I and my lab study animal welfare. We're interested in how to create good living conditions for animals kept in labs, zoos and farms; in how scientists can assess well-being objectively; and in what happens to brain and behaviour when animals are raised and kept lifelong in confining, barren enclosures.
Immigrant families settling the land, quilting bees, and ploughing matches are examples of some of the social and economic topics of early Ontario that link my work to the larger expertise of this University concerning agriculture and rural communities.
My research attempts to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of pork production in Ontario and Canada, to support a vibrant and diverse industry that employees many people, which ultimately provides high-quality, safe, and affordable pork for us to eat.
My research lies in the field of global environmental governance, focusing primarily on the role of cities and transnational city-networks in reducing the world's global carbon footprint.
My research program is the only one in Canada that integrates economics, hydrology, and GIS to examine the cost effectiveness of landscape conservation programs.