Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern

• 2025 Fall
  • FST 303 Food Movements
  • GEO 755 Seminar in Political Ecology
  • FST 310 Will Work for Food: Labor Across the Food Chain
• 2025 Spring
  • GEO 415 Food: A Critical Geography
• 2024 Fall
  • FST 303 Food Movements
  • FST 997 Masters Thesis
  • FST 310 Will Work for Food: Labor Across the Food Chain

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern is a human geographer and food systems scholar. She is an associate professor of geography and the environment and graduate director of food studies at Syracuse University.

Minkoff-Zern’s research and teaching broadly explores the interactions between food and racial justice, labor movements, and transnational environmental and agricultural policy. Her forthcoming book “Will Work for Food: Labor Across the Food Chain” (UC Press), looks at labor across food sectors, exploring at the intersections between social movements in United States food systems and labor organizing.

In addition to her first monograph, “The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability” (MIT Press, 2019), she has also published in journals such as Geoforum, Human Geography, The Journal of Peasant Studies, Food, Culture, and Society, Antipode, Agriculture and Human Values, and Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, among others.

Minkoff-Zern earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Berkeley.  

"Enhancing Interagency Collaborations And Food System Resiliency", Sponsored by National Institute of Food and.

"Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Thought Leadership Partnership with Syracuse University's Lender Center", Sponsored by MetLife Foundation.

"Mental Health, Economic Well-Being, and Experiences of Farming in Resettled Refugees in Syracuse, NY", Sponsored by The New York Community Trust.

"The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race and the Struggle for Sustainability", Sponsored by Association of American Geographers.

