Research interests

I am a social scientist and historian with interests in: food insecurity; food, drink and land-based enterprises; ‘local’ food networks; historical relationships between science and policy; consumer co-operatives; and ‘alternative’ food consumption practices. In the 2022-2027 Scottish Government RESAS Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) strategic research programme, I am PI for Building food and nutrition security in Scotland (RI-B4-1) and Costs and opportunities for Scottish products with higher value status (RI-B5-10).  In the 2016-2022 ENRA programme, I was PI for Enhancing Food Security and Local Food.

Research outputs

Slater, R., McKenzie, J., & Watts, D. (2026). What do food insecure Scottish resident adults eat? [Conference paper]. Nutrition Society Congress, Newcastle, England. https://www.nutritionsociety.org/events/nutrition-society-congress-2026

McKenzie, J., Savela, R., & Watts, D. (2026). Volunteering in food support organisations in Scotland: are recruitment and retention numbers going against the trend? Voluntary Sector Review, in press. https://aura.abdn.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/0b89f33d-bf78-4354-9b17-16656dffc8c6/content

Savela, R.-M., Kiljunen, O., Välimäki, T., Watts, D., & McKenzie, J. (2025). Material deprivation among informal caregivers: a literature review on housing, food insecurity and harmful effects on health. Perspectives in Public Health, early view. https://doi.org/10.1177/17579139251371979

Watts, D., Slater, R., & McKenzie, J. (2025). The distribution and functions of food support organisations in Scotland and their implications for policy. Scottish Affairs, 34(1), pp. 37-69. https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2025.0534

Watts, D. (2025). Science policy, ‘strategic’ research and journal papers: exploring their influence on the history of the Rowett Research Institute. Centaurus, 66(1-2), pp. 131-164. https://doi.org/10.1484/J.CNT.5.142848

McKenzie, J. S., Watts, D. 2021. Food ideals, food rules and the subjective construction of a healthy diet. Food and Foodways, 29(1), pp. 66-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/07409710.2020.1826734

McKenzie, J., & Watts, D. (2020). Re-thinking the relationship between food insecurity, health and social isolation [Conference paper]. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(OCE3), E740. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007260

Slater, R., Craig, L., & Watts, D. (2020). UK residents with low incomes and healthy diets: in search of exemplars [Conference paper]. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(OCE3), E742. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007296

Slater, R., Craig, L., Chalmers, N., & Watts, D. (2020). What information do consumers want about the greenhouse gas emissions of their diets? [Conference paper]. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(OCE3), E743. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007284

Sam, L., Craig, T., Watts, D., & Macdiarmid, J. I. (2020). The relationship between perceived time pressure and food practices among UK adults in employment. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(OCE3), E755. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007417

McKenzie, J. S., & Watts, D. (2020) “Things like tinned burgers and tinned macaroni, I ate as a kid - I would not look at it twice!”: Understanding changing eating practices across the lifecourse. Food, Culture & Society, 23(1), pp. 66-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2019.1679559

McBey, D., Watts, D., & Johnstone, A. M. (2019). ‘Nudging, formulating new products, and the lifecourse: a qualitative assessment of the viability of three methods for reducing Scottish meat consumption for health, ethical, and environmental reasons’. Appetite, 142, 104349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104349

Watts, D., Little, J., & Ilbery, B. (2018). “I am pleased to shop somewhere that is fighting the supermarkets a little bit”: A cultural political economy of alternative food networks. Geoforum, 91, pp. 21-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.02.013

Watts, D., Matilainen, A., Kurki, S. P., Keskinarkaus, S., & Hunter, C. (2017). Hunting cultures and the ‘northern periphery’: Exploring their relationship in Scotland and Finland. Journal of Rural Studies, 54, pp. 255-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.06.017

Watts, D. C. H. (2017). Building an alternative economic network? Consumer cooperation in Scotland from the 1870s to the 1960s. Economic History Review, 70(1), pp. 143-170. https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12340

Grant

·       1/9/2016-31/8/2020

·       ESRC

·       The Development of Meat Inspection in the UK Since 1914

·       £78, 038

·       Co-I (lead applicant)

External activity

Trustee director, Universities Superannuation Scheme

PhD supervision

Ming Gao (current) The History of Synthetic Food Colours in Britain since the Late Nineteenth Century.

Lucy Sam (2021) An Investigation of Domestic Food Practices and Routines and their Determinants.

Giles O’Donovan (2020) Re-thinking Food Security and Food Governance, with special reference to horticulture

Ramona Statache (2019) Social Media Embeddedness for Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises in Scotland

Stoyka Chipchakova (2018) Addressing food security by controlling the risk of food poisoning: a case study of listeriosis in the Scottish smoked salmon industry

Annabelle McLaren-Thomson (2016) Small tourism businesses in rural Scotland: exploring owner-managers' understandings of social sustainability