Professor Bhavani Shankar

Department of Geography

Professorial Research Fellow in Food Systems, Nutrition and Sustainability

b.shankar@sheffield.ac.uk

Geography and Planning Building

Full contact details

Professor Bhavani Shankar
Department of Geography
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND

Profile: Bhavani works on research areas at the intersection of food, health and environmental sustainability. He joined the Institute of Sustainable Food and the Department of Geography in April 2020. From 2011 to March 2020, Bhavani was Professor at SOAS University of London, and has previously also held appointments at the University of Reading and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Bhavani’s recent work has been funded by the Welcome Trust, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Leverhulme Trust, UKRI, GCRF, UKAid and the European Commission, among others. During 2022-23 Bhavani served as team leader for the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report on 'Reducing Inequalities for Food Security and Nutrition'. He co-leads the Food Consumption, Health and Sustainability Pillar of the Institute for Sustainable Food at Sheffield and serves on the editorial advisory boards of the journals Global Food Security and Food Policy.

Research interests

Bhavani’s current research interests include sustainable diets, climate and nutrition-sensitive food systems, food and nutrition policy evaluation and inequities in food systems and nutrition. Much of his work is of an interdisciplinary nature, conducted in collaboration with nutritionists, geographers and health, agricultural and environmental scientists.

Current externally funded projects:

Indian Food Systems for Improved Nutrition: INFUSION is studying was in which rural communities in India can gain better access to nutrient-dense foods through improved functioning of food markets.

GCRF Action Against Stunting Hub: The Action Against Stunting Hub conducts research in India, Indonesia and Senegal aimed at addressing the intractable global challenge of child stunting.

Healthy Soil, Healthy Food and Healthy People: H3 is a UKRI-funded project identifying workable paths towards transformed UK food systems, delivered via a series of interventions: on farm, in food manufacturing, distribution and retail.

Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture for Nutrition Actions (IMMANA): IMMANA aims to stimulate the development of novel methods and metrics for research linking agriculture and nutrition. It is co-funded by FCDO and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS): SHEFS is a programme aiming to provide policy makers with novel, interdisciplinary evidence to define future food systems policies that deliver nutritious and healthy foods in an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable manner. This LSHTM-led project is funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Nutrished: Nutrished aims to develop and demonstrate a spatially-explicit foodshed-level planning approach that will enable planners to diagnose and plan interventions to help communities ensure stable and resilient supplies of key nutrients

