Malin

Jonell

PhD

Researcher

RSS-link

Profile summary

  • Food system governance
  • Corporate biosphere stewardship
  • Value chains & eco-certification
  • Sustainability indicators
  • Blue food

Malin Jonell’s work focuses on food system governance, with a particular emphasis on the role of mid-value chain actors, such as food retailers, in driving systemic change.

Jonell is a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Her research centers around sustainable food production and consumption. She looks specifically at the potential role of markets, trade and the private sector in driving positive change in local and global food systems.

Jonell leads projects on leveraging supermarkets for sustainable food systems (ReSus), improving private sector sustainability indicators (CAPS), and advancing sustainable blue food strategies in Sweden and Japan. Her work examines the effectiveness of existing initiatives and explores opportunities for collaboration and relational approaches in the food and blue food sectors. She also co-leads work in Mistra Food Futures on next-generation indicators to guide food system performance.

At the Stockholm Resilience Centre, she co-leads the Transformative futures research theme. Her publications include articles and book chapters in leading journals such as Nature, Nature Communications, Environmental Research Letters, and The Lancet. She serves on the editorial board of Environmental Research: Food Systems.

Malin Jonell holds an MSc in Marine Ecotoxicology and a PhD in Systems Ecology from Stockholm University. As a postdoc with the EAT-Lancet Commission (2016–2019), she helped define scientific targets for sustainable food production and healthy diets. Jonell was part of the core team behind the Blue Food Assessment, launched in 2021 to inform the role of blue foods in future food systems.

She co-leads the course module Corporations and Sustainable Development in the Anthropocene II in Sustainability Science II at Stockholm University. Jonell is a regular lecturer in courses at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Karolinska Institutet.

A strong advocate for science communication, Jonell frequently speaks at industry events and appears in media to share insights with practitioners and the public. Some recent examples include a webinar organised by Svensk Dagligvaruhandel and an interview with Now This on the role of blue food in future sustainable diets. She also serves on the scientific council of Questionmark, NL.

Current funding

  • Formas: Dnr 2020-00862
  • Formas: Dnr 2021-02327
  • Formas: Dnr 2023-01805
  • Mistra Food Futures (DIA 2018/24 #8)

Awards and achievements

  • Early career research grant from Swedish Research Council Formas, 2020: Seafood in Japan and Sweden - alternative pathways to sustainability
  • Research grant from Swedish Research Council Formas, 2021: ‘ReSus’ Retail for Sustainability - Mid-value chain engagement for food system transformation
  • Research grant from Swedish Research Council Formas, 2023: CAPS - Climate Action through Product Sustainability in the Food System
  • Östersjöakuten award 2022

Supervision

Abigayil Blandon

PhD

Main supervisor

Astrid Mohss

MSc

Main supervisor


Key publications


Blandon, A., M. Jonell, H. Ishihara, and A. Zabala. 2025. What does “sustainable seafood” mean to seafood system actors in Japan and Sweden? Ambio.

Jonell, M
., M. Phillips, P. Rönnbäck, M., Troell. “Eco-Certification of Farmed Seafood: Will It Make a Difference?” Ambio 42(6):659–74.

Jonell, M., Tlusty, M.F., Troell, M., Rönnbäck, P., 2019. Certifying farmed seafood. In: Vogt, M. (Ed.), Sustainability Certification Schemes in the Agricultural and Natural Resource Sectors: Outcomes for Society and the Environment. Routledge, New York, pp. 157–178. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203701737-7.

Crona, B. I., E. Wassénius, M. Jonell, J. Z. Koehn, R. Short, M. Tigchelaar, T. M. Daw, C. D. Golden, J. A. Gephart, E. H. Allison, S. R. Bush, L. Cao, W. W. L. Cheung, and F. Declerck. 2023. Four ways blue foods can help achieve food system ambitions across nations. Nature 616, 104-113

Lindahl, T. and Jonell, M. 2020. Methods for changing dietary habits. The Consumer Authority, Background Report 2020:4.

Publications by Jonell, Malin