Will Masters

Will Masters

@willmasters.bsky.social

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. http://sites.tufts.edu/willmasters

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Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

For your own kitchen and table salt, especially if you're a potential mom or responsible for feeding infants remember that the ordinary cheap iodized stuff really is healthier than more expensive culinary salts: www.foodandwine.com/what-happene...

foodandwine.comIodized Salt Was Once a Public Health Miracle — So Why Did We Stop Using It?Once a staple of American kitchens, iodized salt virtually eliminated iodine deficiency in the U.S. Now, as home cooks embrace kosher salt and other specialty varieties, nutrition experts say the long...
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

Back in June 2007, my family and I did some tourism across Ethiopia. Visiting Bahir Dar market, I took this photo of a vendor selling the traditional bars and also loose grains of non-iodized salt. I had no idea that we would later be able to measure its harmful effects.

Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

One key message of Robel Alemu's great paper is that iodized salt remains a miracle of 20th century science. In this high-tech 21st century we shouldn't take it for granted. Even in the U.S., symptoms of extreme iodine deficiency are coming back: www.brown.edu/news/2025-09...

brown.eduNot getting enough iodine? Brown pediatric endocrinologist reveals why iodine deficiency is on the riseDr. Monica Serrano-Gonzalez of the Warren Alpert Medical School discussed her research on the risks of iodine deficiency and what people can do about it.

Will Masters reposted

Parke Wilde
@parkewilde.bsky.social

Yan 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...

nature.comEnvironmental impacts and monetary costs of healthy diets worldwide - Nature FoodIdentifying low-cost options for a healthy diet is an essential step towards allowing all people to meet their nutritional needs. This study measures the frontiers of the lowest available cost and gre...

Will Masters reposted

Parke Wilde
@parkewilde.bsky.social

The 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...

wfpc.sanford.duke.eduWebinar: What We Lose as USDA Household Food Security Reporting Ends - World Food Policy CenterOverview On November, 20, 2025, Duke’s World Food Policy Center hosted an in-depth webinar on a major policy shift by the US Department of Agriculture:…

Will Masters reposted

Parke Wilde
@parkewilde.bsky.social

My 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...

wfpc.sanford.duke.eduE286: How 'least cost diet' models fuel food security policy - World Food Policy CenterGovernments use something called a ‘least cost diet’ to monitor food access, inform policy discussions, and target interventions to improve food security and nutrition. So, what is the least cost diet...
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

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

bostonglobe.comWinter is coming. So are tariff-induced price hikes on tomatoes and other produce. - The Boston GlobeA rise in produce prices could be a sign of higher costs to come as President Trump’s tariffs on imported food become more significant.
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

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!

penguinrandomhouse.comFood Intelligence by Julia Belluz, Kevin Hall, PhD: 9780593332306 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books“Food Intelligence dispels many popular myths we have about weight loss and breaks down the real drivers of the obesity crisis based on decades of research. I really hope everyone gets a chance to...
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

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

knowyourvax.comNow It’s Personal: Changes to Vaccine Policy Affect All of UsI had a painful experience at my local CVS this morning. I went in to get my flu shot and saw a pregnant woman standing at the pharmacy counter. She asked for last year’s formulation of the COVID-1…
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-...

substack.comWhere things stand on fall vaccinesEverything I could find about 2025 flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

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.

Will Masters@willmasters.bsky.social

My guess is that MAHA will follow the food policy playbook of Italy's right wing, whose defense of tradition is used to stop rules against harmful new foods. In the U.S. we'll be distracted by fights over raw milk & beef tallow, while the real story is rules on sugar & salt. 3/3 PS, about Italy:

politico.euThe Mediterranean diet is a lieItaly’s food is supposed to be the world’s healthiest. So why are so many of its kids obese?

Will Masters reposted

Parke Wilde
@parkewilde.bsky.social

As 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...

abcnews.go.comAre tariffs to blame for nearly 40% spike in wholesale vegetable prices? Experts weigh inThe wholesale-price spike may eventually hike prices for shoppers, experts said.

Will Masters reposted

David L. Ortega
@dlortega.bsky.social

Wholesale 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...

marketplace.orgWhy are wholesale vegetable prices spiking, and what's that mean for consumers?About a quarter of the 3.3% price increase recorded by this month’s producer price index was driven by a spike in wholesale prices for veggies.
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

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:

openknowledge.fao.org3.4 Price inflation of nutrient-dense foods relative to other foods: Are there differences?This report documents how high food price inflation is associated with increases in food insecurity and child malnutrition.
Will Masters
@willmasters.bsky.social

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:

openknowledge.fao.org2.2 Cost and affordability of a healthy dietThis report documents how high food price inflation is associated with increases in food insecurity and child malnutrition.
WHO@who.int

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

Will Masters reposted

Julia Belluz
@juliabelluz.bsky.social

Many 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...

penguinrandomhouse.comFood Intelligence by Julia Belluz, Kevin Hall, PhD: 9780593332306 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: BooksThe essential guide for understanding what you’re eating, and the forces that are driving you to eat it. Nutrition isn’t rocket science; it’s harder. There are new diet fads, bold...