Skip to main content

Norbert Lance Weston Wilson

Professor of Food, Economics and Community
Divinity School
304 Gray, Durham, NC 27708

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Food, Economics and Community · 2020 - Present Divinity School
Director of the World Food Policy Center · 2022 - Present Sanford School of Public Policy
Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy · 2020 - Present Sanford School of Public Policy
Affiliate of the Duke Center for International Development · 2024 - Present Duke Center for International Development, Sanford School of Public Policy

In the News


Published September 26, 2023
A Tiny Packaging Tweak to Help the Planet
Published August 7, 2023
Purposeful Partnerships: Duke Units Collaborate to Lead Climate Policy in DC
Published July 14, 2023
The US Farm Bill Fights Food Insecurity. Experts Are Closing Watching the Battle Over Its Reauthorization.

View All News

Recent Publications


Front-of-pack labels and young consumers: An experimental investigation of nutrition and sustainability claims in Chile

Journal Article Food Quality and Preference · June 1, 2025 A better understanding of youth as autonomous consumers in the food market is needed to guide food and nutrition policies to achieve healthier and sustainable diets because they interact with the food environment to obtain, prepare, and consume food and be ... Full text Cite

Variations on the Thrifty Food Plan: Model diets that satisfy cost and nutrition constraints

Journal Article Food Policy · January 1, 2025 The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) supports Americans with low incomes in acquiring adequate and healthful diets. The maximum SNAP benefit is based on the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the lowest cost of four U.S. Department of Agriculture (US ... Full text Cite

Food waste, date labels, and risk preferences: An experimental exploration

Journal Article Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy · January 1, 2025 This study provides theoretical and experimental evidence that consumers adjust their premeditated food waste by date labels and their risk and loss preferences. The “Use by” date label leads to more premeditated food waste than “Best by” for deli meat and ... Full text Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Center of Excellence for Sustainable Scalable Manufacturing of Alternative Proteins

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by North Carolina State University · 2024 - 2029

Launching a World Food Policy Center - Phase III

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Duke Endowment · 2022 - 2028

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


University of California, Davis · 1999 Ph.D.

External Links


Divinity Web Profile