The Critical Food Studies Lab was founded in 2017 by Angela Babb, PhD and Dan Knudsen, PhD. It currently employs several project directors and an outstanding group of research interns and research assistants. We are also exceedingly proud of our alumni. A bit more about us appears below.
Biographies:
Oliver (Mel) Allen (Research Intern) is a fourth year undergraduate student pursuing a BS in Computer Science with a specialization in data science and a BS in Math, along with a minor in Art History. He is interested in applying computing and mathematics to provide a quantitative perspective on critical food studies.
Angela Babb (Lab Director) earned a PhD degree in Geography in 2017. She is a critical human geographer whose work encompasses critical food studies, ideology and political ecology of the body. Her research examines the political economy of hunger in the US and the contemporary food movement. Angela is currently an Assistant Research Scientist with the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University, where she collaborates on sustainable food systems research across Indiana, the U.S. and beyond.
Kamila Czebotar (Research Assistant) is working towards a degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies with a minor in Geography with hopes to someday graduate. She currently is assisting in several projects throughout the lab.
Siddharth Das is a sophomore studying Environmental Science and Spanish. He is currently assisting with research into the Real Food Challenge, and he is also creating a student movement to promote sustainable food sourcing on campus.
Isabella DeMarco is a sophomore studying International Studies and Environmental and Sustainability Studies with a minor in French. She is currently working on a research project studying racial equity among Indiana farmers.
Daniel Knudsen (Director Emeritus) earned a PhD degree in Geography in 1984. He has written extensively on location analytics, statistical and mathematical geography, economic development, agriculture, tourism, and food. While mostly retired, he is still active in the lab.
Stephanie Levitt is a sophomore studying Nonprofit Management and Leadership with a minor in Marketing. She is currently leading the Real Food Challenge with Students for a New Green World, where she hopes to bring more sustainable, local, ethical, and humane food to Indiana University’s dining halls
Lucy Lippman is a junior studying mathematics, economics, geography, and French. Since last fall she has been researching wage and employment trends for a paper on diversity and discrimination in the Indiana food system.
Marie O'Neill (Research Intern)is a fourth year student pursuing a degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Food Systems. She is also pursuing a Certificate in Geographic Information Systems and a Certificate in Global French Studies. She is currently mapping and analyzing data on the responses to the Indiana Institutional Food Purchasing Survey and will soon begin work on the Indianapolis Food Policy project.
Alumni of CFS Lab Christopher Bauters (BA, 2019) Hannah Davis (BA, 2019) Jonathon Dawes (BAESS, 2018) Emma Freestone (BA, 2020) Andrew Goodrum (BA, 2019) Hannah Gruber (BAESS, 2019) Sasha Hartman (BA, 2022) Brain Healey (BA, 2021) Minho Heo (on active duty) Kayla Kaplan (BA, 2016) Kyle Kirk (BA, 2019) Matthew Leetz (BA, 2019) Kassandra Leuthart (BA, 2018) Kathleen Lich (BA, 2019) Vanessa Lopez (BAESS, 2019) Maxx Millstein (BA, 2018) Erica Nantz (BS, 2017) Laxmi Palde (BS, 2020) Evie Peterson (BA, 2021) Belen Rogers (BS, 2018) Kat Tafoya (BS, 2019) Isis Smith (BA, 2021) Christopher Van Allen (BA, 2018) Julie Wasserman (BA,MS, PhD candidate) Hannah Wilson (BS in Nutritional Sciences, 2021)