Lucy Hinton

Lucy Hinton is a PhD student and doctoral fellow in the Global Governance program at BSIA. Supervised by Dr. Jennifer Clapp, Canadian Research Chair in Food Security and Sustainability, Lucy’s dissertation is focused on an investigation of food culture change in Costa Rica. Using a mixed-methods approach, she is interested in the dynamics of food culture change in the Global South’s nutrition transition. Using a food regime theoretical framework, Lucy applies the notion of both a corporate food regime and the prevalence of ‘the empty calorie’ to her work, concentrating on the Ticos’ perceptions of dietary change and the influence of corporate Big Food.

Prior to coming to the BSIA, Lucy has worked in a number of fields. Having a strong environmental background, she worked as a project management coordinator for the Guelph to Goderich Rail Trail. She has lived and worked in Kathmandu, Nepal, assisting a local forestry and agriculture organization. This work helped her move into her Master’s research in Halifax, NS, which focused on a group of ethnically Nepali Bhutanese refugees and their use of a community food garden to improve both social integration and dietary integration into Canadian society. Lucy’s research is centred on the dynamics of food culture and sustainability, and understanding the conditions and influences on them.

Lucy was also the Valedictorian of her graduating class at the University of Waterloo in 2013, and is the recipient of graduate awards from Dalhousie University and Millennium Excellence awards. She also received the Kavelmann-Fond Award for International Experience from the University of Waterloo. Lucy also holds a Private Pilot’s Licence and Glider Instructor Rating, and can often be found on weekends teaching gliding with the Royal Canadian Air Cadet Gliding Program.