Zane Swanson

Deputy Director, Global Food and Water Security Program
Jon B. Alterman

Zane Swanson is deputy director of the Global Food and Water Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he investigates the causes and consequences of food and water insecurity in the United States and globally. He is particularly interested in the development and application of evidence-based policy to address the overlapping challenges to food and water security, ecological security, and global development. Trained as an evolutionary anthropologist, Zane’s early research focused on the socio-ecological relationships between human physiology, health, the environment, and lifestyle among agropastoral and semi-nomadic communities living in rural Kenya. Working at the intersection of human biology and global health, his work informed investigations of early childhood growth variation and household cardiometabolic health difference in the context of food and water insecurity, as well as socioeconomic and market access disparities. Prior to joining CSIS, Zane worked in the Pontzer Lab at Duke University, where he also supported research investigating variation in human energy expenditure, physical activity, and life history. Zane holds a BA with Honors in anthropology from Boston University and received his PhD in evolutionary anthropology from Duke University. He hails from Sherman, Connecticut.

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Executive Education

Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends

Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends is Washington’s premier executive course for mid-to senior-level professionals responsible for helping their organizations identify and prepare for the global macrotrends that will drive change for the next 30 years.

Course Date: April 27, 2026
Registration Closes: April 13, 2026

Tracking Gaza’s Descent into Famine

On August 22, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) announced that famine is currently occurring in Gaza, marking the fifth such classification since the IPC was formed in 2004 and the first in the Middle East.

Analysis by Caitlin Welsh, Zane Swanson, and Joely Virzi — August 22, 2025

AI & Global Food Security: A Focus on Precision Agriculture

As the world needs to produce more food with fewer resources, AI-enabled precision agriculture offers a more sustainable future for food production. CSIS experts unpack the risks and promises of AI for farmers and the world. 

Critical Questions by Emma Dodd, Zane Swanson, and Caitlin Welsh — August 13, 2025

Audio Briefs

AI & Global Food Security: A Focus on Precision Agriculture

An audio version of “⁠AI & Global Food Security: A Focus on Precision Agriculture,⁠” a new Critical Questions by CSIS’s Emma Dodd, Zane Swanson, and Caitlin Welsh. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Emma Dodd, Zane Swanson, and Caitlin Welsh — August 13, 2025

Audio Briefs
Audio Briefs

Experts React: Starvation in Gaza

An audio version of “⁠Experts React: Starvation in Gaza⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Mona Yacoubian, Will Todman, Jon B. Alterman, Caitlin Welsh, Zane Swanson, Michaela Simoneau, Sophia Hirshfield, Hadeil Ali, Andrew Friedman, J. Stephen Morrison, and Leonard Rubenstein. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Mona Yacoubian, Will Todman, Jon B. Alterman, Caitlin Welsh, Zane Swanson, Michaela Simoneau, Sophia Hirshfield, Hadeil Ali, Andrew Friedman, J. Stephen Morrison, and Leonard Rubenstein — July 30, 2025

Audio Briefs

Experts React: Starvation in Gaza

CSIS experts react to Gaza’s descent into mass starvation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, international and domestic pressure on Israel, and more.

Commentary by Mona Yacoubian, Will Todman, Jon B. Alterman, Caitlin Welsh, Zane Swanson, Michaela Simoneau, Sophia Hirshfield, Hadeil Ali, Andrew Friedman, J. Stephen Morrison, and Leonard Rubenstein — July 28, 2025

The Nature of Strength

As agriculture faces growing biological and environmental threats, crop biodiversity is vital to maintaining and building resilience. CSIS experts examine how agrobiodiversity, and the genebanks that safeguard it, are strategic assets ensuring a more secure future.

Digital Report by Zane Swanson and Caitlin Welsh — June 11, 2025

How Is Bird Flu Impacting Agriculture and Food Security in the United States?

The H5N1 subtype of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has caused unprecedented damage to poultry and dairy farms in the United States. CSIS experts explore the impacts to U.S. agriculture and food security, and what should be done to address them.

Critical Questions by Caitlin Welsh and Zane Swanson — April 17, 2025