The Institute for Future Food Systems (IFFS) exists because the hardest problem in food isn’t the science. It’s coordination. The evidence for healthier, lower-impact food systems is strong. The systems that carry that evidence into real decisions are not.
We operate as a strategic intelligence unit that closes gaps slowing food systems transformation in three ways: we synthesize rigorous evidence into decision-ready form, arm the institutions and network leaders best placed to use it, and coordinate action within and across sectors. While we work with a broad range of stakeholders, we prioritize working with the people best positioned, or with the clearest opportunity, to shift food systems.
Our full volunteer team will be added soon. Want to volunteer with us?
Our Team
Nital’s interest in food began in 1995, watching his father successfully apply nutrition science in medical practice. He went on to study the political economy of food and agriculture, earning an MSc in international economics and trade from Queen’s University, where his thesis focused on dispute length and resolution at the WTO. As an economist and strategist, he first worked in Canadian federal policy: on the first national food-policy framework at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada followed by Industry Canada through the auto-sector crisis. Seeing the development of transition programming for Canadian tobacco farmers opened his eyes to the care and analysis needed for effective transition in the face of shifting consumption trends.
Full Bio
As Executive Director and co-founder, Nital leads strategy and organization-wide mobilization. Beyond overseeing IFFS’ economics and policy files, he drives public-policy advocacy and the adoption of best practices, and weaves networks and builds alliances to increase the uptake of healthy, sustainable foods in food environments and supply chains. He also provides strategic support to a wide range of organizations and campaigns.
Nital sits on several nonprofit boards and advisory committees, where he advises and contributes on a wide range of areas – including school foods, food security, municipal food policy, and behavior change. He writes, speaks, and consults regularly.
Nick is an environmental scientist and communicator whose work maps the scientific links between the food system and the environment, translating complex evidence into clear insights that help institutions, policymakers, and the public move toward healthier, eco-promoting food systems.
Full Bio
He is Director of Environmental Science at the Game Changers Institute, where he leads environmental research and science communication for the forthcoming sequel, and is a Research Fellow at Project Drawdown, focused on climate solutions across food, agriculture, and land systems.
He has advised, written, and spoken widely on methane and livestock emissions, land use, biodiversity, and food-security risk, guest lecturing at Yale and Harvard University and for leading nonprofits, while working with researchers, NGOs, and media to counter disinformation. He has been lead author on major reports and consulted for environmental films and helped launch the Canadian government-supported CLIMAtlantic climate adaptation data hub, and serves on advisory boards including Physicians Association for Nutrition (PAN) International, Eco Cooks Club, and Cape Jourimain Nature Centre.
At IFFS, Nick arms allies with high-impact evidence and counterpoints to industry greenwashing, serves as lead author on major reports–including the recent Rewilding vs. Regenerative Ranching–and curates leading research, statistics, and studies to ensure decision-makers have the right information at the right time. He holds a Master’s in Environmental Practice from Royal Roads University, where his thesis examined greenhouse gases from animal agriculture, a foundation that continues to inform his work on climate, land use, biodiversity, and food system transformation.
Dr. Mehta is an emergency physician, educator, and researcher whose work bridges public and individual health with rigorous evidence to advance healthier people and a more sustainable food system. For over a decade he has spoken widely on the health impacts of diet and the ecological and food-security consequences of animal agriculture.
Full Bio
At IFFS, Tushar leads the Health & Nutrition Science team and plays a central role in knowledge and network mobilization, giving talks, contributing to reports, and strengthening partnerships. He is a natural network weaver, connecting nutrition scientists to counter disinformation, food-security organizations and plant-based producers in the global south to strengthen fortification, and fellow physicians to make food a foundation of sustainable healthcare.
Beyond clinical practice, Tushar volunteers extensively, providing medical services in India and Haiti and supporting school-meal and community programs. He serves on the boards of A Well-Fed World and the NDECS School in Haiti and as a medical advisor to several nonprofits.
