I am an early career Sociologist in the fields of environment and development, with a focus on agrifood political and cultural economy. My research focuses on understanding the transformation of local and global food systems in light of shifting social relations and global environmental change, and emphasises the social and political-economic factors underpinning the ways that food production, trade and consumption are understood and contested by multiple actors (farmers, women, supermarkets, policy makers, activists) at local, national and global levels. I have published on food justice and food security, food system resilience, ethical/fair trade, sustainable livelihoods, gender, green economy, governance and financialisation of food and agriculture, and have a growing interest in the right to food. I have conducted qualitative and participatory sociological research in Australia and internationally, have worked with local NGOs (in Africa and Australia), with the United Nations Research Institute in Geneva, and in multidisciplinary research teams spanning the social and natural sciences both here and abroad. I currently work on an Australian Research Council DECRA project exploring 'Fair Food Futures, Civil Society and the SDGS', as well as research on SDGs and civil society more broadly. I am also a Future Earth Fellow, treasurer of the Australasian Agrifood Research Network, and a Research Associate with the Centre for Social Economy in Nicaragua.
Journal Article: The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland, Australia
Smith, Kiah, Lawrence, Geoffrey, MacMahon, Amy, Muller, Jane and Brady, Michelle (2016). The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland, Australia. Agriculture and Human Values, 33 (1), 45-60. doi: 10.1007/s10460-015-9603-1
Book Chapter: Food Systems Failure: Can we Avert Future Crises?
Smith, Kiah (2016). Food Systems Failure: Can we Avert Future Crises?. Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies. (pp. 250-262) edited by Mark Shucksmith and David L. Brown. London: Routledge.
Book: Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods: women smallholders and ethicality in Kenya
Smith, Kiah (2014). Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods: women smallholders and ethicality in Kenya. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203383940
Journal Article: Gender and food security in a fair, green economy?
Smith, Kiah (2012). Gender and food security in a fair, green economy?. Development, 55 (1), 81-89. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.118
Journal Article: Introduction: Green economy and sustainable development, Bringing back the 'social'
Cook, Sarah and Smith, Kiah (2012). Introduction: Green economy and sustainable development, Bringing back the 'social'. Development, 55 (1), 5-9. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.120
(2023–2026) University of Sydney
(2020–2023) Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
Fair Food Futures, Civil Society and the Sustainable Development Goals
(2019–2023) ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Food Sovereignty in Post-Socialist Croatia
Doctor Philosophy
COVID-19 impacts on alternative and local food systems: Unpacking the potential for sustainable food production and consumption
Doctor Philosophy
Civil society participation and reflexive governance in Australia's food system
Doctor Philosophy
Civil Society and the SDGs
I am interested in supervising Honours or RHD students with a focus on food, human rights, civil society and the SDGs. Please contact me directly for more details.
The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland, Australia
Smith, Kiah, Lawrence, Geoffrey, MacMahon, Amy, Muller, Jane and Brady, Michelle (2016). The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland, Australia. Agriculture and Human Values, 33 (1), 45-60. doi: 10.1007/s10460-015-9603-1
Food Systems Failure: Can we Avert Future Crises?
Smith, Kiah (2016). Food Systems Failure: Can we Avert Future Crises?. Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies. (pp. 250-262) edited by Mark Shucksmith and David L. Brown. London: Routledge.
Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods: women smallholders and ethicality in Kenya
Smith, Kiah (2014). Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods: women smallholders and ethicality in Kenya. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203383940
Gender and food security in a fair, green economy?
