Spring 2026 Harry ’51 and Joshua ’49 Tsujimoto Perspectives in Global Development Seminar Series
Lecture and related faculty and student activities presented by generous support from the Meera Shekar Family Fund.
About the speaker
Will Masters is Professor of Food Policy and Economics at Tufts University. He is coauthor of the popular textbook Food Economics: Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024), and since 2020 has led the Food Prices for Nutrition project that introduced new metrics for the cost and affordability of healthy diets. He is an elected Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), and in 2026 was awarded the Swedish Royal Academy of Agriculture’s Borgström Prize for Global Food Security. Details at sites.tufts.edu/willmasters.
Abstract
Cost and affordability of healthy diets: Adoption and use of a new food security metric worldwide
This talk will describe the development and use of benchmark least-cost healthy diets, relative to available income, as a new metric of food access and nutrition security. Since 2022 these data have been published by the World Bank and UN agencies for global monitoring, and by national governments to guide their own agricultural investments, food policy and social protection. The metric is a designed for comparison to actual consumption, as a diagnostic indicator to distinguish among three possible causes of malnutrition: (a) high prices or unavailability for items in each food group needed for health, (b) insufficient income to buy those items in sufficient quantities, or (c) displacement of affordable low-cost healthy diets by different foods consumed for other reasons such as taste and preferences, time use and meal preparation costs, or food culture and aspirations shaped by marketing.
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About the seminar series
The Harry ’51 & Joshua ’49 Tsujimoto Perspectives in Global Development Seminar Series showcases innovative approaches to development with experts from around the globe. Each year, the series attracts online registrants from over 45 countries and more than 350 organizations.
Seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:20-1:10 p.m. Eastern time during the semester in 175 Warren Hall. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend in-person or via Zoom.
The series is co-sponsored by the Sections of Global Development and Natural Resources and the Environment and the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960.
Date & Time
February 18, 2026
12:20 pm - 1:10 pm
More information about this event.
Contact Information
Mariah Doyle-Stephenson
- md2237 [at] cornell.edu
Departments
Global Development Section
Natural Resources and the Environment Section
Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment
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