Publications

Journal articles

Cooper GS, Davies-Kershaw H, Dominguez-Salas P, Fahmida U, Faye B, Ferguson E, Grace D, Häsler BN, Kadiyala S, Konapur A , Kulkarni B et al (2024) Investigating market-based opportunities for the provision of nutritious and safe diets to prevent childhood stunting: a UKRI-GCRF action against stunting hub protocol paper. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 8(Suppl 1), e001671-e001671.
Choudhury DK, Cooper GS, Rich KM, Shankar B, Sadek S, Ratna NN, Kadiyala S & Alam MJ (2024) Identifying value chain trade-offs from fruit and vegetable aggregation services in Bangladesh using a system dynamics approach. PLOS ONE, 19(1). View this article in WRRO
Wineman A, Zanello G, Degefaw DM, Samuel F, Yates J & Shankar B (2024) A call to action for transformation towards nutritious food systems. Nature Food, 1-2. View this article in WRRO
Scudiero L, Tak M, Alarcón P & Shankar B (2023) Understanding household and food system determinants of chicken and egg consumption in India. Food Security, 15(5), 1231-1254. View this article in WRRO
Cooper G & Shankar B (2022) Do climate-resilient market systems hold the key to transforming access to nutrient-dense foods?. UN-Nutrition Journal, 1, 151-157.
Tak M, Law C, Green R, Shankar B & Cornelsen L (2022) Processed foods purchase profiles in urban India in 2013 and 2016: a cluster and multivariate analysis. BMJ Open, 12(10).
Queenan K, Cuevas S, Mabhaudhi T, Chimonyo M, Shankar B, Slotow R & Häsler B (2022) A food systems approach and qualitative system dynamics model to reveal policy issues within the commercial broiler chicken system in South Africa. PLoS ONE, 17(6).
Cooper GS, Rich KM, Shankar B & Rana V (2022) The challenges of aligning aggregation schemes with equitable fruit and vegetable delivery: lessons from Bihar, India. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 12(2), 223-246.
Cooper GS, Shankar B, Rich KM, Ratna NN, Alam MJ, Singh N & Kadiyala S (2021) Can fruit and vegetable aggregation systems better balance improved producer livelihoods with more equitable distribution?. World Development, 148. View this article in WRRO
Alao R, Nur H, Fivian E, Shankar B, Kadiyala S & Harris-Fry H (2021) Economic inequality in malnutrition: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Global Health, 6(12).
Rushton J, McMahon BJ, Wilson ME, Mazet JAK & Shankar B (2021) A food system paradigm shift : from cheap food at any cost to food within a One Health framework. NAM Perspectives, 11.
Cuevas Garcia-Dorado S, Queenan K, Shankar B, Häsler B, Mabhaudhi T, Cooper G & Slotow R (2021) Using qualitative system dynamics analysis to promote inclusive livestock value chains: a case study of the South African broiler value chain. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5.
Choudhury S, Shankar B, Aleksandrowicz L, Tak M & Dangour A (2021) Caste-based inequality in fruit and vegetables consumption in India. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 42(3), 451-459.
Fattore G, Federici C, Drummond M, Mazzocchi M, Detzel P, Hutton ZV & Shankar B (2021) Economic evaluation of nutrition interventions: Does one size fit all?. Health Policy, 125(9), 1238-1246.
Law C, Brown KA, Green R, Venkateshmurthy NS, Mohan S, Scheelbeek PFD, Shankar B, Dangour AD & Cornelsen L (2021) Changes in take-home aerated soft drink purchases in urban India after the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) : an Interrupted Time Series analysis. SSM - Population Health, 14.
Cooper GS, Rich KM, Shankar B, Rana V, Ratna NN, Kadiyala S, Alam MJ & Nadagouda SB (2021) Identifying ‘win-win-win’ futures from inequitable value chain trade-offs: A system dynamics approach. Agricultural Systems, 190.
Sørensen TB, Vansteelandt S, Wilson R, Gregson J, Shankar B, Kinra S & Dangour AD (2021) Quantifying the influence of location of residence on blood pressure in urbanising South India: a path analysis with multiple mediators. Epidemiologic Methods, 10(1).
