David+Himmelgreen

= David Himmelgreen = toc

Overview
Dr. David Himmelgreen is a professor in anthropology at the University of South Florida. He is married to Dr. Romero-Daza and has two children. He received a dual Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Biology from Binghamton University (SUNY), a Masters in Anthropology and a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Buffalo (SUNY). Dr. Himmelgreen is a bio-cultural anthropologist and specializes in medical anthropology. His areas of interest are maternal and child health, nutritional assessment, food insecurity and hunger, child growth and development, obesity and chronic disease, dietary acculturation, nutrition education, food insecurity- HIV/AIDS syndemic, HIV/AIDS prevention evaluation, and behaviorally based intervention research. Dr. Himmelgreen has published over 60 articles (in 28 different journals), book chapters, edited volumes, and book reviews

Research and Work
Dr. Himmelgreen is bioculutral anthropologist and has a deep appreciation for the interdisciplinary work, he has worked with several other disciplines on numerous projects; including nutritionists, public health officials, policy makers, economists to name a few. Much of his work focuses on food insecurity and malnutrition as it perpetuates the HIV/AIDs cycle. He uses political economy theory lens to explore other syndemics that contribute to structural violence. Dr. Himmelgreen’s main contribution to medical anthropology is his unique interest in addressing food insecurity and global hunger as a means to decrease malnutrition and associated diseases. He utilizes anthropology and interdisciplinary research to address and tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity in hopes to provide sustainable solutions.

He began his research in Lesotho examining the effects seasonal environments have on nutritional status, health and diet among women and children, based on a household level. More specifically he examined their ability to manage these seasonal stresses biologically and economically. These seasonal stresses included; food scarcity, disease load, work load, and the climate.

The outcomes from this research led Himmlegreen to begin examining food insecurity and its relation to disease prevalence. The labor production and migration of these women’s husbands and household food insecurity led him to recognize the perpetuating cycle of HIV/AIDs and food insecurity and sustainable food production as a sustainable solution.

Much of Himmelgreen’s later work has focused on exploring the solutions that can be applied to inhibiting the synergistic cycle that exists between the global food crisis and HIV/AIDs. He began examining the success and effects that keyhole gardens had in sub-Saharan Africa in hopes to be able to provide similar forms of solutions to other areas.

Himmelgreen has also examined the effects that globalization and eco-tourism has had on household food security in Costa Rica. As a result of the increase of eco-tourism and globalization in areas such as Costa Rica, seasonal labor production has changed and these effects have caused a shift in household role. There is a decrease in agriculture production and an increase in seasonal jobs which has led to a food insecurity.

Biography
Dr. Himmelgreen is married to Dr. Romero-Daza and has two children. He and Dr. Romero-Daza have taught a summer field school at the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica since 2001. Dr. Himmelgreen has a deep commitment to teaching students the importance of inter-disciplinary research, while also guiding them in their endeavors of determining their specialty. As a result, it is no surprise that in 2004 he received an award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Himmelgreen has held numerous positions. Currently he is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. Along with numerous academic positions he has held, he has also served the larger anthropological community through a variety of positions. These positions include: President for the Council on Nutritional Anthropology (currently the SAFN), program chair for the BAS, and a co-program chair for the 2007 SfAA annual meetings. Dr. Himmelgreen also currently holds two editorial positions. He is an associate editor for Ecology of Food and Nutrition and is one of the general editors (with Satish Kedia) for the Annals of Anthropological Practice.

