//WORKING GROUP 1
Who feeds us? How are we eating? How does our food impact the environment? How could we eat in the future? These are the questions we try to answer in Working Group 1.
We take a closer look at the way food and agriculture work today to learn how we can create ecologically and socially sustainable agrifood systems. We also assist the other Working Groups by providing information about food production and consumption at our different project sites.
Because food and agriculture are linked in complex ways, we use a range of methods in our research. These include for example GIS and land use analysis, spatially and conceptually mapping formal and informal food flows, participatory foodshed mapping, consumer surveys, ecological footprint modelling in collaboration with the Global Footprint Network, and modelling of potential future diets.

Assistant Professor, The University of Tokyo
GROUP CHAIR

GROUP CHAIR

Senior Researcher, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
HEADQUARTER

Researcher, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
HEADQUARTER
I study the relationship between people and riparian nature in areas of human activity such as cities and agricultural villages, with a focus on the Lake Biwa hydrological system. Using food as point of entry, I want to learn more about how characteristic regional food culture is connected with aquatic organisms, especially fish.

Junior Researcher, Kyoto University



Louis Augustin-Jean is currently Visiting Scholar at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and was formerly Associate Professor in Development Economics at the University of Tsukuba. His current research interests are in the field of the economic sociology of food (the sociology of food markets in China; geographical indications in Asia) as well as food safety and food risks.
Research Paper on Ecological Footprint in 47 Prefectures in Japan in Journal of Cleaner Prodcution
WG1 members co-authored a peer-reviewed paper “Decentralization & local food: Japan’s regional Ecological Footprints indicate localized sustainability strategies” on their research results of Ecological Footprint analysis in 47 prefectures in Japan, collaboratively with researchers from Global Footprint Network and WWF Japan, which was published in “Journal of Cleaner Production”. You can acc...
Ecological Footprint Research Data on WWF&GNF Report
A report “Kankyou to Mukiau Machizukuri – Nihon no Ecological Footprint 2019 – (Community development striving for better environment – Ecological Footprint in Japan 2019 – (English title is not official)” co-authored by WWF Japan and Global Foot Print Network was published on July 26th, 2019. Global environmental issues stem largely from our daily consumer activity. Nonetheless, we fail to r...
Mapping urban food production sessions at AAG2018
On April 10-14th 2018, the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. FEAST organized two sessions on “Mapping urban food production” and the members also made two presentations. Mapping urban food production I Mapping urban food production I 1. “Assessing supply-demand balance of nitrogen toward local-scale organic material circulation: a...
Research Paper on Landscape Conservation in Journal of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture
A journal article on landscape conservation as WG1 research outputs was published in Journal of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture Vol.81, No.3 (Oct 2017). “Minabe-Tanabe Ume System: Its Landscape Characteristics and Dynamic Conservation Measures” Yuji Hara and Yuki Sampei (Wakayama University) p.282-283...
Peer-reviewed paper on urban agriculture in "Sustainable Sciences”
A journal article “Assessing urban agriculture potential: a comparative study of Osaka, Japan and New York city, United States” co-authored by Prof. Yuji Hara, WG1 Chair and Associate Professor at Wakayama University, was published in Sustainable Science. Abstract: In this study, we examined urban agricultural production potential in New York city (NYC) in the United States and Osaka in Japan i...
Peer-reviewed paper of WG1's research on land use in Kyoto City published on "Sustainability"
A peer-reviewed paper “Urban Agriculture as a Sustainability Transition Strategy for Shrinking Cities? Land Use Change Trajectory as an Obstacle in Kyoto City, Japan” co-authored by Kimisato Oda, Christoph Rupprecht, Kazuaki Tsuchiya (The University of Tokyo) and Steven McGreevy was published on an international journal, Sustainability 10(4). “Urban Agriculture as a Sustainability Transition St...
