Rausser College on COVID-19

In the journal Global Public Health,  co-author and associate professor Seth Holmes identifies how racism has exacerbated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-white communities. Holmes, a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, worked with researchers in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health for the study.

Environmental Science, Policy, and Management associate professor Seth Holmes’ Op-Ed calls on healthcare professionals to acknowledge the critical role of an unequal social system in the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a study, alumna Maywa Montenegro de Wit identifies ways in which COVID-19 has exposed racial issues in the agrifood industry. Combining lessons from ecology and social science, Montenegro de Wit suggests ways for agroecologists to learn from abolition to dismantle exploitative systems.

During the heatwave in the Southwest, Americans may spend more energy on cooling buildings as they stay home to social distance. Energy & Resources Group alumnus Christopher Jones speaks about the increased demand for energy from cooling, as well as the stress it places on vulnerable communities and the economy.

In an article in California Magazine, professor Dan Kammen in the Energy and Resources Group joins a group of Berkeley experts, writing about the potential aftermath of the novel coronavirus pandemic. He argues that greed, social inequity, environmental distruction, and the sidelining of science have all made the outbreak much more devastating.

In a Haas Energy Institute blog post, agricultural and resource economics professor Meredith Fowlie writes about green stimulus investments. She argues that certain policies could help simultaneously address the economic downturn, climate change, and social inequities.

Daphne Miller, a past fellow at the Berkeley Food Institute, writes about how the pandemic has led some farmers in the Midwest to shift production. Many growers are moving away from growing staple commodities, such as corn and wheat destined for international markets, to grow fruit and vegetables for local communities.

As ICE agents continue to conduct raids among immigrant communities during COVID-19, environmental science, policy, and management associate professor Seth Holmes writes about how such actions can harm these communities and public health at large.

Environmental Science, Policy, and Management associate professor Seth Holmes and graduate student Vera Chang discuss the tough choice food workers across the U.S. must make between remaining healthy or financially stable during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Berkeley Food Institute—in collaboration with the Stanford Medicine Department of Pediatrics, the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, and UC Berkeley California Outdoor Engagement Coalition—provides many resources on food safety related to Covid-19.

In a recent Op-ed, environmental science, policy, and management professor Seth Holmes writes about the challenges faced by healthcare professionals in the United States as they confront the coronavirus pandemic.

Environmental science, policy, and management professor Seth Holmes discusses the need for social solidarity during the coronavirus crisis. He also addresses the federal response to the pandemic, calls for support of frontline health professionals, and warns against stigmatization and division. Holmes also wrote an Op-Ed about this for The BMJ.

As the coronavirus pandemic leaves only essential services operational in many areas, shelter-in-place orders can also designate farms, farm stands, and farmer’s markets as “essential businesses.” In a UC ANR blog, Cooperative Extension specialist Jennifer Sowerwine discusses affordable, healthy food access in the time of coronavirus.