Smith, Kiah (2012). Gender and food security in a fair, green economy?. Development, 55 (1), 81-89. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.118
Introduction: Green economy and sustainable development, Bringing back the 'social'
Cook, Sarah and Smith, Kiah (2012). Introduction: Green economy and sustainable development, Bringing back the 'social'. Development, 55 (1), 5-9. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.120
Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods: women smallholders and ethicality in Kenya
Smith, Kiah (2014). Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods: women smallholders and ethicality in Kenya. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203383940
Neoliberal Globalization and Beyond: Food, Farming, and the Environment
Lawrence, Geoffrey and Smith, Kiah (2020). Neoliberal Globalization and Beyond: Food, Farming, and the Environment. The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology. (pp. 411-428) edited by Katherine Legun, Michael Bell and J. Keller. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108554558.026
The concept of 'financialization': criticisms and insights
Lawrence, Geoffrey and Smith, Kiah (2018). The concept of 'financialization': criticisms and insights. The financialization of agri-food systems: contested transformations. (pp. 23-41) edited by Hilde Bjørkhaug, André Magnan and Geoffrey Lawrence. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315157887-2
Zero Hunger discourse: neoliberal, progressive, reformist or radical?
Smith, Kiah (2018). Zero Hunger discourse: neoliberal, progressive, reformist or radical?. Contested sustainability discourses in the agrifood system. (pp. 89-110) edited by Douglas H. Constance, Jason Konefal and Maki Hatanaka. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781315161297
Food Systems Failure: Can we Avert Future Crises?
Smith, Kiah (2016). Food Systems Failure: Can we Avert Future Crises?. Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies. (pp. 250-262) edited by Mark Shucksmith and David L. Brown. London: Routledge.
Negotiating organic, fair and ethical trade: Lessons from smallholders in Uganda and Kenya
Smith, Kiah and Lyons, Kristen (2012). Negotiating organic, fair and ethical trade: Lessons from smallholders in Uganda and Kenya. Food systems failure: The global food crisis and the future of agriculture. (pp. 182-202) edited by Christopher Rosin, Paul Stock and Hugh Campbell. London, United Kingdom: Earthscan.
Campbell, Hugh, Lawrence, Geofffrey and Smith, Kiah (2006). Audit Cultures and the Antipodes: The Implications of EurepGAP for New Zealand and Australian Agri-food Industries. Between the Local and the Global: confronting complexity in the contemporary Agri-food sector. (pp. 69-94) edited by T. Marsden and J. Murdoch. Oxford, England: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/S1057-1922(06)12004-1
Tracking farmland investment in Australia: Institutional finance and the politics of data mapping
Smith, Kiah, Langford, Alexandra and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2022). Tracking farmland investment in Australia: Institutional finance and the politics of data mapping. Journal of Agrarian Change. doi: 10.1111/joac.12531
Scaling up civic food utopias in Australia: The challenges of justice and representation
Smith, Kiah (2022). Scaling up civic food utopias in Australia: The challenges of justice and representation. Sociologia Ruralis, 63 (1), 140-159. doi: 10.1111/soru.12368
Malatzky, Christina and Smith, Kiah (2022). Introduction to the special issue – imagining rural futures in times of uncertainty and possibility: progressing a transformative research agenda for rural sociology. Journal of Sociology, 58 (2), 144078332110711-143. doi: 10.1177/14407833211071126
Nemes, Gusztáv, Chiffoleau, Yuna, Zollet, Simona, Collison, Martin, Benedek, Zsófia, Colantuono, Fedele, Dulsrud, Arne, Fiore, Mariantonietta, Holtkamp, Carolin, Kim, Tae-Yeon, Korzun, Monika, Mesa-Manzano, Rafael, Reckinger, Rachel, Ruiz-Martínez, Irune, Smith, Kiah, Tamura, Norie, Viteri, Maria Laura and Orbán, Éva (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on alternative and local food systems and the potential for the sustainability transition: insights from 13 countries. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 28, 591-599. doi: 10.1016/j.spc.2021.06.022
Financialization for development? Asset making on Indigenous land in remote northern Australia
Langford, Alexandra, Lawrence, Geoffrey and Smith, Kiah (2021). Financialization for development? Asset making on Indigenous land in remote northern Australia. Development and Change, 52 (3), 574-597. doi: 10.1111/dech.12648
Agri-food scholarship: Past, present and future contributions to Australasian rural sociology
Smith, Kiah and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2021). Agri-food scholarship: Past, present and future contributions to Australasian rural sociology. Journal of Sociology, 58 (2) 144078332110096, 1-22. doi: 10.1177/14407833211009616
Finance's social license? Sugar, farmland and health
Smith, K. and Lawrence, G. (2021). Finance's social license? Sugar, farmland and health. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 10 (12), 1-11. doi: 10.34172/IJHPM.2021.11
Workfare and food in remote Australia: 'I haven't eaten... I'm really at the end...'
