Maria Jacobsen

My research focuses on sustainability aspects and sustainability assessments of food and diets. I investigate how we can make children's and families' diets in Sweden more sustainable without compromising nutritional value. We are developing tools (the SAFAD tool) to assess dietary sustainability and exploring strategies at individual, food environment, and food system levels. By conducting interventions in real-world settings such as preschools, we strive to find practical solutions to reduce the environmental impact of food.

A central goal in my work is to find innovative technological solutions and processes that can contribute to more sustainable dietary habits. As part of the interdisciplinary PLAN'EAT project, I collaborate with colleagues from the EU and a wide spectrum of Swedish stakeholders. This includes representatives from the food chain, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, education systems, healthcare professionals, researchers, and a citizen panel. Together, we work to create and implement solutions that can promote the transition to healthy and sustainable dietary habits in society.

I teach in the master's program courses Prospects and Challenges for a Sustainable Food System at SLU, Global Health 2 at Uppsala University, and Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Diets at Chalmers University of Technology

I have a bachelor’s degree in optometry from Karolinska Institue, from 2003. After my graduation, I worked in the field for almost 15 years, fitting glasses and contact lenses and working with refractive surgery. In 2017, I started studying human nutrition at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institute and graduated in 2020. My interest in sustainability issues grew during my years at Karolinska Insitute, and I took a master’s degree in Sustainable food systems (food science) at SLU in January 2022. After that I worked as an analyst at RISE and research assistant at SLU until I started my PhD in February 2023.

I supervise master's and bachelor's students when the topic is relevant to my reserach. I am also a supervisor in the SLU master's program course LV0103 Prospects and Challenges for a Sustainable Food System.

Jacobsen M, Moraeus L, Patterson E, Lindroos AK, Eriksson M, Röös E (2025). Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability

Strid I,  Jacobsen M, Alvåsen K, Rydén J (2025). Unveiling the potential of organic farming in mitigating beef losses in Sweden. Agricultural Systems 

Strid I,  Jacobsen M, Alvåsen K, Rydén J (2023). Loss of beef during primary production at Swedish farms 2002-2021. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Sustainable Food Processing

Jacobsen M, Bianchi M, Trigo J.P, Undeland I, Hallström E, Bryngelsson S (2023). Nutritional and toxicological characteristics of Saccharina latissima, Ulva fenestrata, Ulva intestinalis, and Ulva rigida: a review. International Journal of Food Properties

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