Major Publications
2011. Himmelgreen, D. A., N. Romero-Daza, and C. Noble. Nutrition and Health. A Companion to Medical Anthropology. M. Singer and P. I. Erickson, eds., Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing: 305-322 (Peer Reviewed)

2010. Himmelgreen, D. A. and N. Romero-Daza, Eliminating “Hunger” in the U.S.: Changes in Policy Regarding the Measurement of Food Security. Food and Foodways, 18, 1 & 2:96-113 (Peer Reviewed)

2010. Himmelgreen, D. and N. Romero Daza. Bytes of Note—The Global Food Crisis, HIV/AIDS, and Home Gardens. Environment: Science and Technology for Sustainable Development (Invited Column)

2009. Himmelgreen, D. A., N. Romero-Daza, D. Turkon, S. Watson, I. Okello-Uma and D. Sellen. Addressing the HIV/AIDS–Food Insecurity Syndemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Journal of AIDS Research, 8 (4): 401-412 (Peer-Reviewed).

2009. Himmelgreen, D., volume editor, The Global Food Crisis: New Insights into an Age-old Problem. NAPA Bulletin, 32, S. Kedia (general editor), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell (Peer-Reviewed).

2009. Himmelgreen, D. and N. Romero-Daza. Anthropological Approaches to the Global Food Crisis: Understanding and Addressing the “Silent Tsunami.” The Global Food Crisis: New Insights into an Age-old Problem. NAPA Bulletin, 32, D. Himmelgreen (volume editor), S. Kedia (general editor), National Association of Practicing Anthropologists, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell (Peer-Reviewed).

2007. Himmelgreen, D. A., N. Romero-Daza, E. Cooper and D. Martinez, “I Don’t Make the Soups Anymore”: Pre- to Post-Migration Dietary and Lifestyle Changes among Latinos Living in West-Central Florida. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 46(5-6):401-426 (Peer-Reviewed).

2006. Himmelgreen, D. A., N. Romero-Daza, M. Vega, H. Brenes Cambronero, and E. Amador. “The Tourist Season Goes Down But Not the Prices.” Tourism and Food Insecurity in Rural Costa Rica. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 45(4):295-321. (Peer-Reviewed)

2006. Fitzgerald, N., D. Himmelgreen, G. Damio, S. Segura-Pérez, Y. Peng and R. Pérez-Escamilla. Acculturation, Socioeconomic status, Obesity and Lifestyle Factors among Low-Income Puerto Rican Women in Connecticut, U.S., 1998-1999. Pan American Journal of Public Health, 19(5):306-313. (Peer-Reviewed)

2005. Himmelgreen, D. A. and D. L. Crooks. Nutritional Anthropology and Its Application to Nutritional Issues and Problems. Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application, S. Kedia and J. van Willigan, eds. Westport, CT:Prager: 149-188 (Peer-Reviewed)

2005. Himmelgreen, D. A., R. Pérez-Escamilla, A. Bretnall, Y. Peng, and A. Bermudez. Birthplace, Length of Time in the U.S., and Language are Associated with Diet among Inner-City Puerto Rican Women. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 44(2):105-122. (Peer-Reviewed)

2005. Himmelgreen, D. A., D. Turkon, N. Romero-Daza, I. Okello-Uma, J. Mohammed, W. Ouko Odenya, M. Mamello and S. Watson. Combating HIV/AID and Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS & Anthropology Bulletin, 17(2):8-10.

2004. Himmelgreen, D. A., R. Pérez-Escamilla, D. Martinez, A. Bretnall, B. Eells, Y. Peng, A. Bermudez. The Longer You Stay, The Bigger You Get: Length of Time in the US and Language are Associated with Obesity in Puerto Rican Women. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 125(1):90-96. (Peer-Reviewed)

2004. Romero-Daza, N. and D. A. Himmelgreen. The Basotho: Health and Illness. Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology: Health and Illness in the World’s Cultures, Volume 2. C. R. Ember and M. Ember, editorss. New Haven, CT: Human Area Relation Files: 957-962 (Peer Reviewed)

2002. Himmelgreen, D. A. “You Are What You Eat And You What You Are”: The Role of Nutritional Anthropology in Public Health Nutrition and Nutrition Education. Nutritional Anthropology, (25)1: 2-12.

Online Resources
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A brief article about his field school in Costa Rica