Michelle Miller

Michelle Miller works as a practicing economic anthropologist engaged in participatory action research on food systems. She holds degrees from UW-Madison in landscape architecture (emphasis: regional planning and restorative ecology), and at the Nelson Institute on sustainable development (emphasis: agriculture and food). While in school, she worked for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration program, assisting the development of farmer networks, was the DATCP program lead for “T x 2000” soil erosion control program, and worked on watershed projects. Once out of school, Michelle worked for World Wildlife Fund in the Great Lakes states and provinces on agricultural pollution prevention. For the last 20 years she has worked with fruit growers to assist them in their efforts to reduce pesticide risk. build regional markets, and establish living infrastructure to reduce soil erosion. Current projects focus on agriculture of the middle and regional food economies, food distribution and supply networks, Smart Foodsheds, resiliency and climate change.

Michelle was born and raised in Wisconsin, a third generation Farmers Union member and a graduate of the Farmers Union Youth program. She worked on fruit and vegetable farms, in restaurants, and coffee houses in her teens and 20s. She is an active member of multiple cooperatives meeting health, banking, housing and grocery needs. She spent almost two decades studying Great Lakes ethnobotany with Keewaydinoquay, a Michigan Anishinabe Elder. Michelle was in the inaugural group of Donella Meadows Fellows to study system dynamics. She spent a lifetime dancing (ballet, folk, modern) and exploring improvisational arts. In addition to spending time in northern forests, Michelle enjoys water sports, biking, poetry, and frequenting museums. Michelle is married, with an aspiring biochemist son, and lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Miller, M., Konar, M., Peterson, H., Court, C., Shakya, S., Stevens, A. (2025) “Network centrality in perishable food distribution networks in the United States”.  Environmental Research: Food Systems, Special Issue: Focus on Trade and Food Systems. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2976-601X/add01c

Miller, M., Chang, J., Hirsch, R., Shi, J., Long, D. 2024. “Transportation Issues Affecting Independent Grocers and Fresh Food Distribution: A comparison study of urban and rural communities in the US”. Prepared for the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. https://doi.org/10.21231/3z69-mk36

Stevens, A., Teal, J., Court, C., DiGiacomo, G., Miller, M., Peterson, H. (2024) “Predicting Firm Diversification in Agri-Food Value Chains”. Journal of Food Distribution Research.

Gwin, L., Miller, M., Lowe, E., Hoy, C., Cohen, N., Pirog, R, Tomich, T., Kelly, T. (2024). “Resilience strategies for centers and institutes focused on food systems transformation”, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.134.018

Miller, M., Konar, M. (2024). “U.S. Food Flows: A Coldchain Network Analysis of Freight Movements to Inform Local and Regional Food Issues”. A report prepared for the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation Services Division. https://doi.org/10.21231/qfx4-4f67

Clark, L., Luistro, A., Ares, G., Miller, M., Baraibar, M., Ncwadi, M. (2024) “Global Action to

End Hunger: Prospects for 2030”, Performance Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2023.2363155

Miller, M. (2024) Foodsheds and Regional Food Systems. In: Abraham, Martin A. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies, 2nd Edition, vol. 2, pp. 613–622. Oxford: Elsevier. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90386-8.00083-08

Lamine, C., Sabourin, E., Barataud, F., Wight, T., Marsden, T., Niederle, P., Schmitt, C., Rossi, A., Pugliese, P., Lloyd, S., Miller, M., Magda, M. (2023) “Supporting agroecological transitions in food systems: insights from a comparison of agrifood policies’ trajectories in 5 countries”, Agriculturas https://agroecologia.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Agriculturas-VOL-ESPECIAL-2023.pdf

Staples, A.J., Howard, P.H., Connor, D.S., Sirrine, J.R., Ostrom, M.R., Miller^, M. (2023) “Apples to Advocacy: Evaluating Consumer Preferences for Hard Cider Policies”, Journal of Wine Economics. DOI: 10.1017/jwe.2023.29 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-wine-economics/article/apples-to-advocacy-evaluating-consumer-preferences-for-hard-cider-policies/F9FC0BDB6A89C2506F52281118C6A389

