Friedman Community Participates in the 2025 AAEA Meeting

The 2025 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, to be held in Denver, CO, is expected to draw approximately 1,400 participants. Each year, members of the Friedman School community actively contribute to the program through invited paper sessions, symposia, lightning sessions, and scholarly presentations. 

Organized by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA)—a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting professionals in agricultural and applied economics—this meeting serves as a leading forum for the exchange of research and ideas. 

If you are a Friedman School alumni and plan to be at the conference, please reach out to sean.cash@tufts.edu if you are interested in attending a Tufts@AAEA dinner. 

Below is a summary of the planned contributions from our community members.

Appointments/Awards

• Professor William Masters, PhD elected to AAEA Board of Directors (2025-28).
• Friedman School Professor of Nutrition Equity and Assistant Professor LaPorchia Collins, PhD elected to the Executive Board of the AAEA’s Food Safety and Nutrition Section as Chair-Elect.

Saturday, July 26 (pre-conference)

8:30am-5:00pm

Pre-conference workshop on The New Economics of Food Security and Nutrition

• William Masters, PhD – Opening remarks on the past, present and future of measurement to guide action
• Parke Wilde, PhD – Panel on food security and access to healthy diets

Monday, July 28

10:00am-11:30am

Elena Martinez, PhD: "Cost and affordability of low-cost and preferred diets in 8 West African countries" (oral presentation, track session). Co-Authors: Hayley Fryling, William Masters.

4:15pm - 5:30pm

Wenhui Feng, Assistant Professor: "Did Pandemic-EBT Benefits Increase Food Purchases?(Selected Presentation - Poster). Co-Authors: Bangyao Sun, Yue Zhan, Sage Loomis, Sean Cash.

Parke Wilde, PhD: "Updated Interactive Thrifty Food Plan Calculator" (poster). Co-Authors: Hayley Fryling. More information here.

Tuesday, July 29

10:00am - 11:30am

Leah Costlow, PhD Candidate: "Improving diet quality across the income spectrum in Indonesia: Insights on the cost, affordability, and consumption of healthy diets" (oral presentation, track session). Co-Authors: Rachel Gilbert, William Masters, Flaminia Ortenzi, Wendy Gonzalez, Ty Beal.

Wenhui Feng, Assistant Professor: "Characterizing the dynamic nature of SNAP food environments in the United States" (Selected Presentation - Lightning Session). Co-Authors: Ben Chrisinger.

Shijun Gao, PhD: "Labeling Preferences for Processed Foods: A Case Study of 'Caught' and 'Processed' Origins in Canned Tuna" (oral presentation, track session). Co-Authors: Sean Cash, Jessica Sparks.

Elena Martinez, PhD: "Climate impacts and monetary cost of healthy diets worldwide" (oral presentation, track session). Co-Authors: Yan Bai, Mizuki Yamanaka, Marko Rissanen, Anna Herforth, William Masters.

1:00pm - 2:30pm

Benga Sadik: "Using Cost and Affordability Data for Improved Access to Healthy Diets in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, and Nigeria" (Track session). Co-Authors: William Masters, Rachel Gilbert.

4:30pm - 6:00pm

Shijun Gao, PhD: "Behavioral Insights into Consumer Preferences for Ethical Labels: Evidence from the Canned Tuna Market" (oral presentation, track session). Co-Authors: Sean Cash, Jessica Sparks.