Dr Alex Sexton

Biography	I am a cultural and economic geographer interested in the geographies, politics and histories of food innovation, with a focus on high-tech meat and dairy alternatives. I completed a PhD in Human Geography at King's College London. I also hold an MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Policy (University of Oxford), an MSc in Medieval Studies (University of Edinburgh) and an MA Hons in Classical Studies (University of Edinburgh). Prior to joining the department, I held a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship in Human Geography at the University of Sheffield, and was a postdoctoral researcher on the Wellcome Trust-funded 'Livestock, Environment & People' project at University of Oxford. My research interests are focussed around three core themes: 1) The material and cultural politics of food: I am particularly interested in the ways that notions of edibility, novelty and ‘good’ food become established, as well as how they change. I have conducted work examining how alternative proteins have challenged the ontological categories of ‘meat’, ‘milk’ and other animal foods, and the biopolitics inherent to the establishment of these technologies as both edible and better foodstuffs. 2) The geographies and political economies of (food) innovation: my research also investigates the changing economic geographies of food innovation that alternative proteins have prompted in recent years. I am especially interested in the relationship between place and the cultures of innovation, and have examined the specific role the high-tech region of Silicon Valley has played in shaping the material and economic trajectories of alternative proteins. As part of this work, my research interrogates the notion of ‘disruption’ as always beneficial and benevolent, exploring how alternative proteins represent both disruption and a continuation of the food system in different and problematic ways. 3) Defining global food problems and solutions: Linked to the previous strand, I am interested in the historical and changing discourses of food security in policy and corporate contexts, examining how and by whom global food problems are defined and the “politics of possibility” this creates in shaping the knowledge fields, actors and solutions that become legitimised and normalised. In addition to my academic research, I have conducted expert advisory work for the UK Government, World Economic Forum and members of the European Parliament. I gave a keynote at the 2021 Food and Communication conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 'Feeding the world Silicon Valley-style: Place, promise and the future of protein'. I have been an invited speaker at international conferences including the EAT Stockholm Food Forum and at think tanks such as Chatham House and Green Alliance. I am a Council Member for the Food Ethics Council and a co-founder of Cultivate, a non-profit UK-based group that supports informed, multi-voiced dialogue about the emergent field of cellular agriculture from UK perspectives. With my Cultivate colleagues, we host an annual conference in the UK that brings together academics, industry practitioners and agri-food stakeholders to critically discuss the opportunities and impacts cellular agriculture presents to UK food systems. I also co-led a BBSRC-funded project between 2022-24 with Professor Tom MacMillan (Royal Agricultural University) and Illtud Dunsford (Cellular Agriculture Ltd), entitled: 'Is cultured meat a threat or opportunity for UK farmers?'. Findings and reflections from the work can be found in this report: https://www.rau.ac.uk/research/research-at-rau/cultured-meat-report
Teaching and Learning	L1 Human Geography ('Home' block) L2 Social Research Methods (Participatory Methods)

Biography

I am a cultural and economic geographer interested in the geographies, politics and histories of food innovation, with a focus on high-tech meat and dairy alternatives.

I completed a PhD in Human Geography at King's College London. I also hold an MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Policy (University of Oxford), an MSc in Medieval Studies (University of Edinburgh) and an MA Hons in Classical Studies (University of Edinburgh). Prior to joining the department, I held a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship in Human Geography at the University of Sheffield, and was a postdoctoral researcher on the Wellcome Trust-funded 'Livestock, Environment & People' project at University of Oxford.

My research interests are focussed around three core themes:

1) The material and cultural politics of food: I am particularly interested in the ways that notions of edibility, novelty and ‘good’ food become established, as well as how they change. I have conducted work examining how alternative proteins have challenged the ontological categories of ‘meat’, ‘milk’ and other animal foods, and the biopolitics inherent to the establishment of these technologies as both edible and better foodstuffs.

2) The geographies and political economies of (food) innovation: my research also investigates the changing economic geographies of food innovation that alternative proteins have prompted in recent years. I am especially interested in the relationship between place and the cultures of innovation, and have examined the specific role the high-tech region of Silicon Valley has played in shaping the material and economic trajectories of alternative proteins. As part of this work, my research interrogates the notion of ‘disruption’ as always beneficial and benevolent, exploring how alternative proteins represent both disruption and a continuation of the food system in different and problematic ways.

3) Defining global food problems and solutions: Linked to the previous strand, I am interested in the historical and changing discourses of food security in policy and corporate contexts, examining how and by whom global food problems are defined and the “politics of possibility” this creates in shaping the knowledge fields, actors and solutions that become legitimised and normalised.

In addition to my academic research, I have conducted expert advisory work for the UK Government, World Economic Forum and members of the European Parliament. I gave a keynote at the 2021 Food and Communication conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 'Feeding the world Silicon Valley-style: Place, promise and the future of protein'. I have been an invited speaker at international conferences including the EAT Stockholm Food Forum and at think tanks such as Chatham House and Green Alliance.

I am a Council Member for the Food Ethics Council and a co-founder of Cultivate, a non-profit UK-based group that supports informed, multi-voiced dialogue about the emergent field of cellular agriculture from UK perspectives. With my Cultivate colleagues, we host an annual conference in the UK that brings together academics, industry practitioners and agri-food stakeholders to critically discuss the opportunities and impacts cellular agriculture presents to UK food systems.

I also co-led a BBSRC-funded project between 2022-24 with Professor Tom MacMillan (Royal Agricultural University) and Illtud Dunsford (Cellular Agriculture Ltd), entitled: 'Is cultured meat a threat or opportunity for UK farmers?'. Findings and reflections from the work can be found in this report: https://www.rau.ac.uk/research/research-at-rau/cultured-meat-report

Teaching and Learning

L1 Human Geography ('Home' block)
L2 Social Research Methods (Participatory Methods)