Brown KA, Srinivasapura Venkateshmurthy N, Law C, Harris F, Kadiyala S, Shankar B, Mohan S, Prabhakaran D & Knai C (2021) Moving towards sustainable food systems: a review of Indian food policy budgets. Global Food Security, 28.
Harris F, Dalin C, Cuevas S, N R L, Adhya T, Joy EJM, Scheelbeek PFD, Kayatz B, Nicholas O, Shankar B , Dangour AD et al (2020) Trading water: virtual water flows through interstate cereal trade in India. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12).
Sorensen TB, Wilson R, Gregson J, Shankar B, Dangour AD & Kinra S (2020) Is night-time light intensity associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors among adults in early-stage urbanisation in South India? A cross-sectional study of the Andhra Pradesh children and parents study. BMJ Open, 10(11).
Shankar B (2020) Nutrition under natural resource constraints. Nature Food, 594-594. View this article in WRRO
Queenan K, Sobratee N, Davids R, Mabhaudhi T, Chimonyo M, Slotow R, Shankar B & Häsler B (2020) A systems analysis and conceptual system dynamics model of the livestock-derived food system in South Africa : a tool for policy guidance. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 9(4), 275-298.
Sørensen TB, Matsuzaki M, Gregson J, Kinra S, Kadiyala S, Shankar B & Dangour AD (2020) Is agricultural engagement associated with lower incidence or prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular disease risk factors? A systematic review of observational studies from low- and middle-income countries. PLOS ONE, 15(3).
Harris-Fry H, Nur H, Shankar B, Zanello G, Srinivasan C & Kadiyala S (2020) The impact of gender equity in agriculture on nutritional status, diets, and household food security : a mixed-methods systematic review. BMJ Global Health, 5(3).
Choudhury S, Shankar B, Aleksandrowicz L, Tak M, Green R, Harris F, Scheelbeek P & Dangour A (2020) What underlies inadequate and unequal fruit and vegetable consumption in India? An exploratory analysis. Global Food Security, 24.
Cuevas S, Downs SM, Ghosh-Jerath S, Aafrin & Shankar B (2019) Analysing the policy space for the promotion of healthy, sustainable edible oil consumption in India. Public Health Nutrition, 22(18), 3435-3446.
Law C, Green R, Kadiyala S, Shankar B, Knai C, Brown KA, Dangour AD & Cornelsen L (2019) Purchase trends of processed foods and beverages in urban India. Global Food Security, 23, 191-204.
Jensen HT, Keogh-Brown MR, Shankar B, Aekplakorn W, Basu S, Cuevas S, Dangour AD, Gheewala SH, Green R, Joy E , Rojroongwasinkul N et al (2019) International trade, dietary change, and cardiovascular disease health outcomes : import tariff reform using an integrated macroeconomic, environmental and health modelling framework for Thailand. SSM - Population Health, 9.
Keogh-Brown MR, Jensen HT, Basu S, Aekplakorn W, Cuevas S, Dangour AD, Gheewala SH, Green R, Joy EJM, Rojroongwasinkul N , Thaiprasert N et al (2019) Evidence on the magnitude of the economic, health and population effects of palm cooking oil consumption : an integrated modelling approach with Thailand as a case study. Population Health Metrics, 17(1).
Zanello G, Shankar B & Poole N (2019) Buy or make? Agricultural production diversity, markets and dietary diversity in Afghanistan. Food Policy, 87.
Tak M, Shankar B & Kadiyala S (2019) Dietary transition in India : temporal and regional trends, 1993 to 2012. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 40(2), 254-270.
Jensen HT, Keogh-Brown MR, Shankar B, Aekplakorn W, Basu S, Cuevas S, Dangour AD, Gheewala SH, Green R, Joy EJM , Rojroongwasinkul N et al (2019) Palm oil and dietary change : application of an integrated macroeconomic, environmental, demographic, and health modelling framework for Thailand. Food Policy, 83, 92-103.
Shankar B, Poole N & Bird FA (2019) Agricultural inputs and nutrition in South Asia. Food Policy, 82, 28-38.
Capacci S, Mazzocchi M & Shankar B (2017) Breaking habits : the effect of the French vending machine ban on school snacking and sugar intakes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 37(1), 88-111.