• Books
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Mares, T., Will Work for Food: Labor Across the Food Chain. University of California Press, 2025.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability. M.I.T. Press, 2019.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., The New American Farmer: Race, Immigration, and the Struggle for Sustainability. The MIT Press, 2019.
• Journal Articles
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Fairbairn, M., "Contemporary Land Transitions in the United States: Critical Questions of Concentration and (Re)Distribution." Geography Compass, 2025.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Land access among immigrant Latinx workers and farmers in the United States: racialization, invisibility, and possibilities for reform." In Part of a special issue: Migrants, farmers and farmworkers: The politics of land and labour, production and social reproduction; Edited by Saturnino M. Borras Jr. et al. Agriculture and Human Values, 2025.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Latinx Food, Labor, and Culture." In Part of special issue Reviewing book by Lori Flores, "Awaiting Their Feast: Latinx Food Workers and Activism from World War II to COVID-19". Labor: Studies in Working Class History, 2025.
  • Dudley, M. J., Minkoff-Zern, L., Tynan, M. and Zoodsma, A., "Thinking across agrarian class hierarchies in guest worker programs: Limitations to worker and farmer collective strategies." Human Geography, 2025.
  • Mares, T. M., Minkoff-Zern, L., "The essential work of feeding others: connecting food labor in public and private spaces." Agriculture and Human Values, 2024.
  • Gangamma, R., Walia, B., Minkoff-Zern, L. and Tor, S., "Role of Gardening in Mental Health, Food Security, and Economic Well-Being in Resettled Refugees: A Mixed Methods Study." Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2024.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Walia, B., Gangamma, R. and Zoodsma, A., "Food sovereignty and displacement: gardening for food, mental health, and community connection." The Journal of Peasant Studies, 2024.
  • Dudley, M., Minkoff-Zern, L., Tynan, M. and Zoodsma, A., "Agrarian Hierarchies in Guest Worker Programs: Temporal and Spatial Limitations to Worker and Farmer Coping Strategies." Human Geography, 2024.
  • Goldberg, H., Minkoff-Zern, L., "Teaching labor in food studies: challenging consumer-based approaches to social change through student research community partnerships." Food, Culture & Society, 2022.
  • Zoodsma, A., Dudley, M. J. and Minkoff-Zern, L., "National food security, immigration reform, and the importance of worker engagement in agricultural guestworker debates." Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2022.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Dudley, M., Zoodsma, A., Walia, B. and Welsh, R., "Protracted dependence and unstable relations: Agrarian questions in the H-2A visa program1." Journal of Rural Studies, 2022.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Bellows, A., Welsh, R. and Kiernan, M., "In Remembrance of Our Colleague Evan Weissman: Scholar, Community Leader, Mentor, and Friend." Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2021.
  • Weiler, A. M., Sexsmith, K. and Minkoff-Zern, L., "Parallel Precarity: A Comparison of U.S. and Canadian Agricultural Guest Worker Programs." International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 2021.
• Book Chapters
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Sloat, S., "Labor and Legibility: Mexican Immigrant Farmers and Resource Access at the United States Department of Agriculture." In The Immigrant-Food Nexus: Borders, Labor, and Identity in North America. Agyeman, J., Giacalone, S. (eds.) M.I.T. Press, 2020.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Crossing Borders, Overcoming Boundaries: Latino Immigrant Farmers and a New Sense of Home in the United States." In Food Across Borders: Production, Consumption, and Boundary Crossing in North America. Rutgers University Press, 2017.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Crossing Borders, Overcoming Boundaries: Latino Immigrant Farmers and a New Sense of Home in the United States." In Food Across Borders: Production, Consumption and Boundary Crossing in North America. Dupuis, M., Mitchell, D. and Garcia, M. (eds.) Rutgers University Press, 2017.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Farmworker-Led Food Movements Then and Now: The United Farmworkers, The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Potential for Farm Labor Justice." In The New Food Activism: Opposition, Cooperation, and Collective Action. Alkon, A., Guthman, J. (eds.) University of California Press, 2017.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Farmworker-Led Food Movements Then and Now: United Farm Workers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and the Potential for Farm Labor Justice." In The New Food Activism: Opposition, Cooperation, and Collective Action. University of California Press, 2017.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Peluso, N., Sowerwine, J. and Getz, C., "Race and Regulation: Asian Immigrants in California Agriculture." In Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class and Sustainability. The MIT Press, 2011.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Agribusiness." In Green Food, An A-to-Z Guide. Mulvaney, D. J., Robbins, P. (eds.) Sage Publications, 2010.
• Blog
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Teresa, M., "How Immigrant Workers Hold up the Food System." In Part of press promotion for our book: Will Work for Food. University of California Press Blog, 2025.
• Book Reviews
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Wilted: Pathogens, Chemicals, and the Fragile Future of the Strawberry Industry." Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies, 2020.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Free Food For All: Fixing School Food In America." Food and Foodways, 2013.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., "Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States." Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography, 2013.
• Editorials
  • Bellows, A., Welsh, R., Weissman, E., Kiernan, M., Brann, L., Bruening, K., Beckwith, N. M., Charles, C., Johnson, E., Minkoff-Zern, L., Horacek, T., Raj, S., Redmond, J., Rindfuss, N., Uzcategui, J., Voss, M. and Wilkins, J., From farm to factory to table, coronavirus pandemic challenges US food system. , 2020.
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Levkoe, C., Sant, L., Johnson, L., Sbicca, J., Gallaher, C., Hammelman, C., Block, D. and Hedberg, R., "Uncertain Future for U.S. Food System." Op. Ed. Finger Lakes Times, 2017.
• Policy Brief
  • Luxton, I., Minkoff-Zern, L., "The Meatpacking Industry Needs Stronger Worker Protections and Enhanced Oversight.”." Policy Brief Series, 2024.
• Policy Report
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Robinson, J. A. and Sarfo, , F., Food Policy Councils and Food Chain Labor: Setting the Table for Labor Justice. Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, 2024.
• Reference Entry
  • Mares, T., Minkoff-Zern, L., "Worker-Driven Social Responsibility in the Food System." In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food Studies. Oxford University Press, 2024.
• Research Brief
  • Minkoff-Zern, L., Gangamma, R., Walia, B. and Zoodsma, A., "Refugee Gardening: An Opportunity to Improve Economic Conditions, Food Security, and Mental Health." Population Health Research Brief Series, 2022.
• Technical Report
  • Sarfo, F., Minkoff-Zern, L. and Robinson, J. A., "Why Are Food System Workers Excluded from Local Food Policy Councils?." Center for Policy Research Policy Briefs Series, 2025.

Working Conditions and Mobility of Migrants in the Agricultural and Food Sector, Context of Diverse Policies, International Association on Work in Agriculture, Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Agricultural, School of Agricultural, Forest & Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL), "Changing Farm Labor Regimes in the United States: Migration, Precarity, and Policy" (December 4, 2025)

Marea, T., Minkoff-Zern, L., American Anthropological Association (AAA) Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association (AAA) , "The Phantom Essential Worker: Food Worker Organizing During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic" (November, 2025)

Minkoff-Zern, L., Mares, T., Dartmouth Dialogue on Immigration and Borders, Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies. Dartmouth College, "Will Work for Food: Immigration, Food, and Labor" (August 5, 2025)

Agriculture, Food Workers, and Labor Justice: A Discussion on Recent Work in the Field, The Food Studies Program. The New School. , "Agriculture, Food Workers, and Labor Justice: A Discussion on Recent Work in the Field" (July, 2025)

