In 2016, the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute and the Bloomberg School of Public Health embarked on a project to address the needs for ethical guidance and information to assist consumers in their food choices. A key step involved bringing together a broad range of academic and industry experts to grapple with the myriad debates that emerge around trying to find ethical consensus. Meet the team.
- Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
- Research & Outreach
- Projects
- Global Food Ethics & Policy Program (GFEPP)
- Past Projects
- Choose Food: Ethically Benchmarking Food Systems
- Team Members
Team Members
- Paul B. Thompson, Michigan State University
Paul B. Thompson holds the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food, and Community Ethics at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He has formerly held positions in philosophy at Texas A&M University and Purdue University. His research has centered on ethical and philosophical questions associated with agriculture and food, and especially concerning the guidance and development of agricultural techno-science.
- Bernard Rollin, Colorado State University
Bernard Rollin is a distinguished professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University. He is a leading scholar in animal rights and animal consciousness. Dr. Rollin has authored numerous influential books in the field, including Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988), Farm Animal Welfare (1995), and Science and Ethics (2006).
- Cornelis Johannes (Kees) van Leeuwen, University of Utrecht and KWR Watercycle Research Institute
Kees van Leeuwen is Principal Scientist at KWR Watercycle Research Institute (Nieuwegein) and professor in Water Management and Urban Development at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development (Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences) at the Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. He has published about 200 reports and publications and 2 editions of a book on risk assessment of chemicals. His research focus is sustainability of water in cities.
- Anne Barnhill, Johns Hopkins University
Anne Barnhill, PhD, is a Research Scholar at the Berman Institute of Bioethics. Dr. Barnhill is a philosopher and bioethicist who works on food ethics, food policy, and public health ethics. Her current research focuses on the ethics of non-rational persuasion and manipulation in public health.
- Nicole Civita, Johns Hopkins University and University of Arkansas
Nicole Civita is Adjunct Faculty with the Berman Institute of Bioethics, an Affiliated Professor with the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law, and director of the Food Recovery Project. Nicole also maintains an active law practice Of Counsel to Handel Food Law LLC and teaches in the Sustainable Food Systems program at Sterling College. As a professor, food ethicist, and practicing attorney, Nicole’s transdisciplinary work explores the relative efficacy of market-based, law and policy, ethical, and cultural strategies to enhance justice, conservation, and resilience in food systems.
- Tara Garnett, University of Oxford
Tara Garnett is a researcher at the University of Oxford, where she also runs the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN). The FCRN is an interdisciplinary and international network operating at the intersection of food production and consumption, climate and broader sustainability issues. Tara’s research centres on the interactions among food, climate, health, ethics and broader sustainability issues; she has a particular interest in livestock as a sector where many of these converge. Tara is also a fellow of the Oxford Martin School.
- Suzanne McMillan, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Suzanne is the Content Director of the ASPCA’s Farm Animal Welfare campaign. Prior to the ASPCA, Suzanne served as a Farmed Animal Law Fellow at the Lewis & Clark Animal Law Clinic and spent time researching and writing about farmed animal legal and policy issues, investigating factory farms and caring for rescued farmed animals.
- Adele Douglass, Humane Farm Animal Care
Adele Douglass, CEO, founded HFAC in 2003, and she now directs all of HFAC’s programs and activities. She has served as an invited participant on numerous industry animal welfare committees and has received recognitions from the ASPCA, Civic Ventures, Ashoka and the RSPCA. Prior to her position with Humane Farm Animal Care, Douglass initiated the Free Farmed Program for Farm Animal Services and served as director of the American Humane Association’s Washington, D.C. office.
- Steve Wearne, UK Food Standards Agency
Steve Wearne is the Director of Policy of the UK Food Standards Agency. He previously served as Director of FSA Wales and with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in a range of posts related to food science and food policy development.
- Peter O’Driscoll, Equitable Food Initiative
Peter O’Driscoll is the executive director of the Equitable Food Initiative in Washington D.C. He also has served as executive director of ActionAid USA, director of the Private Sector in Development Project at the Center of Concern, and Latin America Director at Ashoka.
- Ruth DeFries, Columbia University
Ruth DeFries is a professor of ecology and sustainable development at Columbia University in New York. Her research quantifies how land use changes affect climate, biodiversity and other ecosystem services, as well as human development. She has also developed innovate education programs in sustainable development.
Bon Appetit Management Company is an on-site restaurant company offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, museums, and specialty venues. Based in Palo Alto, CA, the company operates more than 650 cafés in 33 states for dozens of marquee clients.
At Bon Appetit, we work with Fedele Bauccio, co-founder and CEO, and Maisie Ganzler, Chief Strategy & Brand Officer.
Fedele Bauccio founded Bon Appetit Management Company in 1987 and launched the Farm to Fork Program in 1994. Farm to Fork represents the company’s commitment to the health of its customers, communities, and the planet itself. Fedele and Bon Appétit have revolutionized the food service industry, both by introducing fresh, made-from-scratch food to the contract market and by pioneering environmentally and socially responsible practices designed to create a more sustainable food system.
Maisie Ganzler has been instrumental in shaping the company’s strategic direction: she helped develop Farm to Fork, as well as several other sustainable initiatives and purchasing policies. She is also cofounder and president of the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation, whose mission is to educate people about how their food choices affect the global environment and local economies.
In addition to our existing partner, we hope to collaborate with another 3-4 food companies.