Bio.
I’m an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business and Social Sciences in the Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie University. My research lies at the intersection of finance, innovation and sustainable food systems.
Education.
Postdoctoral Fellow (2022), University of Toronto, Funded by SSHRC
PhD Social and Ecological Sustainability (2021), University of Waterloo, Funded by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and SSHRC
MA Global Governance, University of Waterloo (2012)
BA International Development Studies, McGill University (2007)
Peer-Reviewed Publications.
Dai, D., Stephens, P., Si, Z. (2024). E-grocery as a new site of financialization? Financial drivers of the rise and fall of China’s E-grocery sector. Food Security. https://rdcu.be/dAExJ
Isakson, R., Clapp, J., Stephens, P. (2023). The Financialization of Agricultural Commodities: Implications for Food Security. In Elgar Handbook on Food Security and Governance. Edward-Elgar.
Stephens, P. and Wolf, S. (2023). Agritech Entrepreneurship, Innovation Intermediaries, and Sustainability Transitions: A critical analysis. Journal of Innovation Economics and Management.
Dordi, T., Stephens, P., Geobey, S., Weber, O. (2023) New Bottle or New Label? Distinguishing impact investing from responsible or ethical investing. Accounting and Finance.
Stephens, P., Clapp, J., Isakson, R. (2023). Financialisation and Sustainable Diets. In Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets. Edited by Kathleen Kevany and Paolo Prosperi.
Stephens, P. (2022). Financialization in the Food System Perspective. In Food Studies: Matter, Meaning & Movement. Edited by David Szanto, Amanda Di Battista, and Irena Knezevic.
Stephens, P. and Hinton, L. (2021). The State of Post-Secondary Food Studies Pedagogy in Canada: An exploration of philosophical and normative underpinnings. Canadian Food Studies, 8(4).
Clapp, J., Collins, A., Stephens, P. (2021). How the Legacies of the Last Global Food Crisis Sowed the Seeds for the Next One. Oxford University Press.
Stephens, P. (2021). Doctoral Thesis: Social Finance for Sustainable Food Systems. The University of Waterloo.
Stephens, P. (2021). Social Financing for a Resilient Food Future. Sustainability 13(12).
Stephens, P. (2021). Social finance for sustainable food systems: opportunities, tensions and ambiguities. Agriculture and Human Values, 38(4), 1123-1137.
Stephens, P. and Clapp, J. (2020). Financing Food System Regeneration? The potential of social finance in the agrifood sector. In Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems. Routledge.
Stephens, P., Knezevic, I., and Best, L. (2019). Community financing for sustainable food systems: The case of FarmWorks Investment Co-operative. Canadian Food Studies 6(3): 60-87.
Stephens, P., Nelson, C., Levkoe, C., Mount, P., Knezevic, I., Blay-Palmer, A., Martin, A-M. (2019). A Perspective on Social Economy and Food Systems: Key insights and thoughts on future research. Canadian Food Studies 6(3): 5-17.
Clapp, J. and Stephens, P. (2019). Financialising Nature. In Handbook of Global Sustainability Governance. Routledge.
Clapp, J. and Stephens, P. (2018). Researching the Global Environmental Politics of Food In Research Agenda for Global Environmental Politics. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar.
Stephens, P. (2016). The Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment. In Land Grabbing and Global Governance. Routledge.
Stephens, P. Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment. (2013). Globalizations, 10(1): 187-192.
Stephens, P. The Global Land Grab: An analysis of extant governance institutions. (2011). International Affairs Review, 20(1): 1-21.
Stephens, P. Equity Norms in Global Environmental Governance. (2011). Canadian Journal of Globalization Borderlands, 1(2): 23-51.
Current Projects.
2023-2025: Financing versus Funding for Sustainable Agriculture
Funded by: McCall McBain Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
This research project responds to a recent spike in interest from investors and funders in sustainable agriculture and explores the nuances between the various approaches. Pertinent questions include: 1) What funding programs currently exist for sustainable agriculture? 2) What are the opportunities different types of funding programs create for sustainable agriculture? 3) What are the constraints different types of funding programs impose on sustainable agriculture? 4) What versions of sustainable agriculture are being supported through these investments? 5) What lessons can be learned for broader policy application?
2024-2025: Price Check: Exploring Resilience in Canada’s Diversified Food Systems
Funded by: SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant
Role: Principal Investigator
The overarching research questions guiding this project are: 1) How have food prices in local food systems changed from 2018- 2023 compared to those of the CFCPI?; 2) What factors have influenced pricing trends in local food systems during this time?; 3) What do these results tell us about the relationship between market concentration and the resilience of food systems? Farmers’ markets are a cornerstone of local food systems, and thus a useful starting point to gather data on local food prices. I conducted a pilot survey that was distributed to farmers markets across Canada in November 2023 with the help of Canadian Farmers Markets, Farmers Markets of Nova Scotia, CAPE, and Farmers Markets of Ontario. The survey had higher uptake than anticipated - more than 250 farmers market vendors responded to the survey. This high response rate suggests strong farmer interest and engagement. Roughly half of the surveyed vendors expressed interest in more in-depth follow-up interviews. This research brings into conversation the literature on corporate concentration and financialization in the food system with alternative food networkss. By doing so, it fills theoretical and empirical gaps that are critical to understanding food system resilience.
Media Engagement.
Loblaw earns $529M in Q4 profits as Canadians struggle with rising food prices, February 23, 2023, CBC News.
CBC Newsroom - Grocery Profits Interview, February 26, 2023, CBC News Network.
“Food Giants Reap Enormous Profits During Times of Crisis.” The Conversation Canada.
Episode 603: Corporate Concentration and Food Prices. July 2, 2022. Day 6 from CBC Radio.
630 CHED Mornings with Chelsea Bird & Daryl McIntyre: Food Giants Reap Enormous Profits During Times of Crisis. July 1, 2022.
CBC Syndicate Interviews on Food Prices and Corporate Concentration. Individual interviews were conducted and aired on July 4, 2022 on: Mainstreet (Halifax); Here and Now (Toronto); On the Go (St. John’s); All Points West (Victoria); Let’s Go (Montreal); Afternoon Drive (London, Windsor, Sudbury and Thunderbay); Mainstreet (Cape Breton); Afternoon Edition (Sakatchewan); Shift (New Brunswick); On the Coast (Vancouver); Up to Speed (Winnpieg); Radio West (Kelowna); Radio Active (Edmonton); Breakaway (Quebec City); Homestretch (Calgary); Airplay (Whitehorse).