Will Masters
Prof. at the Friedman School of Nutrition & Dept. of Economics at Tufts University @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social.
Open-access book on Food Economics: Agriculture, Nutrition and Health.
sites.tufts.edu/willmasters
- Reposted by Will MastersGreat analysis and resource on food prices resource from @willmasters.bsky.social @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social. As with many things MAHA, a mixed bag. Via @sarah-todd.bsky.social @statnews.com
- Reposted by Will MastersHeartiest of congratulations to @willmasters.bsky.social, whose work on food & ag I value very much.
- William A. Masters has been awarded the 2026 Georg and Greta Borgström Prize for Global Food Security 🏆 His work brings economics, agriculture, and nutrition together to make healthy diets more affordable worldwide. 🔗 Read more: bit.ly/4jWQpre
- Reposted by Will MastersWilliam A. Masters has been awarded the 2026 Georg and Greta Borgström Prize for Global Food Security 🏆 His work brings economics, agriculture, and nutrition together to make healthy diets more affordable worldwide. 🔗 Read more: bit.ly/4jWQpre
- Reposted by Will MastersYan Bai, Elena Martinez, Anna Herforth, @willmasters.bsky.social (at @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social) and others have an insightful article with information-dense graphics in Nature Food this week, comparing low-cost to climate-friendly food options internationally. www.nature.com/articles/s43...
- Reposted by Will MastersThe nicely annotated recording of the webinar on Nov 20 with Prof. Norbert Wilson of Duke University @dukewfpc.bsky.social, about the recent end of the USDA nationally representative household food security survey, now has been posted. wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/webinar-what...
- Want to see a circular bioeconomy, with minimal food waste and max energy recycling? I learned a lot from this amazing story about ruthless efficiency in pursuit of customer service:
- ...and here's another angle on how cruise ship companies have overcome the constraints of life on shore
- Reposted by Will MastersMy colleague @willmasters.bsky.social and I had a nice conversation with Norbert Wilson at @dukewfpc.bsky.social about least cost diets in the United States and internationally, with implications for understanding SNAP in the US and world hunger. wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/podcasts/how...
- Thanks to Pablo Rosado of @ourworldindata.org for a clear, vivid explanation of what #FoodPricesForNutrition metrics reveal about healthy diet costs and affordability. The original data are posted at www.fao.org/faostat/en/#... & worldbank.org/foodpricesfo..., from sites.tufts.edu/foodpricesfo...
- The tomato theory of everything 1/3
- For a decade Americans have benefited from a downward trend in the real cost of tomatoes (in red), even more than all fruits & veg (in green), compared to all groceries (in black). Each is shown controlling for overall inflation, from FRED with updates here: fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1MNZ7 2/3
- Having low price, high quality tomatoes depends not only on imports in winter, but also immigrant labor, new technology and market competition. It's the tomato theory of everything! Thx to @camilo-fonseca.bsky.social for clear reporting on how tariffs limit our access to imported sunshine. 3/3
- Just finished the superb new book from @juliabelluz.bsky.social and @kevinh-phd.bsky.social. Crystal clear storytelling about the new science of nutrition, summarizing what we learn at top schools like @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social. It's a timely antidote to snake oil & vibes--highly recommended!
- The U.S. food security data to be cancelled by Trump's USDA has been of huge value but is often misunderstood -- and the WSJ piece breaking the news is exceptionally clear about what's at stake
- Great piece from @henrymance.ft.com on a surprising way in which people have turned away from idealism: fewer online searches for "vegan". Data in the next post... 1/2
- The rise and fall of progressive idealism, as tracked by online search for vegan (vs. organic or vegetarian). These data are global, you can click to see differences in timing and relative magnitudes here: trends.google.com/trends/explo... I'll call this the "Henry Vance Index" of idealism. 2/2
- PS, academic footnote for those interested in the use (and misuse) of Google trends data, a nice article from @floriankeusch.bsky.social and coauthors here:
- Big new paper shows limits to the common belief that healthy & sustainable foods are more expensive than other options. Details: linkedin.com/posts/wamast... Article: doi.org/10.1016/j.aj... Preprint: sites.tufts.edu/foodpricesfo... From @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social, for #foodsky #econsky #foodecon
- It looks like healthy adults under 65 in the U.S. might be barred from getting the updated Covid vaccine for this fall. Here's the latest from my niece Nina Masters' Know Your Vax substack, in response to the story below from Caitlin Rivers @cmyeaton.bsky.social
- I tried to figure out what is going on with fall vaccines. - Flu vax is for everyone 6+ months and availability should be normal - Covid-19 vax likely be limited to ages 65+ AND people with health conditions. Still some uncertainty. - RSV for older adults and babies substack.com/home/post/p-...
- Marion Nestle just posted a useful roundup of links about the leaked draft MAHA report here: www.foodpolitics.com/2025/08/http... So far MAHA is playing out somewhat like Italy's right-wing gastronationalism, which distracts food activists with symbolic stuff so as to give industry gets a free hand.