Shankar B, Agrawal S, Beaudreault AR, Avula L, Martorell R, Osendarp S, Prabhakaran D & Mclean MS (2017) Dietary and nutritional change in India : implications for strategies, policies, and interventions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1395(1), 49-59.
Shankar B, Thaiprasert N, Gheewala S & Smith R (2017) Policies for healthy and sustainable edible oil consumption: a stakeholder analysis for Thailand. Public Health Nutrition, 20(6), 1126-1134.
Dangour AD, Mace G & Shankar B (2017) Food systems, nutrition, health and the environment. The Lancet Planetary Health, 1(1), e8-e9.
Zanello G, Srinivasan CS & Shankar B (2016) What explains Cambodia’s success in reducing child stunting-2000-2014?. PLoS ONE, 11(9).
Flores-Martinez A, Zanello G, Shankar B & Poole N (2016) Reducing anemia prevalence in Afghanistan: Socioeconomic correlates and the particular role of agricultural assets. PLOS ONE, 11(6).
Green R, Sutherland J, Dangour AD, Shankar B & Webb P (2016) Global dietary quality, undernutrition and non-communicable disease: a longitudinal modelling study. BMJ Open, 6(1). View this article in WRRO
Cavatorta E, Shankar B & Flores-Martinez A (2015) Explaining Cross-State Disparities in Child Nutrition in Rural India. World Development, 76, 216-237.
Cornelsen L, Green R, Turner R, Dangour AD, Shankar B, Mazzocchi M & Smith RD (2015) What Happens to Patterns of Food Consumption when Food Prices Change? Evidence from A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Food Price Elasticities Globally. Health Economics, 24(12), 1548-1559.
Mazzocchi M, Cagnone S, Bech-Larsen T, Niedźwiedzka B, Saba A, Shankar B, Verbeke W & Traill WB (2015) What is the public appetite for healthy eating policies? Evidence from a cross-European survey. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 10(3), 267-292.
Traill WB, Mazzocchi M, Shankar B & Hallam D (2014) Importance of government policies and other influences in transforming global diets. Nutrition Reviews, 72(9), 591-604.
Zanello G, Srinivasan CS & Shankar B (2014) Transaction Costs, Information Technologies, and the Choice of Marketplace among Farmers in Northern Ghana. The Journal of Development Studies, 50(9), 1226-1239.
Maredia MK, Shankar B, Kelley TG & Stevenson JR (2014) Impact assessment of agricultural research, institutional innovation, and technology adoption: Introduction to the special section. Food Policy, 44, 214-217.
Nkegbe PK & Shankar B (2014) Adoption intensity of soil and water conservation practices by smallholders: Evidence from northern Ghana. Bio-based and Applied Economics, 3(2), 159-174.
Bruce Traill W, Mazzocchi M & Shankar B (2013) Can Nutrition Policy Evaluation be Evidence Based? Examples and Dilemmas. EuroChoices, 12(3), 17-23.
Turner R, Hawkes C, Waage J, Ferguson E, Haseen F, Homans H, Hussein J, Johnston D, Marais D, McNeill G & Shankar B (2013) Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: The Current Research Landscape. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 34(4), 369-377.
Shankar B & Hawkes C (2013) India has a problem with palm oil. BMJ, 347(oct28 2), f6065-f6065.
Traill WB, Mazzocchi M, Niedźwiedzka B, Shankar B & Wills J (2013) The EATWELL project: Recommendations for healthy eating policy interventions across Europe. Nutrition Bulletin, 38(3), 352-357.
Dangour AD, Hawkesworth S, Shankar B, Watson L, Srinivasan CS, Morgan EH, Haddad L & Waage J (2013) Can nutrition be promoted through agriculture-led food price policies? A systematic review. BMJ Open, 3(6). View this article in WRRO
Green R, Cornelsen L, Dangour AD, Turner R, Shankar B, Mazzocchi M & Smith RD (2013) The effect of rising food prices on food consumption: systematic review with meta-regression. BMJ, 346(jun17 1), f3703-f3703.
Srinivasan CS, Zanello G & Shankar B (2013) Rural-urban disparities in child nutrition in Bangladesh and Nepal. BMC Public Health, 13. View this article in WRRO
Sutherland J, Edwards P, Shankar B & Dangour AD (2013) Fewer adults add salt at the table after initiation of a national salt campaign in the UK: a repeated cross-sectional analysis. British Journal of Nutrition, 110(3), 552-558.