Peterson, H.H., DiGiacomo, G., Court, C.D., Miller, M., Oliveira, G., Stevens, A.W., Zhang, L., Baker, L., Nowak, J., Orland, E., Saha, B.B. (2023). “Impacts of COVID-19 on US agri-food supply chain businesses: Regional survey results”. PLOSONE https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281930

Tu, Y., Wang, X., Qui, R., Shen, HW, Miller, M., Rao, J., Gao, S., Huber, P., Hollander, A., Lange, M., Garcia, C., Stubbs, J. (2023). “An Interactive Knowledge and Learning Environment in Smart Foodsheds”. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. DOI: 10.1109/MCG.2023.3263960

Qu, Y, Rao, J., Gao, S., Zhang, W.C., Su, Y., Miller, M., Morales, A., Huber, P. (2023). FLEE-GNN: A Federated Learning System for Edge-Enhanced Graph Neural Network in Analyzing Geospatial Resilience of Multicommodity Food Flows”, ACM SIGSpatial 2023 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3615886.362774

Court, CD, Outerbridge, D., Baker, L., Birou, L., Campbell, C., DiGiacomo, G., Galindo, S., Lai, J., Magnier, A., Miller, M., Oliveira, GLT., Orlando, E., Peterson, HH., Qiao, X., Roka, F., Ropicki, A., Saha, BB., Stevens, AW., Shang, L. (2023) “Pandemic Production: Impacts of COVID-19 on Florida’s fruit and vegetable industries”. Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization. https://doi.org/10.1515/jafio-2022-0025

Rao, J., Gao, S., Miller, M., Morales, A. (2022) “Measuring Network Resilience via Geospatial Knowledge Graph: a Case Study of the US Multi-Commodity Flow Network”. Geospatial Knowledge Graphs (GeoKG) https://geokgsigspatial.github.io/geokg2022/GeoKG2022_papers/GeoKG_2022_paper_9797.pdf

Miller, M., Lloyd, S., Long, D., Bell, M., Fochesatto, A., Lowe, E., Enstad, N., Ingram, M. (2022) Comments to USDA regarding docket number AMS-AMS-22.0026 on “Competition in Food Retail and Distribution Markets and Access for Agricultural Producers and Small and Midsized Food Processors”. https://cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/453/2022/06/RFI-ConcentrationSigs.pdf

Connor, D.S., Tambet, H., Smith, K.S., Ostrom, M., Sirrine, J.R., Howard, P.H., Miller, M. (2022) “Apple Grower Research and Extension Needs for Craft Cider”. Horticulture Technology. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH04827-21

Anderson, M., Hoey, L. Hurst, P., Miller, M., Montenegro, M. (2022) INFAS Commentary: Debrief on the United Nations Food Systems Summit. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2022.112.008

Miller, M. (2021) “Big data, information asymmetry, and food systems”. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2021.111.017

Miller, M. (2021) “Identifying Critical Thresholds for Resilient Regional Food Flows: A Case Study from the U.S. Upper Midwest.” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 5 (2021): 371. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.684159.

Wattiaux, M., Miller, M., Lloyd, S., Enstad, N., Jackson, R., Rissman, A., Lukszys, P. (2021) Comments to USDA regarding the Executive Order 140147 on “America’s Supply Chains” specifically for the Production of Agricultural Commodities and Food Products. https://cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/453/2021/06/USDAsupplychaincomments2021CIAS.pdf

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2020. Innovations in the Food System: Exploring the Future of Food: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Section on food logistics. https://doi.org/10.17226/25523.

Jackson, R., Miller, M., Porter, P., Day-Farnsworth, L. (2017) “Agriculture can indeed fix our food system – if we reimagine it”. The Washington Post, October 26, 2017.

