Bronwen Powell

Affiliate Researcher
Titles and Affiliations
Associate Professor, Geography

Broadly, my research examines the social, cultural and environmental drivers of human nutrition, diet and food security. Much of my recent research examines the role of forests and wild foods in food security and nutrition of rural and Indigenous communities, primarily in Africa. My work contributes broadly to our understandings of the sustainability of food systems and diets around the world. Much of my recent research has focused on how forests, landscape diversity and land use change contribute to human diet and nutrition. Most recently I have been examining how climate change, land use change, market access and policy change impact the food systems and diets of rural and Indigenous peoples around the world (Tanzania, Indonesia, Alaska).

I am interested in how the concept of healthy food environments, which has been widely explored in urban and higher income country settings, can be applied in rural African settings to understand dietary choice. In addition to availability, cost and accessibility, I am also interested in how social, cultural and political aspects of food environments shape dietary choice. I draw on multiple theoretical frameworks, including social-ecological systems, political ecology and food studies approaches to examine socio-cultural factors that mediate peoples’ relationship with and use of their environments to meet their food and dietary needs. Much of my work is aimed at informing and improving food, nutrition and land use policy to support healthy diets and justice for rural and Indigenous communities.

In the News

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Projects

Recent Publications

Adapting food environment frameworks to recognize a wild-cultivated continuum

Zeitler, L., Downs, S. & Powell, B., 2024, In: Frontiers in Nutrition. 11, 1343021.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Greater Attention to Wild Foods and Cultural Knowledge Supports Increased Nutrition Outcomes Associated with Agroecology

Zhu, S. J., Mfuni, T. I. & Powell, B., May 2024, In: Sustainability (Switzerland). 16, 10, 3890.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Humans and climate modulate fire activity across Ethiopia

Harris, L. B., Taylor, A. H., Kassa, H., Leta, S. & Powell, B., Dec 2023, In: Fire Ecology. 19, 1, 15.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

The need to include wild foods in climate change adaptation strategies

Powell, B., Bhatt, I. D., Mucioki, M., Rana, S., Rawat, S. & Bezner Kerr, R., Aug 2023, In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 63, 101302.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Deforestation reduces fruit and vegetable consumption in rural Tanzania

Hall, C. M., Rasmussen, L. V., Powell, B., Dyngeland, C., Jung, S. & Olesen, R. S., Mar 8 2022, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 119, 10, e2112063119.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Transforming food systems with trees and forests

Ickowitz, A., McMullin, S., Rosenstock, T., Dawson, I., Rowland, D., Powell, B., Mausch, K., Djoudi, H., Sunderland, T., Nurhasan, M., Novak, A., Gitz, V., Meybeck, A., Jamnadass, R., Guariguata, M. R., Termote, C. & Nasi, R., Jul 2022, In: The Lancet Planetary Health. 6, 7, p. e632-e639

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Determinants of Smallholder Maintenance of Crop Diversity in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains

Goldberg, Z. A., Powell, B. & Ouarghidi, A., Aug 2021, In: Human Ecology. 49, 4, p. 453-465 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Editorial: Impacts of Tropical Landscape Change on Human Diet and Local Food Systems

Ickowitz, A., Powell, B., Rasmussen, L. V. & Rhemtulla, J., Jan 28 2021, In: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 5, 645241.

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialpeer-review

Born to eat wild: An integrated conservation approach to secure wild food plants for food security and nutrition

Borelli, T., Hunter, D., Powell, B., Ulian, T., Mattana, E., Termote, C., Pawera, L., Beltrame, D., Penafiel, D., Tan, A., Taylor, M. & Engels, J., Oct 2020, In: Plants. 9, 10, p. 1-37 37 p., 1299.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Conceptual links between landscape diversity and diet diversity: A roadmap for transdisciplinary research

Gergel, S. E., Powell, B., Baudron, F., Wood, S. L. R., Rhemtulla, J. M., Kennedy, G., Rasmussen, L. V., Ickowitz, A., Fagan, M. E., Smithwick, E. A. H., Ranieri, J., Wood, S. A., Groot, J. C. J. & Sunderland, T. C. H., Jul 1 2020, In: BioScience. 70, 7, p. 563-575 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Forest pattern, not just amount, influences dietary quality in five African countries

Rasmussen, L. V., Fagan, M. E., Ickowitz, A., Wood, S. L. R., Kennedy, G., Powell, B., Baudron, F., Gergel, S., Jung, S., Smithwick, E. A. H., Sunderland, T., Wood, S. & Rhemtulla, J. M., Jun 2020, In: Global Food Security. 25, 100331.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Testing the Various Pathways Linking Forest Cover to Dietary Diversity in Tropical Landscapes

Baudron, F., Tomscha, S. A., Powell, B., Groot, J. C. J., Gergel, S. E. & Sunderland, T., Nov 8 2019, In: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 3, 97.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Agricultural intensification, dietary diversity, and markets in the global food security narrative

Ickowitz, A., Powell, B., Rowland, D., Jones, A. & Sunderland, T., Mar 2019, In: Global Food Security. 20, p. 9-16 8 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Dietary transitions among three contemporary hunter-gatherers across the tropics

Reyes-García, V., Powell, B., Díaz-Reviriego, I., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Gallois, S. & Gueze, M., Feb 15 2019, In: Food Security. 11, 1, p. 109-122 14 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Dietary intake, forest foods, and anemia in Southwest Cameroon

Tata, C. Y., Ickowitz, A., Powell, B. & Colecraft, E. K., Apr 2019, In: PloS one. 14, 4, e0215281.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review