Shankar B, Brambila‐Macias J, Traill B, Mazzocchi M & Capacci S (2013) AN EVALUATION OF THE UK FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY'S SALT CAMPAIGN. Health Economics, 22(2), 243-250.
Dangour AD, Green R, Häsler B, Rushton J, Shankar B & Waage J (2012) Linking agriculture and health in low- and middle-income countries: an interdisciplinary research agenda. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 71(2), 222-228.
Capacci S, Mazzocchi M, Shankar B, Brambila Macias J, Verbeke W, Pérez-Cueto FJA, Kozioł-Kozakowska A, Piórecka B, Niedzwiedzka B, D'Addesa D , Saba A et al (2012) Policies to promote healthy eating in Europe: a structured review of policies and their effectiveness. Nutrition Reviews, 70(3), 188-200.
Shankar B, Morzaria S, Fiorucci A & Hak M (2012) Animal disease and livestock-keeper livelihoods in Southern Cambodia. International Development Planning Review, 34(1), 39-63.
Pérez-Cueto FJA, Aschemann-Witzel J, Shankar B, Brambila-Macias J, Bech-Larsen T, Mazzocchi M, Capacci S, Saba A, Turrini A, Niedzwiedzka B , Piorecka B et al (2012) Assessment of evaluations made to healthy eating policies in Europe: a review within the EATWELL Project. Public Health Nutrition, 15(8), 1489-1496.
Bruce Traill W, Mazzocchi M & Shankar B (2011) A Nudge is Not Enough  Une poussée n’est pas suffisante  Ein kleiner Stoß reicht nicht. EuroChoices, 10(2), 64-64.
Brambila-Macias J, Shankar B, Capacci S, Mazzocchi M, Perez-Cueto FJA, Verbeke W & Traill WB (2011) Policy Interventions to Promote Healthy Eating: A Review of What Works, What Does Not, and What is Promising. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 32(4), 365-375.
Shankar B (2010) Obesity in China: The Differential Impacts of Covariates Along the BMI Distribution. Obesity, 18(8), 1660-1666.
Shankar B, Posri W & Srivong T (2010) A Case Study of a Contract Farming Chain Involving Supermarkets and Smallholders in Thailand. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement, 31(1-2), 137-153.
Traill WB, Shankar B, Brambila‐Macias J, Bech‐Larsen T, Aschemann‐Witzel J, Strand M, Mazzocchi M, Capacci S, Verbeke W, Perez‐Cueto FJA , D'Addesa D et al (2010) Interventions to promote healthy eating habits: evaluation and recommendations. Obesity Reviews, 11(12), 895-898.
Traill WB, Pérez-Cueto FJA, Shankar B, Brambila-Macias J, Bech-Larsen T, Aschemann- Witzel J, Strand M, Mazzocchi M, Capacci S, D'Addesa D , Saba A et al (2010) Eatwell project: Approaching european healthy eating policies from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Nutricion Hospitalaria, 25(5), 867-868.
Shankar B (2010) Socio‐economic drivers of overnutrition in China. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 23(5), 471-479.
Neeliah H & Shankar B (2010) Ozone pollution and farm profits in England and Wales. Applied Economics, 42(19), 2449-2458.
Boukouvalas G, Shankar B & Bruce Traill W (2009) Determinants of fruit and vegetable intake in England: a re-examination based on quantile regression. Public Health Nutrition, 12(11), 2183-2191.
Rahman S & Shankar B (2009) Profits, supply and HYV adoption in Bangladesh. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 14(1), 73-89.
Shankar B, Bennett R & Morse S (2008) Production risk, pesticide use and GM crop technology in South Africa. Applied Economics, 40(19), 2489-2500.
Neeliah H & Shankar B (2008) Is nutritional improvement a cause or a consequence of economic growth? Evidence from Mauritius. Economics Bulletin, 17(8).
Shankar B, Srinivasan CS & Irz X (2008) World Health Organization Dietary Norms: A Quantitative Evaluation of Potential Consumption Impacts in the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Review of Agricultural Economics, 30(1), 151-175.
Crost B & Shankar B (2008) Bt-cotton and production risk: panel data estimates. International Journal of Biotechnology, 10(2/3), 122-122.
Liu Y & Shankar B (2007) Will rising household incomes solve China's micronutrient deficiency problems?. Economics Bulletin, 15(10).