- Reposted by Will MastersSailing on Boston Harbor on a breezy summer afternoon with @willmasters.bsky.social, practicing dropping and raising the anchor, and, for conversation, in our imagination, solving global food systems challenges.
- Reposted by Will MastersAs ABC News @max-zahn.bsky.social reports, producer prices for vegetables jumped nearly 40% in one month. Tariffs? Supply hiccups due to immigration crackdown on farm laborers? Weather? Or random noise? Let's monitor vegetable prices in the next two months to see. abcnews.go.com/Business/tar...
- Reposted by Will MastersRemember all of the “food prices are too high” social media posts from 2024? Grocery price inflation is higher now than it was then
- Today's U.S. CPI shows grocery price inflation rising and above 2% year-on-year since March 2025, after the period of low grocery price rises in 2023-24. This FRED chart shows rise in grocery inflation (green) vs restaurant meals (red) and the overall CPI (blue): fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1LgBF
- Reposted by Will MastersWholesale prices came in hot in today’s PPI report, but veggies stole the show 🥦📈 Vegetable prices at the wholesale level surged nearly 39% in July. @willmasters.bsky.social & I unpack what’s behind this spike in today's @marketplace.org 🎙️ www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
- For university courses about #FoodEconomics, a full set of class slides, weekly exercises, & exams is now available for use with the free online textbook from @afinaret.bsky.social and me. Audience is advanced undergrads and first-year grad students using graphical diagrams, examples and global data
- Today's U.S. CPI shows grocery price inflation rising and above 2% year-on-year since March 2025, after the period of low grocery price rises in 2023-24. This FRED chart shows rise in grocery inflation (green) vs restaurant meals (red) and the overall CPI (blue): fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1LgBF
- This year's #AAEA2025 coincides with launch of the UN system's #SOFI2025 report on The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. Beyond diet costs and affordability, this year's report includes new work from @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social and @fao.org on relative cost of different foods:
- Yesterday's launch of #SOFI2025 marks the 4th annual update of global diet cost and affordability data published jointly by FAO and the World Bank, used by UN agencies and national governments as a clear and actionable new metric of global food security. Direct link to the report is here:
- In low-income countries, 544.7 million people—that’s 72% of the population—couldn’t afford a healthy diet in 2024. Food is a basic right, not a luxury. Learn more in the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report 👉 bit.ly/4mjX2nK #SOFI2025
- Big thanks to #ABCDE2025 for an amazing 4 days blending new research with big-picture debate on global development in this era of political change. Here's their video of my 15-min summary of #FoodPricesForNutrition, on whether & how agriculture can meet health needs: www.youtube.com/live/AEV4YE1...
- Reposted by Will MastersWill Masters of Tufts University shows how a well-crafted indicator (in this case, the lowest cost of a healthy diet) can actively inform civil society discussion. For more, read his paper www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #ABCDE2025
- Great storytelling about agricultural innovation from @kimseverson.bsky.social. The context is a taxpayer-funded public institution doing modern genetics that helps millions of people, but the story is framed as a branded treat from a cute couple at the bucolic-sounding Wild Peanut Lab. Genius!
- Reposted by Will MastersMany moons ago, @kevinh-phd.bsky.social and I talked about a book we wished existed. No fads, no weight loss hacks, no fear-mongering -- just the science of how food works in your body. Thrilled to share that we wrote it! Out September 23, pre-oder here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671334...
- Reposted by Will MastersLearning to sail small open boats for ocean voyaging, propelled by an upbeat vision of prosperity under conditions of sharp decarbonization, here is a video from Boston Harbor yesterday with friends. Film by @willmasters.bsky.social. #ClimateAction youtu.be/MtBm289wmtU?...
- New paper links emotions in artwork to socioeconomic conditions over >500 years. One finding: in W. Europe, paintings got cheerier in the decades after more favorable climatic conditions. Great big-picture stuff from @heblich.bsky.social, w/ C. Gorin & Y. Zylberberg: www.nber.org/papers/w33976
- Brief review article out today in Food Policy traces the rapid adoption of least-cost diets for monitoring food access. Paper: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lND015oGp... Project: sites.tufts.edu/foodpricesfo... Something new, from @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social + many others as shown by google ngram data:
- Thank you to @lacastanon.bsky.social for wonderful piece explaining the work of #FoodPricesForNutrition. It's a hot summer of new stuff from @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social, helping farmers and food suppliers meet health needs in the U.S. and worldwide.
- A blowout vote to tighten the Jones Act, requiring ALL ocean cargo to use US flag vessels... if it's "procured, furnished, or financed" by the Dept of Transportation. The DOT doesn't do that so maybe the bill is just theater--but it's ugly. Thumbs up @repauchincloss.bsky.social for a principled no
- Supermarket chains have long used land restrictions to block the entry of other grocery stores, forcing consumers to pay more and travel further. This kind of food desertification was found by law student Karissa Kang (thecounter.org/supermarket-...), now @clairek.bsky.social shows how it might end
- Another way they're raising food prices: on Friday June 13th, EPA required use of even more soybeans in diesel fuel. Bulk edible oil prices jumped 9% on the news. Burning crops as fuel is bad for all except growers & processors, who cheered. h/t Aaron Smith agdatanews.substack.com/p/a-big-win-...
