Dr. Mariah Ehmke

United States Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service

Mariah Ehmke is a research agricultural economist at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS). Her research program focuses on the economics of obesity. Her current work focuses on obesity-related health disparities, nutrition security in America, and household economic decisions. She is currently serving on the federal government’s interagency committee to develop the 2025 United States dietary guidelines. Her past work includes peer-reviewed research on cultural differences in economic behavior, agricultural and environmental management decisions, food policy, and nutrition information use. She has been recognized by the American Agricultural and Applied Economics Association with the President’s award for service to the profession. She taught university courses on consumer economics, entrepreneurship, agribusiness marketing, international trade, and world food policy at the University of Wyoming prior to joining USDA-ERS. Ehmke completed her doctorate at Purdue University. There she was a USDA Needs Fellow and AAUW American Fellow. She also holds a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from The Ohio State University and B.Sc. of Human Ecology from Kansas State University. She was a New Zealand Home Science Association Scholar to the University of Otago.