Crost B, Shankar B, Bennett R & Morse S (2007) Bias from Farmer Self‐Selection in Genetically Modified Crop Productivity Estimates: Evidence from Indian Data. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 58(1), 24-36.
Shankar B, Bennett R & Morse S (2007) OUTPUT RISK ASPECTS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROP TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 16(4), 277-291.
Posri W, Shankar B & Chadbunchachai S (2006) Consumer Attitudes Towards and Willingness to Pay for Pesticide Residue Limit Compliant “Safe” Vegetables in Northeast Thailand. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 19(1), 81-101.
Srinivasan CS, Irz X & Shankar B (2006) An assessment of the potential consumption impacts of WHO dietary norms in OECD countries. Food Policy, 31(1), 53-77.
Shankar B & Neeliah H (2005) Tropospheric Ozone and Winter Wheat Production in England and Wales: A Note. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 56(1), 145-151.
Shankar B & Thirtle C (2005) Pesticide Productivity and Transgenic Cotton Technology: The South African Smallholder Case. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 56(1), 97-116.
Dhamvithee P, Shankar B, Jangchud A & Wuttijumnong P (2005) New product development in Thai agro-industry: Explaining the rates of innovation and success in innovation. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 8(3), 1-20.
Shankar B, Halls A & Barr J (2005) The effects of surface water abstraction for rice irrigation on floodplain fish production in Bangladesh. International Journal of Water, 3(1), 61-61.
BENNETT R, ISMAEL Y, MORSE S & SHANKAR B (2004) Reductions in insecticide use from adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the environment. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 142(6), 665-674.
Shankar B, Halls A & Barr J (2004) Rice versus fish revisited: On the integrated management of floodplain resources in Bangladesh. Natural Resources Forum, 28(2), 91-101.
Shankar B (2003) Energy substitutability in transition agriculture: estimates and implications for Hungary. Agricultural Economics, 29(2), 181-193.
Piesse J, Hadeey D, Shankar B & Thirtee C (2002) The efficiency of input use during the early transition in hungary. Economic Change and Restructuring, 35(2), 183-204.
Holloway G, Shankar B & Rahman S (2002) Bayesian spatial probit estimation: A primer and an application to HYV rice adoption. Agricultural Economics, 27(3), 383-402.
Piesse J, Hadley D, Shankar B & Thirtle C (2002) The Efficiency of Input Use During the Early Transition in Hungary. Economics of Planning, 35(2), 183-204.
Leiva A & Shankar B (2001) Drought risk in Nicaragua: a crop, region and technology-specific empirical evaluation. Journal of Risk Research, 4(3), 275-290.
Thirtle C, Shankar B, Chitkara P, Chatterjee S & Mohanty MS (2000) Size Does Matter: Technical and Scale Efficiency in Indian State Tax Jurisdictions. Review of Development Economics, 4(3), 340-352.
Shankar B, DeVuyst EA, White DC, Braden JB & Hornbaker RH (2000) Nitrate abatement practices, farm profits, and lake water quality: A Central Illinois case study. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 55(3), 296-303.
Wineman A, Zanello G, Degefaw DM, Samuel F, Yates J, Shankar B, Adeyemi O, Anderson AK, Awasthi A, Bell W , Chege CK et al () Publisher Correction: A call to action for transformation towards nutritious food systems. Nature Food.

Chapters

Shankar B, Mazzocchi M & Traill WB (2014) Macroeconomic Causes and Effects of Noncommunicable Disease: The Case of Diet and Obesity, Encyclopedia of Health Economics (pp. 160-164). Elsevier

Conference proceedings papers

Kadiyala S, Cooper G, Fahmida U, Frongillo EA, Konapur A, Pramesthi IL, Rowland D, Selvaraj K, Shankar B & Zahara NL (2023) Advances in methods and metrics in measuring food environments and implications for healthy food choices. ANNALS OF NUTRITION AND METABOLISM, Vol. 79 (pp 191-191)
Holloway G, Shankar B & Rahmanb S (2002) Bayesian spatial probit estimation: a primer and an application to HYV rice adoption. Agricultural Economics, Vol. 27(3) (pp 383-402)