51³Ô¹ÏÍø

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The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Department of Environmental Studies is thrilled to congratulate Dr. Margaret Hegwood after successfully defending her dissertation last week!Ìý

Dr. Hegwood's research, supported by the USDA and CIRES’ Center for Social and Environmental Futures (C-SEF), examined the complex tradeoffs and regulatory constraints involved in transforming food systems toward greater sustainability. Her research provided critical insights into the often-overlooked consequences of large-scale changes in food production and policy.

Food systems have long played a vital role in feeding the global population, but the current models have proven to be environmentally unsustainable and harmful to both humans and animals. Hegwood’s work emphasized the need for careful evaluation of both benefits and tradeoffs as stakeholders strive to redesign these systems.

Her dissertation included three separate studies, each addressing a different dimension of food system transformation:

In Chapter 2, Hegwood employed a microeconomic model to assess rebound effects resulting from efforts to reduce food loss and waste (FLW). She found that such rebound effects could offset more than 50% of the expected benefits, diminishing both environmental gains and improvements in food security. This revealed an important tradeoff between two commonly aligned objectives.

In Chapter 3, she analyzed a novel dataset on food industry regulations in the United States. Her findings showed that aquaculture—a sector known for relatively low environmental impact—faced between 3 to 70 times more regulatory oversight than other food sectors, such as beef and lamb production. This suggested that the U.S. regulatory framework may unintentionally disadvantage more sustainable food industries.

In Chapter 4, Hegwood combined data on environmental impact and animal welfare to evaluate Canadian egg production systems. She discovered that cumulative pain experienced by laying hens could be reduced by nearly 60% per kilogram of eggs produced, while increasing environmental impacts by less than 5%. This represented a rare example of a "big-win-small-loss" tradeoff—significant gains in animal welfare with minimal environmental cost.

Together, these studies underscored the importance of identifying and quantifying tradeoffs that are often overlooked in food systems research and policy. Hegwood’s work offered valuable tools and perspectives for stakeholders—from farmers to policymakers—seeking to balance competing objectives in the pursuit of a more sustainable and just food future.