About me

I'm an agricultural economist and Assistant Professor of Food Systems Economics and Policy at ETH-Zurich in the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS). I studied in Germany (Universities of Kassel and Hohenheim), Mexico (University of Yucatán), and the USA (Purdue). I hold a Ph.D. from the University of Göttingen (Germany) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell and Minnesota (USA) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen (IFRO). For further information, please see my CV.

My research 

My and my group’s research focuses on how policy, institutions, and technology can address pressing social issues in food systems.  A special focus lies on labor issues in farming, food processing, and food services. Overarching questions are how the well-being of workers in food systems, who are essential to global food production but often face precarious working conditions, can be ensured. Moreover, we focus on how labor-related policy affects workers, farmers, and agricultural production.

To answer these questions, we employ quantitative and qualitative methods and use both primary and secondary data. Primary data comes from our surveys, experiments, and qualitative interviews with workers and employers (such as farmers, cooperatives, companies, or restaurants) across agricultural value chains. Our topics are inherently global and relevant in higher-income and lower-income countries alike. Thus, ongoing projects look at agrifood labor issues in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America that capture specific contexts while also offering general lessons to be learned.

Our work is closely linked to the international community’s development agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially decent work (#8), no poverty (#1), zero hunger (#2), gender equality (#5), and responsible production and consumption (#12), and it is relevant for farm, labor, migration, and social policy globally.

Publications

Meemken, E.-M., Aremu, O.,  Fabry, A., Heepen, C., Illien, P., Laitha, A., and Kammer, M. (2025). Policy for decent work in agriculture. Agricultural Economics. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70009

Aremu, O., Fabry, A., and Meemken, E.-M., 2024. Farm size and the quality and quantity of jobs—Insights from Nigeria. Food Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102731

Meemken, E.-M., Charlton, D., Maertens, M., Oya, C., Reardon, T., Christiaensen, L., Stemmler, H., 2024. Better data for decent work in the global food system. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01002-0 

Meemken, E.-M., Becker-Reshef, I., Klerkx, L., Kloppenburg, S., Wegner, J.D., Finger, R., 2024. Digital innovations for monitoring sustainability in food systems. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01018-6 

Finger, R., Fabry, A., Kammer, M., Candel, J., Dalhaus, T., and Meemken, E-M., 2024. Farmer Protests in Europe 2023-2024. Euro Choices. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12452

Stemmler, H. and Meemken, E-M. 2023. Greenhouse farming and employment: Evidence from Ecuador. Food Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102443  

Sellare J., Jäckering, L., Kahsay, G., and Meemken, E.-M. 2023. Five myths about producer organizations and rural development. Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jaa2.70 

Machio, P.M. and Meemken, E.-M. 2023: Women’s participation in contract farming. Journal of Development Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2023.2188109

Meemken, E.-M., Bellemare, M.F., Reardon, T., and Vargas, C. 2022: Research and policy for the food-delivery revolution. Science. 810-813, 10.1126/science.abo2182

Sellare, J., Börner, J., Brugger, F., Garrett, R., Günther, I., Meemken, E.-M., Pelli, E.M., Steinhübel, L., Wuepper, D., 2022. Six research priorities to support corporate due-diligence policies. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01718-8 

Meemken, E.-M., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C., Qaim, M.; Reardon, T., and Sellare, J. 2021: The role of sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Meemken, E.-M. 2021: Large farms, large benefits? Sustainability certification among family farms and agro-industrial producers in Peru. World Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105520 

Yi, J., Meemken, E.-M., Mazariegos, V., Liu, J., Kim, E., Gómez, M., Canning, P., and Barrett, C.B. 2021: Post-farmgate food value chains make up most of consumer food expenditures globally. Nature Food. doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00279-9

Jäckering, L, Meemken, E.-M., Sellare, J., and Qaim, M. 2021: Promoting written employment contracts: Evidence from a randomized awareness campaign. European Review of Agricultural Economics. 10.1093/erae/jbaa035.

Sellare, J., Meemken, E.-M., and Qaim, M. 2020: Fairtrade, agrochemical input use, and effects on human health and the environment. Ecological Economics. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106718.

Meemken, E.-M. 2020: Do smallholder farmers benefit from sustainability standards? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Global Food Security. 100373. 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100373. 

Meemken, E.-M. and Bellemare, M.F. 2020: Smallholder farmers and contract farming in developing countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 10.1073/pnas.1909501116 

Sellare, J., Meemken, E.-M., Kouame, C.N., and Qaim, M. 2019: Do sustainability standards benefit smallholder farmers also when accounting for cooperative effects? Evidence from Cote d’Ivoire. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. doi:10.1111/ajae.12015

Meemken, E.-M., Sellare, J., Kouame, C.N., and Qaim, M. 2019: Effects of Fairtrade on the livelihoods of poor rural workers. Nature Sustainability. 10.1038/s41893-019-0311-5 

Meemken, E.-M. and Qaim, M., 2018. Can private food standards promote gender equality in the small farm sector? Journal of Rural Studies. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.12.030.

Meemken, E.-M. and Qaim, M., 2018: Organic agriculture, food security, and the environment. Annual Review of Resource Economics . https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100517-023252

Meemken, E.-M., Spielman, D.J., and Qaim, M., 2017:. Trading off nutrition and education? A panel data analysis of the dissimilar welfare effects of Organic and Fairtrade standards. Food Policy. 10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.07.010.

Meemken, E.-M., Veettil, P.C., and Qaim, M., 2017:. Toward improving the design of sustainability standards – A gendered analysis of farmers’ preferences. World Development. 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.021

Work in progress

Chandra, A., Grabs, J., Meemken, E.M., Hidayat, N.K., Dharmawan, A.H., Mardiyaningsih, D.I., Garrett, R.D.: Zero-deforestation commitment implementation in the Indonesian palm oil sector does not reach smallholders 

Fabry, A., Aremu, O., and Meemken, E.-M., in review. Labor shortages and food loss

Illien, P., Aremu, O., Jann, B., and Meemken, E.-M. Agricultural labor and drug use–Insights from list experiments in Nigeria

Laitha, A., Stemmler, H., Minten, B., and Meemken, E.-M., in review. Agricultural wages amidst armed conflict: Evidence from Myanmar

Laitha, A., Fabry, A., Minten, B., and Meemken, E.-M., Exposure to violence, mental health, and labor productivity: Evidence from Myanmar

Stemmler, H., Ruml, A., and Meemken, E., in review. Does outgrowing equal outsourcing? Contract farming and labor demand.

Other publications

Gómez, M., Meemken, E.-M., and Verteramo Chiu, L. Agricultural value chains and social and environmental impacts: trends, challenges, and policy options. Background paper for The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2020. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb0715en

Non-scientific publications and media

NPR

PBS Nova

Rural 21 Vol. 52 & 53

IFPRI blog 

Podcast series "Agrardebatten" (in German)

Interview with Danwatch (in Danish)

Agrarökonomische Kommentare zur Schweizerischen Agrarpolitik (in German)