Public Seminar Series – 2025 Seminar #01

Abstract: This presentation explores the interconnected challenges of the global food system, focusing on the diet-health-sustainability trilemma. It examines how dietary patterns contribute to malnutrition, environmental degradation, and health disparities, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. Using modeling approaches, including the SIMPLE framework, the analysis highlights the impacts of food waste reduction and promoting shifts toward healthier and more sustainable consumption bundles. The findings highlight that such shifts can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve health, and enhance food security, though potential trade-offs, such as employment impacts in agricultural sectors, must be addressed through region-specific policy interventions. Speaker Bio: Emiliano Lopez Barrera is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. He employs econometric tools alongside economic and nutrition modeling to explore trade-offs and synergies among food consumption bundles, health outcomes, and environmental sustainability. He has published in top-tier journals such as Nature Food, The Lancet Regional Health, Food Policy, and the Journal of Policy Modeling. His recent projects focus on food waste mitigation strategies, sustainable protein transitions, and consumer-oriented policies that promote healthier and more equitable food systems. Emiliano earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, his M.Sc. in Applied Economics from North Dakota State University, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the Universidad de la República (Uruguay).