Chris Bacon

Christopher M. Bacon works to understand issues of social justice and environmental sustainability. He was a Switzer Fellow in 2001 and received a Leadership Grant in 2005-06. He grew up within the close rural communities and diverse landscapes of down east Maine and northern California. After graduating with BA degrees in both Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara, he worked for the World Resources Institute and then served for two years in Peace Corps Nicaragua. He later returned to finish a Ph.D. from the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has consulted for small-scale farmers cooperatives in Latin America, international development agencies (Oxfam, Lutheran World Relief, and Twin Trading) and sustainable coffee companies (Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Equal Exchange). Current action and research partnerships concern hunger alleviation and building food sovereignty. Chris is beginning collaborations that will complement the Latin America-based work with a second line of collaborations intended to develop policy-relevant environmental justice and community development oriented research agenda in California. He is an author and co-editor of Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America (MIT Press), and several articles related to food and environmental governance, fair trade and organic foods, participatory action research, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable community development.

Chris is currently an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at Santa Clare University.