Merle Müller-Hansen
Agriculture and Food Scholar
researching Sustainability, Health, Digitalization, and Justice
Welcome to my website!
I’m Merle Müller-Hansen, scholar with a focus on agriculture and food studies. Currently, I am pursuing my PhD in Geography, where I explore urban food environments in South Asia (India) and Latin America (Mexico) through the lens of consumption practices. My research aims to understand how urbanization, climate change, and digitalization shape food choices, health, and sustainability in these regions.
My work is deeply informed by intersectional feminist and socio-ecological justice perspectives, emphasizing the need to create networks of care and to transform food environments and agri-food systems in ways that promote intersectional equity. From investigating the impacts of climate change on tensions in agriculture around GM crops and pesticide toxicity to studying the interrelations between sustainability, digitalization, and food consumption practices in urban food environments of low- and middle-income countries, my goal is to bridge academic research with real-world activism – boosting the visibility of marginalized communities and fostering resilience.
If you’re interested in learning more about my research and my students’ work, feel free to scroll through this Website and explore my CV for a deeper dive into my projects and publications.
W h a t I d o
Data Visualizing
I am passionate about creating mixed-methods and multidisciplinary data visualizations to communicate scientific results based on deep knowledge.
Speaking
I love to speak to students, colleagues, or mixed publics as this always opens new perspectives and wordings for fruitful exchange.
Writing
Writing is the core business of the current stage of my academic career and it brings me to my focus zone which I am more than happy to share.
Teaching
Teaching refreshes and challenges my thought processes as I pass on the knowledge that I catalyze and create for my students’ academic processes.
Agri-Food
Agri-Food Studies look at all stages of food systems: production, aggregation, processing, distribution, acquisition, preparation, consumption, and disposal of consumables.
Sustainability
Discover how to enable sustainability and create healthier food environments.
Food Environments
Are the central interfaces between food consumption and production - a powerful regulating screw for health and sustainability.
Intersectional Food Justice
As a queer-feminist scientist and researcher, I stand for diversity and social justice.
Agri-Food Digitalization
As on- and offline spaces merge, food and agriculture practices become more complex.
F r o m m y B l o g
What are Food environments, and how do they get characterized?
Discover more about food environments with this handsome visual!
Interdisciplinary Research on Food Environments
Discover more about food environments and what meaning they have for everyone's life.
Urban Food Environments in India and Mexico
Discover how urban food environments shape they way we live in our society.
The Rise of Digital Food Culture: Consumer Citizenship and Eating Beyond Borders
Discover how the way food is consumed digitally is helping both bridge and accentuate social divides.
F r o m m y G u e s t ‘ s B l o g
Discover more interesting knowledge through the lens and mind of my students!
La Via Campesina and Slow Food
Guest Blog Post by Valentina Bendl “La Via Campesina and Slow Food: Challenging the Status Quo through Food Movements” In this in-depth guest post, Valentina Bendl explores how global food movements such as La Via Campesina and Slow Food offer alternative models to the dominant corporate food regime. Through the…
contributing to food justice
Scientific work ethic
Trustworthy expertise
Intersectional knowledge
W h y w o r k w i t h s c i e n t i f i c E x p e r t i s e ?
Scientific Evidence
Against false facts – In times of disinformation, there is an urgent need for qualitative and quantitative evidence-based expertise.
Up-to-date research
Community embedded – The scientific community is constantly producing rigorous knowledge that can be shared and validated.
From idea to impact
Science from start to finish – Includes research design, data collection, analysis, writing, peer review, and science communication.
Mixed data sources
Ample methods – Scientific expertise stems from working with an array of evolving and cutting-edge methods and tools.
Data Visualization
Analyzing and visualizingAnalyzing & visualizing
I use data visualization for analysis and science communication. My core expertise are qualitative maps and clean and precise figures. Write to me if you’re interested in:
- Data analysis
- Data visualization
Speaking
Raising my voice for scienceRaising my voice for science
I speak regularly at conferences and working group meetings, but also at science fairs, podium discussions, and press events. Let me know in case you’d like me to share knowledge at:
- Conferences
- Cultural events
Teaching
Knowledge through educationKnowledge through education
Quality educational services are very important to me. It’s how we can pass knowledge to others in the most direct way. How I share scientific knowledge.
- Academic seminars at Universities
- Public lectures
- Workshops for the public
Writing
Publishing Scientific knowledgePublishing scientific knowledge
I explain difficult scientific topics in a simple style. My articles appear mostly in international peer reviewed journals about:
- Food environments
- Sustainable food production and consumption
- Digital food cultures
Organizing
Design, management, implementationDesign, management, implementation
From organizing scientific congresses to implementing a smartphone based application about nutrition and coordinating transdisciplinary research in an international context.