Craig A Hassel

Ph.D., Associate Professor and Extension Nutritionist

164 Food Science and Nutrition Building

1334 Eckless Ave
St. Paul, MN 55108
United States

Areas of Interest

Exploring food and health with cultural communities holding knowledge that does not correspond with Western science perspectives. This work pivots the culture/science relationship as it repositions scientific inquiry alongside ancient, ancestral and experiential understandings of food and health.
Creating models of cross-cultural engagement that reform scientific inquiry to be more respectful of diverse ways of knowing. Examples include: 1) Using principles of Chinese medical theory and contemporary sensory analysis to explicate medicinal herb quality; 2) Using indigenous heirloom crop varieties, including wild rice, to explore Indigenous and biomedical worldviews; 3) Faculty development and cross-cultural symposia that embrace multiple worldview orientations.

The University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality & Healing
The Inter-institutional Consortium for Indigenous Knowledge at Penn State University
The Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis and St. Paul
The White Earth Tribal Council

Minnesota Extension Service Nutrition & Health - specialist support to Extension Educators focusing on diet/health and vital aging programming
Woodlands Wisdom Nutrition Project – work closely with a confederacy of six Tribal Colleges and the University of Minnesota to address chronic health issues in Native American communities through culturally-based food and nutrition programs of teaching, research and community connections
Families That Work Outreach – work with urban and rural American Indian Communities to assist with developing nutrition education approaches that honor traditional foods and its relationship to land and human health.
Medicinal Herb Network – work closely with this network, founded as partnership effort of small-scale medicinal herb growers and practitioners of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to communicate concepts of medicinal herb quality and to encourage locally grown, high quality medicinal herbs.