Fiona is an ecologist and environmental researcher with more than 15 years of experience across academia, government, industry, and NGOs. Her work bridges science and policy, from investigating the impacts of agricultural chemicals on aquatic ecosystems for EU regulation to advising the UK Government on wildlife management and climate mitigation. She holds a PhD from Cardiff University in freshwater ecosystem resilience and serves as a Climate Ambassador for her local area, bringing a grounded, evidence-based perspective to the climate, food, and water security challenges facing our natural systems and communities.
Full Bio
At IFFS, Fiona is Senior Research & Communications, connecting environmental research and eco-sector coalitions to IFFS’s food systems work and helping ensure its evidence reaches the scientific and policy communities best placed to act on it.
Stephen is a food systems specialist completing a master’s in Sustainability with a focus on food systems at Harvard Extension School, with additional training in global logistics through MIT’s MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management. A systems thinker by background, he draws on training in mathematics, federal consulting, and post-COVID healthcare infrastructure design, with expertise in systems modeling, business process optimization, and sustainable agriculture, including managing infrastructure projects for NYC Health + Hospitals to strengthen pandemic readiness.
Full Bio
At IFFS, Stephen is a Senior Research & Operations analyst, playing many roles, including driving strategy, keeping the organization’s work running smoothly, and grounding it in solid research. He is driven by the understanding that transforming agriculture is essential to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and habitat degradation.
Mike is an automation and growth strategist and the founder of Equip AI, where he helps organizations work more efficiently through custom prompt orchestration, automations, and model integrations that slot into existing workflows. A digital marketing veteran with 17+ years of experience, including as Vice President of Digital Marketing at Ravenshoe Group, he pairs strategy, competitive analysis, and content creation with credentials in AI for strategic decision-making, building AI-first organizations, and prompting for AI operations.
Full Bio
At IFFS, Mike leads AI and digital design, translating cutting-edge tools into practical systems that extend the team’s capacity and sharpen how evidence reaches its audiences. He also spends significant time volunteering with and assisting a range of non profit organizations and charities in a variety of capacities.
Robb is a climate advocate with 20+ years in nonprofit governance, including 17 years focused on climate and environmental issues. His work spans executive leadership, engagement organizing, climate-friendly city initiatives, the climate-health nexus, and data-driven communications, with a knack for reaching non-traditional audiences. A seasoned environmental leader, he served as Executive Director of Ecology Ottawa and the Capacity Building Institute and founded Sustainable Capacity Solutions to steer strategy, fundraising, and multi-stakeholder coalitions. As a policy architect, Robb has spent 15 years shaping climate, biodiversity, and food-system files across think tanks, NGOs, and advisory tables and brings cross-sector board experience in research and plant-based advocacy.
Full Bio
As climate director for the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Robb supports physicians on a number of intersectional areas between the environment and health and represents the organization at major conferences, including the UNFCCC COP conferences, where he translates global outcomes into local policy. With deep federal and municipal networks, he has a proven record advancing non-partisan legislation, bylaws, and public engagement.
Shakti Ramkumar is a climate advocate passionate about building an equitable energy and food system that operates within our planetary boundaries. As Senior Director at Student Energy, she coordinates a 50,000-member youth network across 120+ countries and leads the organization’s research and policy portfolio, including the Global Youth Energy Outlook, Youth Impact Framework, and the Energy Transition Skills Project. She also oversees communications and helped develop the Energy System Map, an education platform used by more than 17 million people worldwide.
Full Bio
A Climate Action Cohort fellow, Shakti has tracked food-systems negotiations at COP25, contributed to the City of Surrey’s food security strategy, and hosted community workshops linking climate and food. She has spoken at COPs 25–28 and Clean Energy Ministerials and frequently engages with media. Named to Corporate Knights’ Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders, Shakti studied Geography at UBC and co-led Common Energy, the university’s largest student sustainability group.
