Brent Loken is a global sustainability and

food system The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients ...

scientist. His work focuses on feeding everyone on the planet healthy diets within

planetary boundaries Planetary boundaries is a concept highlighting human-caused perturbations of Earth systems making them relevant in a way not accommodated by the environmental boundaries separating the three ages within the Holocene epoch. Crossing a planetary ...

. He participated in several research and development projects in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

and has published several articles on food systems and

environmental sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

including as a lead author on the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health. He serves as the Global Food Lead Scientist for WWF. He was formally director of science translation for EAT, an

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

-based organization that focuses on the global

Education

Loken earned a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in 1994, a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

in 2000, and a PhD in resource and environmental management at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

in 2016. In 2008, Loken earned National Board Certification in physics from the

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization in the United States. Founded in 1987, NBPTS develops and maintains advanced standards for educators and offers a national, voluntary assessm ...

. He was awarded both the Trudeau Doctoral Scholarship and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship to pursue his PhD studies.

Career

In 2007, he was part of a team of teachers that helped to create the secondary department of

Hsinchu International School Hsinchu International School (HIS; ) is Private school, private, international school located in Xiangshan District, Hsinchu, Xiangshan District, Hsinchu City, Taiwan offering education to foreign-born students. Founded in 1981 by the Dutch Elec ...

. In 2009, he co-founded the nonprofit organization Integrated Conservation after traveling to

and witnessing the loss of forests. His work centered on research, outreach, education, and development activities in

East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian: ) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the current boundary), 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3. ...

. In 2013, Loken was part of an international team of scientists who photographed a Miller's grizzled langur in Wehea Forest. The monkey is one of the most endangered primates and had not been found in previously known habitats. In 2015, Loken reported on Bornean orangutans traveling along trails on the ground, which was a previously unknown behavior. In 2019, Loken was co-author on the landmark EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health. 2020 to present, Loken is working on several projects to translate the global scientific targets from the EAT-Lancet into country and city level targets to help achieve the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loken, Brent 1970 births Living people People from Forest City, Iowa American ecologists American social scientists American conservationists