Benjamin Goldstein, McGill University

Research

bioresources environmental footprints food-energy-water nexus food systems GIS global value chains life cycle assessment material flow analysis

Latest papers

Landscapes-a lens for assessing sustainability.
Landscape ecology · 2025
Food production and resource use of urban farms and gardens: a five-country study.
Agronomy for sustainable development · 2023
Ecosystem service deficits of European cities.
The Science of the total environment · 2022

All 3 publications

Latest funding

Improvements to vertical farming, artificial lighting and environmental impact in Canada
NSERC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$284,760
Sustainable Cities on an Interconnected Planet
NSERC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$12,500
Sustainable Cities on an Interconnected Planet
NSERC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$108,000

All 3 grants and awards

3 publications.

01

Landscapes-a lens for assessing sustainability.

Dade MC, Bonn A, Eigenbrod F, Felipe-Lucia MR, Fisher B, Goldstein B, Holland RA, Hopping KA, Lavorel S, Lede Polain Waroux Y, MacDonald GK, Mandle L, Metzger JP, Pascual U, Rieb JT, Vallet A, Wells GJ, Ziter CD, Bennett EM, Robinson BE

Landscape ecology2025

DOI: 10.1007/s10980-024-02007-7 PMID: 39867571

02

Food production and resource use of urban farms and gardens: a five-country study.

Dorr E, Hawes JK, Goldstein B, Fargue-Lelièvre A, Fox-Kämper R, Specht K, Fedeńczak K, Caputo S, Cohen N, Poniży L, Schoen V, Górecki T, Newell JP, Jean-Soro L, Grard B

Agronomy for sustainable development2023

DOI: 10.1007/s13593-022-00859-4 PMID: 36748098

03

Ecosystem service deficits of European cities.

Elliot T, Goldstein B, Gómez-Baggethun E, Proença V, Rugani B

The Science of the total environment2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155875 PMID: 35568177

Improvements to vertical farming, artificial lighting and environmental impact in Canada

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Lefsrud, Mark MG

Keywords: Artificial lighting plant factories; Carbon footprint; CO2 enrichment; Controlled environment agriculture; Fertilizer inputs/nutrient tracking; Leafy greens; Light emitting diodes (LEDs); Plant production; Smart agriculture; Vertical farming

$284,760

Sustainable Cities on an Interconnected Planet

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Discovery Launch Supplement

Principal investigators: Goldstein, Benjamin

$12,500

Sustainable Cities on an Interconnected Planet

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Goldstein, Benjamin

Keywords: bioresources; environmental footprints; food-energy-water nexus; food systems; GIS; global value chains; life cycle assessment; material flow analysis; systems thinking; urban sustainability

$108,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2021

Subject: Prospective PhD student: bioresources Dear Professor Goldstein, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Landscapes-a lens for assessing sustainability." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Sustainable Cities on an Interconnected Planet" (2021), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]