Advisor Spotlight
Martin Heller, PhD
Dr. Heller is a senior research specialist with the Center for Sustainable Systems(CSS) at University of Michigan. His most recent research interests involve evaluating the environmental impact of dietary choices and food waste, and integrating nutritional information with environmental assessments of food and diet. He has conducted life cycle assessment studies of short rotation woody biomass energy crops, a large-scale vertically integrated US organic dairy, and as part of an international team, a comprehensive, spatially-explicit study of US dairy production. He also developed a seminal report on Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U. S. Food System. He received a BS in chemical engineering from Michigan State and a PhD, also in chemical engineering, from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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Marty has spent much of the past 15 years growing organic vegetables, starting and managing market farms/CSAs. Through a local non-profit, he helped develop and implement a Farmer Residency program to assist landless farmers in launching farm businesses. He grew up on a traditional livestock farm in southeast Michigan.
Martin Heller, PhD
Senior Research Specialist
Center for Sustainable Systems
University of Michigan
Managing Director
AgResilience Consulting
Webinars
"Packaging and Food Waste"
Michigan Online | March 27, 2019
"Pursuing the Paris Climate Accord Goals"
Michigan Online | March 27, 2019
Podcasts
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​"How Your Dinner Affects the Environment" - The Exam Room Podcast by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, March 1, 2022
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"How Much Water It Takes to Produce Your Food" - The Exam Room Podcast by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, April 19, 2021
Publications & Other Writings
Nature Food | Volume 2, P 255-263, April 15, 2021
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Nutrition Journal | Volume 20, Issue 15, March 1, 2021
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The Lancet Planetary Health | Volume 4, Issue 3, P E98-E106, March 01, 2020​
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The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Volume 109, Issue 3, P 526-534, March 2019
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Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior | Volume 51, Issue 1, P 3-15, January 2019
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Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment of Food | Bangkok, Thailand, October 1, 2018
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"Climate Change Mitigation Beyond Agriculture: A Review of Food System Opportunities and Implications"