US-Mexico Farm Labor Policy Recommendation Launch, The Wilson Center and Mexico Institute, Washigton DC, "Trade and Migration Outlook for North American Agriculture" (February 12, 2025)

Minkoff-Zern, L., Robinson, J. A., Sarfo, F., American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, American Association of Geographers (AAG) , "Labor, Power and Scale?: An Analysis of Food Policy Councils and Food Labor Advocacy" (2025)

North American Food Systems Network Book Club Presentation, North American Food Systems Network, "Meet the Author: The New American Farmer" (2025)

American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, American Association of Geographers (AAG) , "Nurturing Food Justice" (2025)

American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, American Association of Geographers (AAG) , "Shaping the Fields: A Retrospective/Prospective on the Career of Julie Guthman" (2025)

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Food Policy Council Network, "Food Policy Councils and Food Chain Labor: Setting the Table for Labor Justice.” " (December, 2024)

The U.S. Farm Bill: What’s at Stake for Our Food Security, Farmers, and Environment?” , Center for Policy Research, The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University (October, 2024)

UVM Food Systems Summit. , University of Vermont, "Food, Labor and Social Sustainability" (September, 2024 - September, 2024)

Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Agriculture Speaker Series, Colorado State University, College of Agricultural Science, "The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability" (September, 2024 - September, 2024)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "Automation, Labor, and a Just Agri-Food Future" (June, 2024)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "Food Policy Councils and Frontline Food Workers: Opportunities and Challenges for Labor Advocacy" (June, 2024)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "Practicing Food Studies: Established Experiences and Emerging Perspectives" (June, 2024)

Metlife Racial Wealth Gap Symposium, Lender Center for Social Justice, Syracuse University, "Food Policy Councils as a Vehicle to Address the Racial Wealth Gap in Food System Labor" (March, 2024)

LABOR: Studies in Working-Class History Big Book Forum: Awaiting Their Feast: Latinx Food Workers and Activism from World War II to Covid-19, LABOR: Studies in Working-Class History (2024)

Lender Center for Social Justice Convening on Addressing the Racial Wealth Gap, National Press Club (October, 2023)

Workshop on Migrant Labour and Land, Production and Social Reproduction: Implications for Social Justice Movement and Struggles, College of Humanities and Development Studies (COHD) China Agricultural University, Beijing, "The Value of Land in Cross Border Farming Communities: Land Ownership and Access Among Immigrant Workers and Farmers in the United States" (October, 2023)

Food Justice, Aesthetics, and Morality Workshop, Hamilton College, "A New Opening for Worker Justice in the Food System: Reconsidering Essential Work and Essential Workers" (September, 2023)

Migrants, Environmental Knowledge, and Consumer Society Symposium, German Historical Institute, The University of California, Berkeley, "Migration and Agrarian Knowledge: Farming Across Borders" (September, 2023)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "A New Opening for Worker Justice in the Food System: Reconsidering Essential Work and Essential Workers" (June, 2023)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "Agrarian Hierarchies in the H-2A Guestworker Program: Temporal and Spatial Limitations to Worker and farmer Coping Strategies" (June, 2023)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "Can We Know Food Without Knowing Workers?" (June, 2023)

Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers, "A New Opening for Worker Justice in the Food System: Reconsidering Essential Work and Essential Workers" (March, 2023)

Maxwell School, Syracuse University, "Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice" (2023)

Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (Virtual), "Cultivating Food Justice: Reflections and Visions 10 years On" (2022)

Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers, "Food and Migration" (2022)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, "Protracted dependence and unstable relations: Agrarian questions in the H-2A visa program" (2022)

Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers, Virtual, "The Racialized Geographies of Pandemic Vulnerabilities" (2022)

Good Work for Good Food Conference (Virtual), Cardiff University, "A Food Systems Framework for Labor Justice" (2021)

American Association of Geographers, Virtual, "Author Meets Critics: The New American Farmer" (2021)

American Association of Geographers; Virtual, "Building a Radical Food Geography Praxis Panel Discussion" (2021)

Joint Conference of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society, Virtual, New York University, "New Books in Critical Food Studies" (2021)

University of California, Berkeley (Virtual), "The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability" (2021)

Plant it Forward (Virtual), "The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability" (2021)

The Hudson Valley Food System Coalition, "The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability" (2021)

USDA Committee on Hispanic American Cultural Effort (HACE), (Virtual), "The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability" (2021)

American Association of Geographers (AAG) Fellowship, Early/Mid-Career Award, American Association of Geographers (AAG) (2024 - 2024)

Annual Book Award (for The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race and the Struggle for Sustainability), The Geographies of Food and Agriculture Specialty Group (GFASG) (2020 - 2020)