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Big fish, small fish: Behavioural insights for a sustainable seafood consumption in the UK
Supervisor: Rosalind Bark (ENV)
Ellen McHarg is a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar at the University of East Anglia as part of the Critical Decade for Climate Change programme. Her research will combine environmental and behavioural economic experiments to better understand and 'nudge' seafood consumption choices in the UK, to support the transition to a sustainable seafood sector and contribute to tackling global challenges surrounding climate change, nutrition, and food security.
Ellen holds a Master’s (MSc Environmental Economics and Climate Change) and Undergraduate degree (BSc Geography with Economics) from the London School of Economics (LSE). During her studies, she undertook research focusing on pro-environmental behaviour and how individuals might be influenced to make more sustainable dietary choices. Her undergraduate and master’s dissertations considered plant-based dietary transitions and the impact of introducing reduced methane beef products on consumer behaviour.
Since graduating in 2020, Ellen has worked on policy relevant environmental economic research at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). At Cefas, she applied environmental valuation techniques (including stated and revealed preference methods) to understand how people use and value changing coastal and marine environments, to support their sustainable use and management.
What are you most excited about in joining the Critical Decade PhD programme?
I’m most excited to be joining a cohort of interdisciplinary researchers that are committed to tackling society’s biggest challenges, and thinking creatively about how we can actively implement real solutions. I’m looking forward to learning from my peers and supervisory team to develop myself and my research.
Through delving deeper into my topic, I hope to generate valuable insights which contribute to improving the sustainability of seafood production, processing and consumption in the UK, as well as reducing the climate impact of dietary behaviour more broadly.