- Adjunct Faculty
Berman Institute of Bioethics - Sustainable Food Systems Specialization Lead
Masters of the Environment Graduate Program
University of Colorado Boulder
Nicole Civita is the Sustainable Food Systems Specialization Lead on the faculty of the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her approach to the study of food is grounded in systems thinking and stewardship, attentive to relationships of care and reciprocity, and framed by comprehensive law and policy knowledge. Her current scholarship and advocacy identifies the ethical values and explores the dilemmas across the food chain, with particular attention to the well-being of workers and producers. Through this work, she aims to produce ethical guidance, actionable policy recommendations, and transparency-enhancing tools that enable nourishing, informed, and values-aligned choices about food. Nicole is also nationally recognized for her work on food waste and conservation policy and resilient place-based food systems.
In addition to her work in the MENV program, Nicole also conducts applied food ethics research through the Global Food Ethics and Policy Program of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and teaches as an Affiliated Professor with the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. She has represented farmers and food entrepreneurs in private practice with Handel Food Law, LLC.
Research Interests
- Ethical values and dilemmas across the food chain, with particular attention to the well-being of workers and producers
- Food waste and conservation policy
- Resilient place-based food systems
Education
- LL.M., Agricultural and Food Law, University of Arkansas School of Law
- J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
- A.B., Columbia University
Recent Publications
Civita, N., “Resilience: The Food Policy Imperative For A Volatile Future”, 45 Environmental Law Reporter 10663 (July 2015)
Civita, N., “Agrarians Feeding Communities: Reconnecting Federal Farm Policy and Nutrition Assistance For a More Just Agri-food System,” ___ Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review __ (2014)
Civita, N., 2012 “Developments in Food Law & Policy,” 18 Drake J. Agric. L. 39 (2013)
Schneider, S., Civita, N., and Bernadett, L., Local Food Policies, Urban Agriculture: Policy, Law, Strategy, & Implementation, American Bar Association (forthcoming, Winter 2014)
Civita, N., Food Recovery: a Legal Guide, University of Arkansas School of Law (2013)