Sam studies economics as humanity's allocation of abundance, not scarcity. Rather than thinking of the earth system as the limiting constraint, he wants to study how communities and societies can practice collective self-limitation according to the world they want to inhabit now and in the future. Sam learned to think this way during a one-year Fulbright fellowship at the Autonomous University of Barcelona from his then-supervisor, Professor Giorgos Kallis. Sam and Giorgos are currently finishing up a book about why technology alone will not solve the environmental crisis.

Now at UVM, Sam researches the ecological economics of essential resources with Professor Josh Farley and labmates, with a focus on food. If the economy cannot sustainably feed humans, then what is it good for? Non-market systems for producing and distributing food particularly interest Sam. When not busy reading, writing, or complying with the rules, Sam loves bicycling, recycling, nutrient cycling, and anarchism.

Advisor: Josh Farley

Home school or college: Rubenstein

Dissertation: Decommodifying food