Lauren Gwin

Lauren is on the faculty at Oregon State University as the Extension Food Systems Specialist, Associate Director of the Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems (http://centerforsmallfarms.oregonstate.edu), and an Assistant Professor of Extension in the Department of Crop & Soil Science. Her extension and research focus on policy and regulations, small-scale processing, community food systems, and distribution and marketing within local and regional food systems. She also directs the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network, a network of university extension faculty, NGOs, government officials, livestock producers, processors, and others involved with/supporting small-scale processing for local/regional, niche markets. She did her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy and Management and wrote her thesis on barriers to/opportunities for sustainable animal agriculture and meat production, with a focus on beef. She is interested in how sustainable food systems can be expanded to involve more producers, consumers, land, and animals, without compromising environment, health, and social benefits. Before entering graduate school, she worked for eight years in the environmental, human rights, and renewable energy fields. Her husband is a wildlife biologist; her two daughters, Lillie and Susannah, are somewhat wild themselves.