Walking onto the Justice Brothers Ranch, I could feel the Arizona sun beaming down on me, paired with the ongoing noise of airplanes flying over the Waddell area. It had been a long day of farm visits for my Sustainable Food Systems cohort. We had visited all larger, conventional farms earlier in the day, and we were looking forward to learning about what this farmer had to say about his citrus farm.

Director of the Biodesign Center for Health Through Microbiomes, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, shares insights into how the center partners with the human microbiome to improve people’s health.

If you know a thing or two about plants and tree species, you could find a lovely meal on the Arizona State University campus. You walk outside, and foods like oranges, olives, mint, rosemary, and many more surround you. Walking the ASU campus, our tour guide, Deborah Thirkhill, took us on a campus food journey that could be the future for more college campuses.

Director of the ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Jeffrey Kordower, reveals how his team of researchers is in a race against time to find effective treatments, if not a cure, for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

This is the first in a series of profiles of former faculty and staff members of ASU’s Biodesign Institute in celebration of its 20th anniversary. Engineering microbes to fight deadly

Over the course of the fall 2023 Food and Farm Immersion, Hayden Flour Mills was one of the sites I was looking forward to visiting the most. The essence of Hayden Flour Mills mission is to shift consumers away from processed grains towards the natural, flavorful, and nutrient-rich products, which they achieve through the art of stone milling and the revival of heritage grains.

In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. Read on for an interview with Erica Martin, Graduate Research Associate.

Paloma Dairy host and farm owner Robert Van Hofwegen, Sr, begins our tour with a hint of fire and brimstone, “This is not a factory.”

In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. Read on for an interview with Joe Dobrow, Professor of Practice.

“Green waste” refers to organic waste that is generated from plants and other organic materials. While green waste from some sources, such as kitchen scraps, is easy to compost; other materials, such as tree stumps, branches and other woody yard waste are sizable and take longer to decompose, making their disposal a challenge.

Read on for an interview with Sara El-Sayed, Co-Director of the Biomimicry Center and Assistant Research Professor at the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems.

Nestled within the heart of Echo Canyon School in Scottsdale, AZ, there exists a vibrant oasis of greenery and learning—the school garden. On a recent visit to this unique educational sanctuary, our cohort had the pleasure of immersing myself in the beauty of nature, witnessing firsthand the importance of passing down knowledge and cocreating a space with our youth.