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Each of us consumes products whose origins we may not know well about; even when we do, it’s likely messaging from the corporation that sells them, not from the farmers who grew the raw materials or the workers who assembled them. In highly globalized supply chains today, it can be challenging to clearly identify the true impacts of these products, including their contribution to climate change, whether fair labor practices are used, and true ‘sustainability’.
This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Oxfam America to understand climate actions in corporate supply chains with a focus on regenerative agriculture. The ten-week project was not only a great way to learn about new concepts but also helped cement my professional interests after graduation.
Coming from an engineering and computer science background, I have had significant experience in maths and programming, so undertaking the internship at Oxfam was quite a rewarding challenge. A large part of my work this summer involved qualitative research methods- literature review, text analysis, and basic interview skills. Most of the data I used was from publicly available Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) and financial reports, sustainability plans, articles from leading institutes in regenerative agriculture, and independent evaluations by third parties.
Oxfam America (OUS) is an affiliate of the larger Oxfam Confederation, which has a presence across the globe. It is an international NGO with a mission of fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. They have four major focus areas- economic justice and equal rights, women’s rights and gender justice, humanitarian response, and climate action. The organization tackles multiple issues, ranging from climate justice and food security to gender justice and immigrant rights, to challenging corporate power and ensuring accountability. Oxfam’s research reports and policy briefs have been important tools in global advocacy efforts, with a recent output on Carbon Equality providing useful insights into how global inequity is fueling the climate crisis. I primarily worked at the intersection of food security and corporate accountability.
My research built on the findings of the Behind the Brands campaign to understand how companies were performing on their climate goals. I looked at how regenerative agriculture policies and programs introduced by some of the world's largest food and beverage companies were actually implemented. Overall, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (also known as Scope 3 emissions) make up a significant portion of total emissions of these corporations. For the companies identified, data and progress on projects were not reported publicly.
Another research question I focused on was how regenerative agriculture policies were supporting small holder farmers, women, and indigenous communities and whether they benefitted from such programs. Regenerative agriculture, “a system of farming principles that rehabilitates the entire ecosystem and enhances natural resources, rather than depleting them,” prioritizes soil health and differs from sustainable agriculture. The latter refers to practices that maintain ecosystems without further degradation. This distinction was important to understand the positions and progress of different companies.
Corporate projects and initiatives are confined largely to the Global North, are in experimental phases, and provide support to farmers via training, financial incentives, or both. While Global North farmers get more opportunities to experiment with newer methods, it is farmers from the Global South who are facing extreme climate conditions and severe food insecurity and might have different experiences with such regenerative agricultural practices. Conversations around the benefits of regenerative agriculture for women and indigenous communities were missing from the reports.
My experiences at OUS helped me hone multiple skills over the course of the summer. Besides research, I had the chance to participate in global conversations on not just food security but also themes such as just energy transitions and feminist justice. During the final weeks of my internship, I got to participate in a feminist justice workshop, which showed me how theoretical principles can be applied in advocacy work. Despite the sheer vastness of the organization’s work areas, the team was supportive in providing the right resources and redirecting me to people from other departments, which helped me build strong professional relationships. It is not every day that you find work and an organization that aligns strongly with your personal ethics and professional goals. At OUS, I not only had access to some of the most considerate, welcoming, and encouraging mentors, I found a space where people thought like me and cared about issues close to my heart. My experience at Oxfam was one that I won’t forget and has set me on a new path of policy research and advocacy.
The Duke Center for International Development and Oxfam America have worked together over the past six years to build opportunities for students, provide professional learning, and joint collaborations to build effective and innovative future leaders.
Aarushi Tripathi is a second-year Master’s of Public Policy student. She hails from Ahmedabad, India and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering. Before Duke, she worked as a data and machine learning engineer. As a woman in STEM, her experiences with strict gender roles and homogeneity in science and technology steered her towards the field of public policy. Her interests lie in labor, gender, caste, climate and technology. At Duke, she serves as the Vice President of the Graduate and Professional Student Government with a focus on food and financial security, student belonging and safety, and international students’ well-being.