Ben McCormick
The Rowett Institute
Ashgrove Rd W
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZD
Biography
Ben's current research focuses on sustainability in the food system. With a background in the ecology of disease, and child growth and development, he is interested in the drivers of complex systems and the interplay between people and place. Current projects span the food system from consumer behaviour to agricultural production.
Using statistical analyses, he is examining how whole diets may change if people start to reduce meat consumption using both individual cross-sectional consumption data and longitudinal household purchase data.
With computer simulation modelling, Ben is exploring the cascading consequences of dietary change and government policy on the interactions between producers and processors within the food supply chain. Building an ambitious model of the whole agricultural system of Scotland, the aim is to test the link between subsidies and the production of healthy and sustainable foods. The modelling framework has exciting potential to go beyond material flow between businesses and touches on other aspects of the social-environmental system, the circular economy and waste.
