I was born in Kyoto and grew up in Singapore and Kamakura. Since I was a child, I was interested in the environmental problems and its social dynamics. I obtained MA in Environmental Studies from Yale University and Ph. D. in Sociology/Rural Sociology from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Now I teach at the University of Hawai`i-Manoa in the department of Sociology. I am also Senior Sustainability Advisor in the College of Social Sciences and Director for the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability Across Curriculum) Center on Sustainability Across the Curriculum at UH.
My research analyzes the intersections of technoscience, gender, and sustainability. I have written and edited books on the politics of bio/fortified foods (Hidden Hunger), food contamination after the Fukushima nuclear accident (Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists), agriculture and food issues in Hawai`i (Food and Power in Hawai`i, with Krisna Suryanata), and citizen science (Science by the People, with Abby Kinchy).