- Reposted by Will MastersWhoa, @elizkolbert.bsky.social did a deep dive into WE ARE EATING THE EARTH in @newyorker.com! I'm grateful that she called me an "engaging storyteller" but mostly I'm grateful that she really grappled with this stuff. I want people to grapple. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
- Reposted by Will MastersTufts University is thrilled to host the North East Development Consortium (NEUDC) Conference on November 8-9, 2025! 📝 Call for Papers: Submissions start June 16, and end August 17. Submit your papers here: editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conf... More details to come! #NEUDC #NEUDC2025
- A new World Bank blog post explains how the #HealthyDietBasket allows us to track #FoodPricesForNutrition around the world: blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/... We'll have more on this at the #ABCDE conference on July 25th, in the @cgdev.org session on ag & food: www.worldbank.org/en/events/20...
- Reposted by Will Masters1/ 🚀Big Update❗❗ Last year we published @NatCities, a systematic analysis of how countries are organized around multiple urban centres. That geospatial dataset is very complex. So we just launched the City-Region Explorer🔎... an easy to use platform for analysis. 🧵 #EconSky #Geography #GISChat
- If you #TeachEcon and cover agriculture & nutrition, on Monday June 16th we'll have a big online ANH Learning Lab online with @afinaret.bsky.social about #FoodEconomics. Textbook etc. is here: sites.tufts.edu/foodeconomics, and link below to free registration at @anhacademy.bsky.social:
- Great story by @peterslevin.bsky.social tracing how agricultural research in Africa helps U.S. farmers. Starts with aphid-resistant sorghum in Kansas, then other reasons we created these programs in the first place; features Tim Dalton (my first PhD student!), Dave Tschirley & other #FoodEcon folks
- A fulfilling escape: just finished reading So Very Small, on the slow then sudden rise of germ theory, antibiotics & vaccination. The deadly dance between people and bugs is riveting when told by @tomlevenson.bsky.social, and touches us all: My dad was saved by early sulfa drugs in Boston c. 1938
- The book is a suspenseful how-did-they-do-it mystery, from the first microscopes to transforming the entire living world as it mutates around and within us. Along the way we get a timely re-envisioning of science and its discontents. Lessons for now: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672378...
- Want a cheap & sustainable healthy diet? New preprint confirms that less expensive options generally emit less GHGs. Main exception is animal source foods. The least emitting healthy diets cost ~$7/day and emit 0.7 kg CO2e, while actual choices cost ~$10 and emit 2.4 kg. arxiv.org/abs/2505.24457
- Details for this year's #ABCDE are now posted -- looking forward to new ideas from this big (four days!) program full of #EconSky folks including @rglenner.bsky.social , @markusgold.bsky.social, @eeshani.bsky.social etc. from @cgdev.org, @dannyquah.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social & many others
- Leaving today for #Nutrition2025, a packed schedule of presentations by my esteemed colleagues... including the inaugural "Excellence in Nutrition" Fellows of the ASN. It's an honor to be in this amazing group -- I will be proud to flash that extra qualification in the health sciences as PhD, FASN!
- This week, our community of researchers, students, and faculty is heading to ASN’s Nutrition 2025, the world’s leading conference for nutrition professionals. 🌱 Explore the full list of Friedman School highlights at ASN, including award winners and research sessions here: bit.ly/4dLdH0s
- A new paper painstakingly details how national food supplies align with nutritional needs around the world, focusing on which nutrients in what foods have and can be industrially fortified. Fortification works only in some settings, but does so at an astonishingly low cost. ssrn.com/abstract=526...
- This new paper validates the #HealthyDietBasket used to track food access globally, benchmarked to national food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) and EAT-Lancet targets for nutrition & sustainability. A big step in work on #FoodPricesForNutrition from @tuftsnutrition.bsky.social #AgSky #FoodSky
- New WTO-IMF tracker shows latest changes in effective tariffs for US, China & Canada. For example, I just found that the US rate on coffee & tea is now 12% (because most is at the 10% floor), but cocoa & chocolate is 17% (due to high tax on imports via Canada, Mexico & the EU). #EconSky #TeachEcon
- PS, a bit more detail in a longer post over on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/wamast...
- Stunning data, from @gelliottmorris.com
- Reposted by Will Masters✍ Sign up for #ANH2025 Learning Labs—online or in Dar es Salaam! 🇹🇿 Explore 20+ workshops on topics like cost of a healthy diet, trade & nutrition, gender & food systems. 🍎 🔗 bit.ly/4k04pjg Attending in person? ✈️ Check your email for the LL sign-up link! 📩 🗓️See full programme: bit.ly/4mnQF3n
- Brian Potter's roundup of findings from Construction Physics is full of surprises, showing how "things that seem recent often go back decades... what seems inevitable is often the result of chance... intuitive explanations are often wrong..." His discoveries are wild, and clearly explained:
