andrew, et al. 2023. Building an Agroecology Knowledge Network for Agrobiodiversity Conservation, Conservation, Volume 3, Issue 4, 491-508. https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation3040032

Spring, A, Nelson, E, Knezevic, I, Ballamingie, P & Blay-Palmer, A. 2021. Levering sustainable food systems to address climate change [pandemics and other shocks and hazards]: possible transformations. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158206

Nelson, E & Landman, K. 2020. Evaluating Food Hubs: Reporting on a Participatory Action Project. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2020.101.018

Benítez, B, Nelson, E, Romero Sarduy, M, Ortiz Perez, R & Crespo Morales, A. 2020. Empowering Women and Building Sustainable Food Systems: A Case Study of Cuba's Local Agricultural Innovation Project. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.554414

Fernandez, M, Nelson, E, Figueroa, G, Funes, F & Locke, K. 2018. Cuba's Agrifood System in Transition, An Introduction to the Elementa Special Feature. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. http://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.335

Nelson, E. and W. Dodd. 2017. Collaborating for Community Food Security: A Community-University Partnership Case Study. Action Research, 15(4): 402-423. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750316656041

Nelson, E., L. Gómez Tovar, E. Guégen, R. Schwentesius Rindermann, S. Humphries, and K. Landman. 2016. Participatory Guarantee Systems and the Re-Imagining of Mexico’s Organic Sector. Agriculture and Human Values, 32(2): 373-388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9615-x

More of my publications can be found on Google Scholar.

Food, Learning and Growing (FLOW) Partnership

SOC*2080, Rural Sociology

IDEV*3300, Development Practice

SOC*4420, Sociology of Food

SOAN*4500, Community Development

SOC*6140, Qualitative Methods

IDEV*6200, Development Theory, Issues and Processes