Staines, Zoe and Smith, Kiah (2021). Workfare and food in remote Australia: 'I haven't eaten... I'm really at the end...'. Critical Policy Studies, 16 (1), 36-59. doi: 10.1080/19460171.2021.1893198
Langford, Alexandra, Smith, Kiah and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2020). Financialising governance? State actor engagement with private finance for rural development in the Northern Territory of Australia. Research in Globalization, 2 100026, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.resglo.2020.100026
Localizing SDG2 Zero Hunger through “Fair Food” in Australia
Smith, Kiah (2019). Localizing SDG2 Zero Hunger through “Fair Food” in Australia. Asian Development Perspectives, 10 (2), 135-148. doi: 10.22681/ADP.2019.10.2.135
Smith, Kiah and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2018). From disaster management to adaptive governance? Governance challenges to achieving resilient food systems in Australia. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 20 (3), 387-401. doi: 10.1080/1523908X.2018.1432344
Gendered conventions of ethical trade
Smith, Kiah (2017). Gendered conventions of ethical trade. Journal of Consumer Ethics, 1 (2), 19-30.
The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland, Australia
Smith, Kiah, Lawrence, Geoffrey, MacMahon, Amy, Muller, Jane and Brady, Michelle (2016). The resilience of long and short food chains: a case study of flooding in Queensland, Australia. Agriculture and Human Values, 33 (1), 45-60. doi: 10.1007/s10460-015-9603-1
MacMahon, Amy, Smith, Kiah and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2015). Connecting resilience, food security and climate change: lessons from flooding in Queensland, Australia. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 5 (3), 378-391. doi: 10.1007/s13412-015-0278-0
Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods in Kenya: mixed methods for women's participation
Smith, Kiah (2014). Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods in Kenya: mixed methods for women's participation. Sage Research Methods doi: 10.4135/978144627305013509769
Flooding and food security: a case study of community vulnerability and resilience in Rockhampton
Smith, Kiah and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2014). Flooding and food security: a case study of community vulnerability and resilience in Rockhampton. Rural Society, 23 (3), 215-227. doi: 10.1080/10371656.2014.11082066
Review of Hidden Hunger: Gender and the Politics of Smarter Foods
Smith, Kiah (2014). Review of Hidden Hunger: Gender and the Politics of Smarter Foods. Journal of Development Studies, 50 (7), 1039-1040. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2014.922270
Gender and food security in a fair, green economy?
Smith, Kiah (2012). Gender and food security in a fair, green economy?. Development, 55 (1), 81-89. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.118
Introduction: Green economy and sustainable development, Bringing back the 'social'
Cook, Sarah and Smith, Kiah (2012). Introduction: Green economy and sustainable development, Bringing back the 'social'. Development, 55 (1), 5-9. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.120
Buchler, Sandra, Smith, Kiah and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2010). Food risks, old and new demographic characteristics and perceptions of food additives, regulation and contamination in Australia. Journal of Sociology, 46 (4), 353-374. doi: 10.1177/1440783310384449
Smith, Kiah, Lawrence, Geoffrey and Richards, Carol (2010). Supermarkets’ governance of the agri-food supply chain: Is the ‘corporate-environmental’ food regime evident in Australia?. International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 17 (2), 140-161.
Pluralising food justice in Australia: insights from ‘fair food futures'
Smith, Kiah (2022). Pluralising food justice in Australia: insights from ‘fair food futures'. International Rural Sociology Congress, Cairns, QLD, Australia, 19-22 July 2022.
