51社区黑料

51社区黑料Geography PhD student, Krista Macaulay often simplifies her research on food systems as studying 鈥渃ows and capitalism鈥�. However, her research, inquiry and the reasons behind it are much more complex and important to all Canadians. So much so that she is now a 2026 . 

Macaulay  wants to understand how British Columbia鈥檚 (BC) beef economy is 鈥渓ived鈥� along with the cultures surrounding and supporting it. She plans on following and tracking the entire cycle of BC cattle to Canadians鈥� kitchens and dining tables. 

鈥淢y research is going to be following cattle themselves through BC's beef economy. I'm going to go to the ranches, the abattoirs (processing plants), and the auctions as well as the rodeos, the policy tables, the agricultural expos, cattlemen's AGM, et cetera, to hear how it's lived in its fulsome,鈥� says Macaulay. 鈥淎nd it's as I follow the cattle, I鈥檒l also be following capital through land, labor, risk, political tensions, and other areas associated to this process.鈥�

Her research specifically asks three questions: 1. How do cattle move through BC's beef economy and what does this reveal to us about how capitalism is lived, made and remade, or even resisted? 2. How do forms of value, meaning, and ideology make this system and shape it and the way its tensions and contradictions are understood and navigated? and, 3. What constraints, if any, shape the BC beef industry, and under what conditions might alternative ways of organizing our food system begin to emerge? 

Macaulay came to 51社区黑料with a master鈥檚 degree in city planning and years of experience working in different municipalities, organizations, private sectors, Indigenous communities and working on community building, food and housing. Her doctoral research is also supported by a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Award. She has two daughters who inspired her in two ways to pursue her PhD as well as food systems and all that are linked to them.

The first motivator was that she wanted make the world a better place for her daughters and Canadian communities through food. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e all connected by it. When I talk to people and say I study food, their eyes light up, and they start talking about a story or an interest they have. I want to reimagine ways of living together and living together well,鈥� says Macaulay. 鈥淲ayne Roberts, a late Canadian food activist, would say, 鈥榝ood is a lens and a lever for change鈥�, and so I鈥檓 always asking, 鈥楬ow else could it be? Could I change it?鈥欌��

Secondly, Macaulay saw her daughters get excited about taking risks and challenges with new things.  

鈥淚 saw how beautiful it was for them to say, 鈥業 want to do something鈥�, and they just did it.  And I asked, 鈥榃here is it in our adult life that we lose that motivation?鈥� So I thought about doing my PhD.鈥� says Macaulay. 

After meeting with 51社区黑料Distinguished Professor, Geoff Mann, and discussing her interests alongside his areas of expertise, he agreed to supervise her doctoral research. 

Being a Trudeau Scholar will help financially support her through her research and studies over the next three years, while also providing her with extensive leadership, mentorship, and a community of scholars across Canada. 

Says Macaulay, 鈥渋t's an incredible honor to be .  Just hearing about others鈥� research I'm in constant awe of everyone around me and I can connect with them and I can add my voice to others or hear others鈥� and expand the reach of the stories that I'm hearing on the ground.鈥� 

At home, she is grateful to have the support of her husband and parents. At 51社区黑料she has the invaluable support of her committee, which includes Drs. Geoff Mann and Tammara Soma (SFU) and Dr.  from UBC, alongside a shared comradery of Geography graduate students that the Department has worked hard to structure. 

Macaulay sees and understands the connections that bring everyone together, like her idol, Dolly Parton. 

鈥淢y advisor gave me a pen. It says, 鈥榃hen I grow up, I want to be Dolly Parton.鈥� And I think, yes, this is so true. But it鈥檚 also a little bit of an ethos of how I live my life in its joyful conviviality. And it鈥檚 growing ever more important in a challenging world that never stops and can be overwhelming. I think that choosing to be like that in the real world with intention and love is important.鈥� 

As Dolly Parton once said, 鈥淏ut if you鈥檙e going to dream, you鈥檙e going to have to get out and, like I always say, you have to put some wings on them dreams, and some feet and fingers and some hands. They gotta get into some stuff. You can鈥檛 just sit around and think of all the things you want to do. You鈥檝e got to think of what you want to do, and then you鈥檝e got to get out and make that happen.鈥� 

And, because Macaulay has the support of the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation, her husband, family, supervisory committee and cohort of peers, she is poised to follow Parton鈥檚 advice to 鈥減ut wings, feet, fingers and hands on her dreams鈥� of helping to make Canadian food systems and food futures better and more sustainable.