Ventura, S. & Bailkey, M. (2017) Good Food, Strong Communities: Promoting Social Justice through Local and Regional Food System. University of Iowa Press. Chapter Four contributor entitled, “Distribution: Supplying Good Food to Cities” on regional food freight.

Miller, M., Holloway, W., Perry, E., Zietlow, B., Kokjohn, S., Lukszys, P., Chachula, N. Reynolds, A., and Morales, A. (2016). Regional Food Freight: Lessons from the Chicago Region. Project report for USDA-AMS, Transportation Division. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.21422.51522

Lengnick, L., Miller, M. and Marten, G. (2015) “Metropolitan Foodsheds: A Resilient Response to the Climate Change Challenge?” Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. November 2015 DOI 10.1007/s13412-015-0349-2 L.

Miller, M. and Lorenz, D. (2015). “Agriculture, transportation and climate change: Considering the future of agricultural freight transport in the Upper Mississippi River Valley” November 2015 on-line https://cias.wisc.edu/atcc/

Miller, M., Day-Farnsworth, L. and Denicoff, M. (2015). Regional Food Logistics: a Stakeholder Process to Inform the Multi-system Redesign for Sustainability. Conference proceedings National Transportation Research Forum, March 2015.

Miller, M., Anderson, M., Francis, C., Kruger, C., Barford, C., Park, J., & McCown, B. (2013). Critical research needs for successful food systems adaptation to climate change. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2013.034.016

Francis, C., Miller, M., Anderson, M., Creamer, N., Wander, M., Park, J., Green, T., & McCown, B. (2013). Food webs and food sovereignty: Research agenda for sustainability. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2013.034.010

Selected Multimedia

KnowFOOD, “Smart Foodsheds” Webinar. (2023) https://cias.wisc.edu/news/smart-foodsheds-webinar/

Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg by Food Tank, “Ensuring equitable access to food supply chain data” Podcast. (2022). https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/303-michelle-miller-talks-about-ensuring-equitable/id1434128568?i=1000550652250

Univ of Wisconsin Department of Horticulture “Structural Racism in the U.S. Agricultural System”. “Wisconsin Agricultural History Through the lens of Immigrant Farmers at the Turn of the Last Century (1890-1930)” Webinar. (2022).  https://global.cals.wisc.edu/webinars-for-hort375-structural-racism-in-the-u-s-agricultural-system-open-to-the-public/

Food + Tech Panel Discussion: Broadband Expansion in Rural Communities. Webinar. (2021). The Power of Connectivity: Broadband Expansion in Rural Communities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZP5IEEBrcQ

Food Systems, Disruptions and Resilience. University Place on Wisconsin Public Television. October 1, 2020. https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/university-place/food-systems-disruptions-and-resilience-3t4ld4/

Food and the Wisconsin Idea, “The Systems that Feed Us and What It Will Take to Change Them” Kate Clancy and Michelle Miller. Webinar. (2019). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yVx9OqKTcA&list=PL7_9KimO-uqo5M4nI6EOcsojUt8t1nBiR

Talking Freight: Food Deserts and the Logistics of Urban Food Transportation. “Market Access and Food Access: Two sides of the same coin”. Webinar. (2019). https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/freight_planning/talking_freight/april_2019/

SARE Our Farms, Our Future. Scaling Up Local Foods – Systems Thinking. Video. (2018). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQfixQOpevY&list=PLWlltQ6Oy0zrmTzQFH-FUThnEMqOphSS6&index=16&t=326s

NCR SARE Comparing Apples to Apples: Apples for Artisan Cider. Webinar. (2018). https://northcentral.sare.org/news/comparing-apples-to-apples-participatory-research-for-artisanal-cider-producers/

How Great Cities Are Fed: Transportation. Podcast. (2015). https://heritageradionetwork.org/episode/transportation

Tribal Food Sovereignty SAS-CAP  Supply chains component. 7/2024-6/2029

ICICLE: Smart Foodsheds Use Case 11/2021-10/2026

Overcoming Obstacles in Hazelnut Production in the Upper Midwest 9/2019-8/2024

Grassland 2.0-Agroecological transformation to perennial grassland agriculture 9/2019 – 8/2024

Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises  9/20 – 9/23

Impacts and Implications of Transportation Networks on Food Distribution and Accessibility: Rural vs. Urban 8/21 – 8/23

FRESCH-Food Resilience through Engineered Supply Chains 7/2021-6/2023

Apple to glass: improving orchard profitability through developing regional craft ciders 6/18 – 4/23

Cover Crops, Water Quality, and Soil Health Research and Outreach 9/17 – 8/2022

Filling the Truck: Coordinating small supply chains for last mile efficiency 9/2018 – 9/2022

U.S. Food Flows: A Cold-Chain Network Analysis of Freight Movements to Inform Local and Regional Food Issues  8/2020 – 7/2022 

Guest lecturer 2025

• Transportation and food supply networks. A presentation for Dr. Yeeli Mui’s Designing Health Equity: The Intersection of Food Systems, Urban Planning, and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, by Michelle Miller, University of Wisconsin-Madison. [Remote] February 13, 2025
• Food Supply Networks. A presentation for Dr. Mike Bell’s Introduction to Community and Environmental Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michelle Miller University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. February 13, 2025
• Food Supply Networks. A presentation for Dr. Holly Gibbs’ People, Land & Food, The Nelson Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michelle Miller University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. April 10, 2025

Guest lecturer 2024

• Kim Wahl, Environmental Studies 402 / Agronomy 375 Systems Thinking, “Systems thinking and food systems”

Guest lecturer 2023

• Kim Wahl, Environmental Studies 402 / Agronomy 375 Systems Thinking, “Food systems and network theories”

• Holly Gibbs, Geography 309 People Land and Food, “Creating the Semantic Web for Smart Foodsheds”

Guest lecturer 2021

•Nan Enstad, CESoc 341, Labor in Global Food Systems

•Adena Rissman, Forest & Wildlife Ecology, Policy and Politics of Environmental Information. “Science in Policy and Politics: information systems meet food and environmental systems”

• Claudia Calderon, Horticulture 375 Structural Racism in the US Ag System “Wisconsin Agricultural History Through the Lens of Immigrant Farmers at the Turn of the Last Century (1890-1930)”

• Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Dept of Environmental Health & Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health “Food System Resilience to Disasters: COVID-19, Climate Change, and Beyond.”

• Applied learning event UW Grainger School of Supply Management, “The impact of COVID-19 on supply chains”

Guest lecturer 2020
• Holly Gibbs, Geography 309 People Land and Food “Unpacking Food Sovereignty”
• Nan Enstad, Community and Environmental Sociology 341, Labor in Global Food Systems “Supply chain and labor issues in the US”
• Michel Wattiaux, Animal and Dairy Science, 825 Ruminant Nutritional Physiology “Systems Research”

2021 Friend of the Family Farm, Wisconsin Farmers Union
2011 Wisconsin Idea, University of Wisconsin
2005 Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Award, US Environmental Protection Agency
2003 Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Award, US Environmental Protection Agency

• Academic Staff Assembly (ASA), 2018-present
  • Ad Hoc Working Group on Researchers and Scientists 2024-2025
  • Ad Hoc Committee on Land Acknowledgements, 2018-19
• Executive Committee, Inter-institutional Network for Food, Agriculture and Sustainability, 2020-present
  • Chair, Organizational Development working group
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Transportation Research Board
  • Standing Committee on Agriculture and Food Transportation, AT030, 2018-2025
• USDA NC1198 Agriculture of the Middle working group, 2014-present
  • Chair, 2024
• Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities (FRRCC) Federal Advisory Committee, 2024-2027
• Federal Department of Homeland Security, Security, Preparedness, Continuity Office (SPCO) from within the DHS Directorate of Science and Technology’s  Science Advice and Guidance for Emergencies (SAGE) program on Supply Chains, 2024-2027