Briefly
Mary K. Muth is a senior economist in the Diet, Safety, and Health Economics Branch of the Food Economics Division at USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). Her research focuses on the economics of food loss and waste, food demand, and food safety. Her research also includes assessing the cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits of food loss and waste reduction interventions, analyzing the effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on the healthfulness of food purchases, and using store scanner data to develop the Food-at-Home Monthly Area Prices (F-MAP) data product.
Background
Mary is responsible for conducting research on food loss and waste measurement and interventions, using household and store scanner data for development of data products and analyses of food demand and pricing, and contributing to cost-benefit analyses of food safety programs. Prior to joining ERS in 2024, Mary was a senior research economist and senior director, Food Economics & Policy in the Center for Applied Economics and Strategy at RTI International, a nonprofit research institute. She has conducted analyses in the areas of food availability; food loss and waste; food demand, consumption, and pricing; food safety; nutrition; food labeling; and other topics. She has extensive experience with multiple modes of primary data collection; analyzing food availability, purchase, and consumption data; assessing and improving data quality and usability; and developing economic models of the impacts of programs, policies, and interventions. Dr. Muth has presented her research at numerous conferences and workshops, has published a book on using scanner data for food policy research, and has published papers in several peer-reviewed professional journals. She has testified before Congress and briefed congressional and administration staff on study results. She served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committees “Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake” and “Examination of the Adequacy of Food Resources and SNAP Allotments” and she was chair of the NASEM steering committee on “Data and Research to Improve the U.S. Food Availability System and Estimates of Food Loss.”
Education
Mary received a Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University, an M.S. in agricultural economics from Cornell University, and a B.S. in agricultural and managerial economics from University of California, Davis.
Professional Affiliations
Mary is a member of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA), the Food Safety and Nutrition Section of the AAEA, and the Food and Agricultural Marketing Policy Section of the AAEA.
Selected Publications
Sweitzer, M., Byrne, A.T., Page, E.T., Carlson, A., Kantor, L., Muth, M.K., Karns, S., & Zhen, C. (2024). Development of the food-at-home monthly area prices data (Report No. TB-1965). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Muth, M.K., Kinney, S., Karns, S.A., Looby, C.B., Schafer, P., & Siegel, P.H. (2024). User documentation: Store weights and replicate weights for InfoScan data, 2012–20. Report prepared for USDA, Economic Research Service.
Ellison, B., & Muth, M.K. (2022). The economics of food loss and waste. In J. Roosen, & J. Hobbs (Eds.), A modern guide to food economics. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Muth, M.K., Okrent, A., Zhen, C., & Karns, S.A. (2019). Using scanner data for food policy research (1st ed.). Elsevier Academic Press.
Read, Q.D., & Muth, M.K. (2021). Cost-effectiveness of four food waste interventions: Is food waste reduction a win-win? Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, 105448.