Julie Guthman, The Problem with Solutions
Julie Guthman is a geographer and professor of sociology and community studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she where she conducts research on the conditions of possibility for food system transformation in the US. Her 2019 book, Wilted: Pathogens, Chemicals, and the Fragile Future of the Strawberry Industry, was the recipient of the 2020 American Association of Geographers Meridian Award for outstanding scholarly work in geography. Her earlier publications include two other multi-award winning monographs, an edited collection, over sixty peer-reviewed journal articles and dozens of other book chapters, book reviews, commentaries, and public-facing pieces. Her research and writing has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the USDA, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, and Mesa Refuge. She has also received an Excellence in Research Award from the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the Martin M. Chemers Award for Outstanding Research from the Social Sciences Division at UC Santa Cruz. Her book, The Problem with Solutions, stems from her research with the UC-AFTeR Project, a multi-campus collaboration exploring Silicon Valley’s recent forays into food and agriculture.