Mirta Alessandrini

Dr. Mirta Alessandrini is an Assistant Professor of Agri-food Law at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), specializing in the legal dimensions of sustainability transitions within agri-food systems. Her work bridges legal analysis with insights from sociology and environmental studies to address challenges in EU agri-food legislation affecting rural and urban communities.

Education: Holds a PhD in Food Law from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy) and a Master’s (LLM) from Università degli Studi di Milano. Her doctoral research compared EU and Californian regulatory frameworks for Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs), including a research visit to UC Santa Cruz.

Research focuses on two core areas: (1) Agri-food law emphasizing SFSC regulation, CAP social dimensions, and GMO/NGT legal frameworks; (2) Food safety law challenges in sustainability transitions. Current projects include leading the regulatory assessment for Horizon Europe’s TOLERATE project (2023–2027), which explores engineered ancient DNA to enhance crop drought resilience, and prior leadership in SMARTCHAIN (H2020) for SFSC innovation.

Teaching: Coordinates the Food Law & Regulatory Affairs specialization within the Food Safety MSc program. Teaches courses like "Law for Agri-Food Systems Transformation" and co-developed the WUR Academy’s EU Farm to Fork Food Laws training. Leads the global Food Law Academics Network (FLAN), connecting 300+ scholars across 50 countries.

Publications: Authored Regulating Short Food Supply Chains in the EU (Springer, 2024) and contributes to topics like climate technology law, Farm-to-Fork policy evolution, and legal frameworks for novel food technologies.