Patel, Rajeev
Rajeev Patel
Dr. Rajeev “Raj” Patel is a distinguished British Indian academic, journalist, and activist renowned as “the rock star of social justice writing” (Buccus, 2011). Dr. Patel is a research professor at The University of Texas at Austin, studying the global food system and its alternatives. Dr. Patel is a prolific writer, staunch advocate, and influential academic. He impactfully testified before the House Financial Services Committee in 2008 and actively participated in Corporate Accountability International’s Value the Meal campaign in 2009.
“…having comrades and theory to guide you, to hold you accountable, you can always be part of the solution.” - Dr. Patel, 2023
Marya, Rupa & Patel, Raj. Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Patel, Raj & Moore, Jason. 2017. A History of the World In Seven Cheap Things: Capitalism, Nature and the Future of the Planet. Berkeley. University of California Press.
Patel, Raj. 2010. The Value of Nothing: How to Reclaim Market Society and Redefine Democracy. New York. Picador. (19 editions, 14 languages).
Patel, Raj. 2022. Physicians, Climate and Revolution: Notes on systemic approaches to climate change. Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine, 4(3): 187-89. https://doi.org/doi:10.18772/26180197.2022.v4n3a10.
Patel, Raj. 2022. Land in World-Ecology Perspectives, The Oxford Handbook of Land Politics, Saturnino Borras and Jennifer C Franco eds., Oxford University Press, Oxford. pp C18.N1-C18S1. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197618646.013.18.
Dr. Rajeev “Raj” Patel was born in 1972 and raised in Golders Green, northwest London, to a Kenyan mother and a Fijian father who ran a corner shop. Dr. Patel’s diverse background shaped his perspective on social issues. His concern for the food system began when he visited India, his ancestral land, at age five. Witnessing poverty deeply affected him, prompting his return to the UK, where he took the initiative to raise funds for famine relief by renting out his toys at kindergarten.
Dr. Patel attended Oxford University for his undergraduate education. In 1992, he was a visiting scholar at Yale’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy, where he met Dan Esty, who encouraged Dr. Patel to explore considerations related to the WTO. Equipped with this insight, Dr. Patel contributed his expertise to the Southern and East African Trade Information and Negotiations Initiative in Harare.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford in 1995. Dr. Patel completed a master’s in Social Policy and Planning in Development Countries from the London School of Economics in 1996. In 1997, Dr. Patel moved to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. at Cornell University.
Dr. Patel participated in Zimbabwe’s civil society delegation during the WTO Ministerial meetings in Seattle in 1999. Subsequently, Dr. Patel interned at the WTO, worked as a consultant with the World Bank, and actively participated in protests against both organizations. In 2000, while working at the WTO, Dr. Patel co-wrote his first book, Voices of the Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us? He completed his PhD in Development Sociology in 2002.
During his academic journey, Dr. Patel worked at institutions such as the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the United Nations. However, his subsequent transformation into a vocal critic of these organizations is marked by his activism, having been tear-gassed on four continents while protesting against his former employers.
After completing his doctorate, Dr. Patel was a Policy Analyst at the Food Institute/Institute for Food and Development Policy in Oakland, California, from 2002 to 2004. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Patel was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of KwaZulul-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. After his postdoc, he stayed at UKZN as an Honorary Research Fellow until 2014. From 2006 to 2013, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for African Studies. In 2007, Dr. Patel returned to the Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy as a Fellow, where he worked for over ten years.
In 2010, Dr. Patel wrote his first book, The Value of Nothing, which was on the February 2010 New York Times best-seller list. In 2012, Dr. Patel published Stuffed and Starved.
Dr. Patel’s impactful work does not go unnoticed. He garners widespread recognition and acclaim for his contributions to academia, activism, and social justice. He was selected as the keynote speaker at the University of Abahlali baseMjondolo graduation ceremony. In 2008, Dr. Patel was invited to provide testimony on the global food crisis before the prestigious House Financial Services Committee in the USA, underscoring his expertise and influence in addressing critical issues worldwide.
In 2009, Dr. Patel extended his commitment to advocating for change by joining the advisory board of Corporate Accountability International’s impactful Value the Meal campaign, demonstrating his dedication to promoting transparency and accountability in the food industry.
Dr. Patel contributes his expertise to documentaries as well. In 2012, he was in the documentary Payback, and in 2013, A Place at the Table, which addresses food-related issues. Dr. Patel actively engages with governments, including the U.S., U.K., and E.U., testifying on hunger and food sovereignty. He also contributes to the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.
Since 2014, Dr. Patel has been a Research Professor at The University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the Unit for the Humanities at Rhodes University. Dr. Patel teaches social and development policy and policy communications. He specializes in studying the global food system and its alternatives.
In 2017, Dr. Patel and Jason W. Moore co-wrote A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet. Dr. Patel’s most recent book, co-authored with Rupa Mayra, is Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice, was published in 2021.
Since 2018, Dr. Patel has been an Expert Panel Member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).
Beyond academic pursuits, Dr. Patel is a prolific writer with contributions spanning journals on economics, philosophy, politics, international development, and public health. His work extends to newspapers, and he co-hosts the NPR podcast “The Secret Ingredient”.
His extensive work in Zimbabwe and South Africa includes activism against the Mugabe regime and associations with the Via Campesina movement and organizations like Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Landless Peoples Movement in South Africa.
A vocal critic of World Bank policies and research methods, Dr. Patel co-edited the online leftist webzine, The Voice of the Turtle.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Phil McMichael, Dr. Patel consistently elevated his intellectual capabilities, a support that endured well beyond the structured period of formal guidance. Within the LBJ School of Public Affairs, he proudly serves as a faculty mentor for numerous students. Dr. Patel expresses great enthusiasm for discovering their aspirations and experiences and exploring how his own journey can contribute to their paths toward success.
Dr. Patel advises young professionals to: “Dream big, read widely, and make friends. Even if you’re an introvert, like me, set aside your ego and realize that you’re committed to a vision of change that’ll make demands of you, that’ll require you to be disciplined, and will make you uncomfortable. But having comrades and theory to guide you, to hold you accountable, you can always be part of the solution” (2023).
Buccus, Imraan. March 23, 2011. “World Class Intellectual Engagement”. The Mercury.
Patel, Raj. November 12, 2023. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Patel Patel, Raj. n.d. Home [LinkedIn Page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved November 15, 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-patel-37876a5/
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
The University of Texas at Austin. 2023. Rajeev Patel. https://lbj.utexas.edu/patel-rajeev