Jillian Hyink has been with the SUSHI Project since the beginning of her master’s program at the University of Arkansas. Previously, she graduated in the spring of 2022 from Loyola University Chicago with a BS in Environmental Science, and minors in Environmental Economics, French Language, and Urban Studies. In June of 2024, Jillian successfully defended her master’s thesis entitled “Consumer Perceptions of Hemp-Fed Aquaculture​” and received her graduate degree in Agriculture Economics. SUSHI Project Manager Ashley Erwin had an opportunity to sit down with Jillian and discuss her time with SUSHI, her passion for this work, and her future plans.

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Ashley: Tell me a bit about yourself and why you decided to pursue a degree in ag economics from the University of Arkansas.

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Jillian: My undergraduate program was in environmental science, which I was and still am passionate about. As I took more specialized classes, I began to understand how many barriers there are to progress, broadly. I also started to get bored with lab work and felt that I was not using the right tools to accomplish my goals.

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I took a course in environmental economics, and it made me think, “maybe this is how we get people to pay attention, by assigning value, dollar signs to environmental stewardship.” This line of thinking drew me to economics in general. I like processes that I can see the beginning and end of.

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The first day of the class, the professor talked about how Loyola was pushing students to engage in research. I emailed him and said I think this sounds very interesting, and asked if he had capacity for students. He turned me on agricultural economics and the industry of aquaculture, and pushed me to apply for grad school, which was not part of my plan at that time. I am forever grateful for this.

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A lot of people in Ag Econ come from a farm background, but my interest is mostly in food marketing. I think food is so interesting. So, I started reaching out to professors who were doing consumer work on food that I felt was interesting. One of them was Dr. Brandon McFadden. I reached out while he was at the University of Delaware, and he told me about the SUSHI Project. He then let me know that he was accepting a position at University of Arkansas and invited me to attend there and work on SUSHI.

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Ashley: Can you tell me about the work you did on the SUSHI Project?

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Jillian: The work I did on the project makes up my thesis, which is the backbone of my master’s program. The main thing I have been doing is consumer surveys to determine how people value the fish product that we will eventually produce from this project. Specifically, we have been interested in finding out if people value the high omega-3 concentration or the hemp-fed quality.

We also want to find out if people have different reactions to the fish being fed different parts of the plant. We used the term “hemp” in some surveys, and in others used “hemp hearts” and gave a little information on the parts of the plant. We did not provide information on some of the issues with fish meal and benefits of hemp, which I think would be interesting context to add in the future.

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We intentionally over-sampled under-represented minority populations in these surveys, which is not typical. It can be costly, but important when you are talking about preferences and health impacts for these groups of people. You must have an appropriate sample size. Something Dr. McFadden and I have been discussing is using a dietary hierarchy of needs. At the bottom, you have enough food to survive, and the top levels are trying new foods regularly, and using foods that are totally aligned with your values and the season. Tying this into people’s attitudes about different food policies, we are working to demonstrate that the people whose food needs are already met are typically the same group which supports policies that make food more expensive.

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Ashley: Do you feel that this work was aligned with your program of study?

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Jillian: Yes, of course. I would say, broadly, my focus within ag economics is food marketing and consumer behavior. This project has been very interesting because both farm-raised fish and hemp are things that carry huge stigma. There is a bias that wild-caught fish is healthier than farm raised, which is not necessarily true. There are these misperceptions, and in consumer studies there is always an indication that people are willing to pay more for wild fish, which is interesting to look into. And hemp was federally illegal for 50 years, so of course there is still a stigma. The sustainability piece has been great as well, with my environmental background.

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Ashley: Did SUSHI PIs provide flexibility and support to accommodate your academic obligations?

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Jillian: Yeah, I worked with Brandon and Brandy mostly and they are both fantastic leaders. Efficient, responsive, and everything I would hope for in a leader. I have had the opportunity to meet most of the team, especially the Econ people. I have not needed a great deal of flexibility, but I know they would provide it for me. Brandy drove all the way to Fayetteville to be there in person when I defended my thesis even though she did not have to. That truly meant the world to me. Great team.

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Ashley: Did you learn anything particularly valuable through the hands-on SUSHI project work that you would like to share or highlight?

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Jillian: I learned a lot about the technical process for doing the type of experiment we did. You learn things in classes, but it is different when you draft the survey, pilot it, and send it out to the public. I have learned the value of communication and teamwork. We all have a lot to learn from each other and all of the pieces are essential. I have looked more than I ever anticipated into related disciplines such as nutrition science. These issues require broad contextualization. I feel really grateful to have been able to work with a transdisciplinary team and see that broad context.

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Ashley: Would you recommend a student position on the SUSHI project to other students? Why or why not?

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Jillian: Absolutely. I actually met an incoming student who will be on the Project next year and I think I scared him a little bit with how excited I was for this project. I can, in full confidence, recommend this project as a great opportunity to apply the skills you learn in classes to something real that feels important. Also to be on a project like this is a great thing to have on your CV. The SAS PD meeting I attended in Madison was great as well, the USDA came in and gave tips and tricks for successful grant work. It was a unique opportunity for me as a student, since, at least in my experience, grant writing is not something that they let you work on until you are working on a PhD. It was interesting to learn from the other teams about the various SAS projects.

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Ashley: What are your plans now that you have graduated?

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Jillian: This fall, I am moving to Pullman, WA to start a PhD in economics at Washington State. Even though my degree will be in Economics, I will still focus on food. After that, I see myself staying in academia or transitioning to the public sector. I want to do research and answer questions that I think of myself which feel important to me. That is why I am willing to put myself through 4-more years of school.

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Ashley: How did the work you did on the SUSHI project shape your next steps, if at all?

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Jillian: The SUSHI project made it possible for this to even be an option for me. Assistantships are competitive in this field, and the one thing that sets you apart is project experience. Pretty much everyone at this level is doing well in classes. I have had many opportunities to be engaged in project work, and present at conferences. I used to be afraid of public speaking, but I feel comfortable doing that now because of my experience. The mentorship specifically from Brandon and Brandy has motivated me in a way that I never expected. I went into my bachelor's degree thinking that was it, and then into my master’s thinking this would be it. I would not have found myself taking on goals this big without someone giving me a push and telling me I am capable. I went to Brandon and Brandy quite a bit for all sorts of advice and both of them helped me make big decisions.

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Ashley: What will you take with you from your experience on this project as you navigate next steps?

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Jillian: The biggest thing that I will remember forever about this experience is working as part of a team where I feel like my piece is crucial to the functioning of the work, and helpful in attainment of the shared goal. Knowing that researchers will be reading my work in the future and using it to inform their work, that is kind of the ultimate goal in research. Knowing that someone else will read it and use it. Knowing this is much more fulfilling than something I did just to get a degree.

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Ashley: Anything else you would like to share?

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The SUSHI Project is a really cool example of how innovation is possible in industries where things have been stagnant for so long. I love the idea that hemp production was only very recently legalized, and yet we are already looking at a really novel way to use it and improve the environment and help people. This project sticks out to me as something that is very innovative; this is thinking outside the box. The team is what makes this actually worth something.