Tracking farmland investment in Australia: institutional finance and the politics of data mapping
Smith, Kiah, Langford, Zannie and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2022). Tracking farmland investment in Australia: institutional finance and the politics of data mapping. International Rural Sociology Congress, Cairns, QLD, Australia, 19-22 July 2022.
Framing civil society participation in Zero Hunger (SDG2) governance: a document and policy analysis
Horton, Joanna and Smith, Kiah (2021). Framing civil society participation in Zero Hunger (SDG2) governance: a document and policy analysis. Sydney Food Governance, Sydney, Australia (online), 13-15 December 2021.
Smith, Kiah and Brolan, Claire (2021). Enhancing democratic participation and human rights at the SDG crossroad of food, health, gender and wellbeing: Civil society mapping for integrated action on the SDGs in Australia and Canada. Sustainability Research Innovation, Brisbane, Australia (online), 15 June 2022.
Civic food ‘utopias’ in Australia: scaling up from initiative to social movement
Smith, Kiah (2021). Civic food ‘utopias’ in Australia: scaling up from initiative to social movement. International Sociological Association Congress, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 25 February 2021.
Finance's social license? Sugar, health, farmland and the reef
Smith, K. and Lawrence, G. (2021). Finance's social license? Sugar, health, farmland and the reef. International Sociological Association Forum of Sociology, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 25 February 2021.
We told you so…Local food, COVID and resilience as transformation
Smith, Kiah and Horton, Joanna (2020). We told you so…Local food, COVID and resilience as transformation. Food futures in the Anthropocene: Just, place-based, convivial, Hobart, TAS, Australia (online), 9-10 November 2020.
Local food, COVID and resilience as transformation in Australia
Smith, Kiah (2020). Local food, COVID and resilience as transformation in Australia. Seoul Urban Food Policy Conference, Seoul, South Korea, 26 October 2020.
Smith, K. and Lawrence, G. (2019). Mapping Farmland Ownership in Australia: The Politics of Investment Data and Implications for 'Financialisation'. XXVI Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1-4 December 2019.
Smith, Kiah, Lawrence, Geoffrey and Langford, Alexandra (2019). Mapping farmland ownership in Australia: corporate, state and institutional capital investments since 2008. XXVIII European Society for Rural Sociology Congress (ESRS2019), Trondheim, Norway, 25-28 June 2019.
The contribution of agri-food scholarship to australian rural sociology
Lawrence, G. and Smith, K. (2019). The contribution of agri-food scholarship to australian rural sociology. Rural Issues Symposium - The Future of Rural Sociology in Australia, Bendigo, Australia, 28 June 2019.
A 'Quintis'sential Failure? The sandalwood saga in the Ord
Lawrence, G., Smith, K. and Langford, A. (2018). A 'Quintis'sential Failure? The sandalwood saga in the Ord. XXV Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 30 November-5 December 2017.
Recent Chinese Investment in Australia's Agri-food Industries
Lawrence, G., Sippel, S., Smith, K. and Raymond, S. (2016). Recent Chinese Investment in Australia's Agri-food Industries. XXII Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Adelaide, South Australia, 7-10 December 2015.
Smith, K. and Lawrence, G. (2014). From Disaster Management to Reflexive Governance? Challenges to the Governance of Australian Food Systems in 'Crisis'. XXI Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Sydney, NSW Australia, 24-26 November 2014.
Flooding and Food Security: A Case Study of Community Resilience in Rockhampton, Australia
Smith, K. and Lawrence, G. (2013). Flooding and Food Security: A Case Study of Community Resilience in Rockhampton, Australia. XX Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 1-5 December 2013.
Smith, K., Lawrence, G., MacMahon, A., Muller, J. and Brady, M. (2013). The Performance of Long and Short Food Chains in the Queensland Floods of 2011 - a Preliminary Analysis. XX Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 1-5 December 2013.
Governance of food security in times of climate crisis: insights from the 2011 Queensland Floods
Smith, K., Lawrence, G. and MacMahon, A. (2013). Governance of food security in times of climate crisis: insights from the 2011 Queensland Floods. XX Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Melbourne, Australia, 1-5 December 2013.
