Dominique Barjolle

Principal Investigator True Cost of Food Project, UNIL

Dominique is Principal Investigator for the True Cost of Food project. She co-leads the coordination and knowledge transfer, as well as the focus on food system transformation and theory of change.

She supervises research projects and teaches at the University of Lausanne – Institute of Geography and Sustainability and ETHZ – Institute of Agriculture – Sustainable Agroecosystems Group.

She is currently involved in projects related to the resilience of farmers and breeders in the Entremont region of Valais; economic transparency in the agricultural sector in the Canton of Vaud; developing responsible models for the deployment of robotics in agricultural systems; and the equitable distribution of value in Swiss food supply chains.

Research participation & Publications

The True Cost Accounting for Food: an interdisciplinary project

We believe that one solution for transitioning towards more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems is the implementation of the true cost of food from farm to fork, i.e. environmental, social, and health externalities being accounted for in the cost of food. Several (scientific, business and policy) attempts have been proposed, yet they either focus on carbon emissions or waste footprint, the social or the health and nutrition aspects.

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