dr. DM (Vera) Vernooij

I am a social scientist motivated by understanding and informing transformative sustainability and circularity processes in agri-food systems, with a focus on socio-economic and environmental food system outcomes. I am happiest working in interdisciplinary teams. My research approach is diagnostic, aiming to understand current agri-food practices, and relevant (historical and present-day) factors that are shaping the current and possible future practices.

I have an educational background in anthropology and development sociology (BSc) and environmental sciences (MSc). During my PhD I studied how diverse actors and their situated practices can be captured and accommodated in sustainability transitions, specificaly in the nexus between socio-economic development and climate change ambitions unfolding in Kenya’s dairy sector.

Key topics I am currently working on as an applied researcher and project leader are Food Loss & Waste monitoring, circular sidestream valorisation and the food-feed-energy nexus, and sustainability in the food processing industry in the Netherlands; empowering bottom-up roadmap development towards circular economy strategies in Central en Eastern Europe; and food and nutrition security across cases in upcoming economies, including via the inclusion of so-called 'informal' sector actors, and participatory trade-offs and synergies identification processes.