The resilience of long and short food chains during the Queensland floods of 2011
Smith, K., Lawrence, G., MacMahon, A., Muller, J. and Brady, M. (2013). The resilience of long and short food chains during the Queensland floods of 2011. XX Meeting of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Melbourne, Australia, 1-5 December 2013.
The Globally-engaged Family Farmer: Understanding a New, Transnational, Cosmopolitan Actor
Richards, C., Cheshire, L., Lawrence, G., Smith, K., Skrbis, Z. and Woods, M. (2010). The Globally-engaged Family Farmer: Understanding a New, Transnational, Cosmopolitan Actor. XVII Conference of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Gippsland, VIC Australia, 29 November - 1 December 2010.
Safety, Quality and the Future of Food: Consumer Perspectives of Traditional and Modern Food Risks
Buchler, S., Lawrence, G. and Smith, K. (2008). Safety, Quality and the Future of Food: Consumer Perspectives of Traditional and Modern Food Risks. XV Conference of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Sydney, NSW Australia, 26-28 November 2008.
Australia's Third Food Regime? Global versus National Trends
Lawrence, G. and Smith, K. (2006). Australia's Third Food Regime? Global versus National Trends. XIII Conference of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Dunedin, New Zealand, 27-30 November 2006.
Food Safety Regulation in Australia: an Agenda for Agri-food Research
Lawrence, G., Burch, D. and Smith, K. (2006). Food Safety Regulation in Australia: an Agenda for Agri-food Research. XII Conference of the Australasian Agri-food Research Network, Dunedin, New Zealand, 27-30 November 2006.
Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into foreign investment proposals
Smith, Kiah, Langford, Alexandra and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2020). Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into foreign investment proposals. Canberra, ACT: Senate Standing Committees on Economics.
Smith, Kiah and Staines, Zoe (2020, 10 19). Food, work and sovereignty The Sociological Review Blog
Staines, Zoe and Smith, Kiah (2020). Submission to House Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs Inquiry into Food Pricing and Food Security in Remote Indigenous Communities (submission number 126). Canberra, ACT, Australia: Parliament of Australia.
Food system governance in Australia: Co-creating the recipe for change
Smith, K., Bellotti, W., Davey, T., Dean, J., Durham, J., Ferguson, M., Muriuki, G., Oliver, G., Schubert, L. and Xu, H. (2017). Food system governance in Australia: Co-creating the recipe for change. Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland.
Submission to the Senate Committee on Recent Trends in the Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events
MacMahon, Amy, Smith, Kiah, Muller, Jane, Belesky, Paul, Lawrence, Geoffrey and Brady, M. (2013). Submission to the Senate Committee on Recent Trends in the Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events. Federal Standing Committee on Environment and Communications St Lucia, Qld, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Green Economy or Green Society? Contestation and politics for a fair transition
Cook, Sarah , Smith, Kiah and Utting, Peter (2012). Green Economy or Green Society? Contestation and politics for a fair transition. Geneva, Switzerland.: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) .
Kiah Smith (2011). Contesting 'ethicality': Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers in Kenya. PhD Thesis, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland.
(2023–2026) University of Sydney
(2020–2023) Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
Fair Food Futures, Civil Society and the Sustainable Development Goals
(2019–2023) ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Civic networks, food justice and the SDGs: designing fair food futures for Australia
(2019–2021) UQ Early Career Researcher
Food Sovereignty in Post-Socialist Croatia
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
COVID-19 impacts on alternative and local food systems: Unpacking the potential for sustainable food production and consumption
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Civil society participation and reflexive governance in Australia's food system
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
How Digital Agriculture innovations are impacting rural communities: A comparative analysis across agricultural technologies
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
An evaluation of public attitudes towards hydrogen energy and deliberative processes
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Women Empowerment through Contract Farming in High-Value Agricultural Chains in Bangladesh
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
(2020) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.
Civil Society and the SDGs
I am interested in supervising Honours or RHD students with a focus on food, human rights, civil society and the SDGs. Please contact me directly for more details.