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Food and Health Economics

George Davis and Wen You, AAEc; studio illustration; prepartion for meals in food assistance programs

man in a protective mask standing in front of a fruit counter

The Virginia Tech Food and Health Economics program was established in 2007 as part of a university-wide obesity research hire.

Topics of interest in this cluster have grown significantly and now encompass food intake and time allocation; the distribution of drugs and vaccines to control the spread of infectious diseases; cancer prevention and oncology; and obesity.

Our world-class health and nutrition economists have developed research programs that evaluate economic and socioeconomic outcomes in these areas through population simulations, individual choice modeling, and nonmarket valuation. 

Graduate students have the opportunity to work on cross-disciplinary projects and partner with numerous private-sector professionals and organizations.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

In 2015, the United Nations adopted a global framework for sustainable development focusing on 17 SDGs. The SDGs call for all countries to address complex, global problems covering all aspects of sustainability such as health and well-being, equality, clean water, and climate change. 

Virginia Tech is tracking progress toward achieving the United Nation’s SDGs across three categories; research, outreach, and stewardship. View the progress here.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)