Paper on Wakayama GIAHS site published in "Sustainability"
A peer-reviewed paper “The Minabe-Tanabe Ume System: Linkage of Landscape Units by Locals” by Prof. Yuji Hara at Wakayama University was published in “Sustainability 10(4)”. “The Minabe-Tanabe Ume System: Linkage of Landscape Units by Locals” by Yuji Hara, Yuki Sampei and Hirotaka Tanaka Abstract:This paper focuses on the Minabe-Tanabe Ume system, which was designated as a Globally Important Ag...
Ready for more-than-human? Measuring urban residents’ willingness to coexist with animals (Christoph Rupprecht)
A peer-reviewed paper “Ready for more-than-human? Measuring urban residents’ willingness to coexist with animals” by Christoph Rupprecht (FEAST Project Researcher), which includes the research outputs of WG1, was published on Fennia-International Journal of Geography. Abstract: In the context of rapid urbanisation, geographers are calling for embracing non-humans as urban co-inhabitan...
The 1st RIHN/UCB International Workshop (Christoph Rupprecht)
On November 6-7th, the first RIH/UCB International Workshop “Food, Agriculture, and Human Impacts on the Environment: Japan, Asia and Beyond” to commemorate the signing of a memorandum of understanding was held on the Berkeley campus. Christoph Rupprecht, Project Researcher, gave a talk on the WG1 research outputs as follows: Part I. Food and Agriculture Session 1. Urban biocultural foo...
Informal Urban Green Space: Residents’ Perception, Use, and Management Preferences across Four Major Japanese Shrinking Cities
A paper about informal green space in Japan was published in “land” (Volume 6, Issue 3). “Informal Urban Green Space: Residents’ Perception, Use, and Management Preferences across Four Major Japanese Shrinking Cities” Christoph Rupprecht Abstract: Urban residents’ health depends on green infrastructure to cope with climate change. Shrinking cities could utilize vacant land to provide more g...
Cross-cultural culinary mapping — How locals and tourists navigate the foodscape of Chiang Mai, Thailand
Type: Poster presentation Author: Rupprecht, C. D. D. Conference: JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017, Chiba Abstract: Local food and food culture is integral to residents’ everyday lives, but also an important driver of tourism. Whether we explore as visitors, or know exactly where to find our favourite treats, shapes how we experience the local foodscape and interact with it. These diverging roles ...
The potential of seed saving in constructing alternative food spaces in Japan
Author: Kawai, A Conference: Presentation at American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2017, Boston...
Degrowing urban Japan: From vacant lots to biocultural cityscapes
Authors: Rupprecht CDD, McGreevy SR Conference: American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2017, Boston Available on ResearchGate....
Who feeds us? Building GIS integrated analytical toolkits for food systems localization
Authors: Tsuchiya, K., Hara, Y.*, McGreevy, S. Conference: Second International Conference of the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI 2016), Orono, ME, USA....
How can Mediterranean societies thrive in an era of decreasing resources?
Highlights: The average Food Footprint of a Mediterranean resident is approximately 0.9 gha per person—with a range from 0.6 gha—thus higher than that of such countries as India (0.4 gha), China (0.5 gha), Costa Rica (0.6 gha) and Germany (0.8 gha). In analysis of 12 Mediterranean cities, Cairo has the highest total Ecological Footprint, followed by Barcelona and Rome. The Mediterranean cit...
Informal urban green-space: comparison of quantity and characteristics in Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan
Abstract: Informal urban green-space (IGS) such as vacant lots, brownfields and street or railway verges is receiving growing attention from urban scholars. Research has shown IGS can provide recreational space for residents and habitat for flora and fauna, yet we know little about the quantity, spatial distribution, vegetation structure or accessibility of IGS. We also lack a commonly accepted...
The Political Economy of Agro-Food Markets in China: A Social Construction of the Markets in an Era of Globalization
About the book: China’s agricultural production and food consumption have increased tremendously, leading to a complete evolution of agro-food markets.The book is divided into two parts; the first part reviews the theoretical framework for the ‘social construction of the markets,’ while the second part presents the implication for the agro-food markets in China....