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Knowledge Mobilizers: 911吃瓜 food sustainability researcher tackles food security issues
Knowledge Mobilizers is a story series from the Knowledge Mobilization Hub that highlights knowledge mobilization (KM) projects around the university. At 911吃瓜, KM is about collaborating on, and exchanging, research discoveries to create a positive impact in our far-reaching communities.
Speaking up and speaking out in creative and accessible ways is how Tammara Soma, Resource and Environmental Management professor, is building her career and helping change the world鈥檚 food system to one that is more just and sustainable.
Currently, enough food is produced to feed the world鈥檚 population yet we continue to see of people facing hunger. We have also witnessed the increasing loss of prime farmland and biodiversity, in a context where food justice for Indigenous peoples, migrant farm workers and other equity deserving communities are still lacking. Soma has dedicated her life and her career to address these complex problems.
The , co-founded by Soma, is one of the many initiatives this early career academic launched before completing her doctorate in 2018. The lab explores ways to 鈥渞educe food waste and support a sustainable food system that enhances ecosystems, conserves natural resources, and mitigates climate change.鈥�
Soma started mobilizing knowledge on food system issues during her graduate degree through the , interviews with news , contributing to , and connecting with community organizations such as and . She takes inspiration from successful YouTube influencers and creates whimsical content to address complex problems in digestible formats.
Soma鈥檚 knowledge mobilization priority is to influence policy, and she describes her approach to this as 鈥渓ike a dandelion, dispersing little seeds all over the place.鈥� She鈥檚 found that the more she shares her research in different settings and formats, the more invitations she receives to keep sharing. She has received invitations to contribute to food waste initiatives locally and globally by institutions such as the U.S. National Academies of Science, Government of Japan, Government of Indonesia, and Government of Canada. In addition, her knowledge mobilization has resulted in numerous invitations to collaborate on research from academic colleagues around the world. These collaborations have been instrumental in her gaining research funding, fostering research partnerships, and developing joint publications.
Soma explains that when you thrive on connection, want to solve the world鈥檚 wicked problems, and are an academic, you naturally become a knowledge mobilizer. She is proud to share her expertise on food waste and food justice in an accessible way despite an academic once criticizing her work for being too accessible, that 鈥渆ven my grandmother could understand this鈥� (a knowledge mobilizer鈥檚 dream critique!)
Soma credits her accessible communication in part to English being her second language and her wanting to make sure that her research makes an impact and can influence public understanding. Soma shares that for her 鈥渟cience is the base, but knowledge mobilization is the key鈥� to achieving a just and sustainable food system.
Want to learn more about knowledge mobilization?
Register now for one of our , or join us for where each month we feature a new a 鈥榟ow to鈥� introduction to different knowledge mobilization (KM) activities.