Marketing für Lebensmittel und Agrarprodukte

Dr. Sarah Iweala


Sarah is a former member of the Research Training Group Global Food. In her research, Sarah is interested in factors that motivate consumers to go for the ethical option when they have the choice. For her PhD she analysed the role of the warm glow of giving in different study set ups, including choice experiments and experimental online auctions. She collaborated with fellow researchers to analyze the choices of consumers in Germany, the UK and China. It is particularly this joint work that she enjoyed during her PhD. Find out more about Sarah’s research: YouTube video - Buy good, feel good?.

Previously the officer for science communication at the faculty of agricultural sciences at the University of Göttingen, she is now the research assistant for the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy, Food and Consumer Health Protection at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Research interests:

  • Sustainable consumption with a focus on social sustainability

    • Due diligence regulations

      • Alternatives to meat and dairy products

        • Methods: Surveys, choice experiments & experimental auctions

          • Research project:


          • agri:change – Future through change: Sustainability transformation in the agricultural and food industry in Lower Saxony
            The transformation of agriculture is a task for society as a whole. As part of the five-year joint project agri:change, science, practice, politics and society are working together to develop ways to achieve a resilient, sustainable agricultural and food system. The state of Lower Saxony is funding the project with around 25 million euros from the zukunft.niedersachsen programme together with the Volkswagen Foundation.
            The project aims to shape transformation processes, use resources efficiently, improve animal welfare, open up new business areas and promote acceptance and participation. Through transdisciplinary cooperation, practical real-world laboratories and dialogue with stakeholders, the project contributes to ecologically, economically and socially sustainable agriculture in Lower Saxony.
          • TRANSFORM
            The impact of the climate crisis already changes the type of crops that can be grown in certain cli-mate regions. To support the adaptation of agricultural production to challenges of climate change, TRANSFORM aims to innovate climate-resilient crop rotations. To do so, this Horizon Europe project focuses on a variety of stakeholders, regional food chain conditions and the practical adaptability by farmers and agricultural consultants.
          • LaNdwirtschaft 4.0 Ohne chemisch-synthetischen PflanzenSchutz (NOcsPS)
            A sustainable and high-quality supply of food and biomass is a central societal concern. The use of chemically synthetic plant protection products (csPPP) is increasingly criticized, particularly due to residues in food and risks to biodiversity. The goal is to establish Agriculture 4.0, which avoids csPPP, follows biological principles, and applies mineral fertilizers in a targeted manner to maintain soil fertility. This requires a fundamental reorientation of crop production and comprehensive interdisciplinary research across multiple spatial scales. The research consortium formed by the University of Hohenheim (UHOH), the University of Göttingen (UGOE), and the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) aims to develop, analyze, and describe NOcsPPP farming systems in comparison to other production systems. These comparisons are conducted through system, exact, and on-farm trials at plot, field, farm, and landscape levels, and are assessed from ecological, economic, and social perspectives.
          • Future of Nutrition in Lower Saxony (ZERN)
            ZERN is a research and transfer network initiated by the University of Göttingen, the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation and the German Institute of Food Technology in Quakenbrück, which aims to support the transformation of the agricultural and food system in Lower Saxony. The results of the research alliance should enable the sustainable production, processing and marketing of food.

            • RTG 1666: "GlobalFood" Transformation of Global Agri-Food Systems (completed)
              GlobalFood combined approaches from agribusiness management, agricultural economics, development economics, and experimental economics in a novel way, to analyze the trends, driving forces, and implications of the agri-food system transformation and train a future generation of first-class researchers and policymakers in this international field.

              • Selected publications:

              • von Heyden, J., von Bülow, V., Spiller, A. and Iweala, S. (2025) Effects of the German Due Diligence Act on Supplier Selection in the Agri-Food Sector; in: German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Volume 74 https://doi.org/10.52825/gjae.v74i.2518
              • von Grafenstein L., Iweala, S., Pahl, S. and Ruml, A. (2025) Emotional priming for sustainable consumption? The effects of social media content on the valuation of chocolate; in: Q Open, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2025, qoaf003 , https://doi.org/10.1093/qopen/qoaf003

                • Wieck, C., Spiller, A., Nieberg, H., Rudloff, B., Iweala, S., Balmann, A., Birner, R., Bosy-Westphal, A., Buyken, A. E., Döring, T., Feindt, P., Götz, K.-U., Linseisen, J., Nöthlings, U., Martinez, J., Pischetsrieder, M., Renner, B., Voget-Kleschin, L., Weingarten, P., & Wesseler, J. (2023) Neue Sorgfaltspflichten für Unternehmen des Agrar- und Ernährungssektors: Empfehlungen zu aktuellen Gesetzesentwicklungen; in: Berichte über Landwirtschaft - Zeitschrift für Agrarpolitik und Landwirtschaft., https://doi.org/10.12767/buel.vi237

                  • Birner, R., Linseisen, J., Arens-Azevêdo, U., Balmann, A., Biesalski, H. K., Bosy-Westphal, A., Buyken, A., Döring, T., Feindt, P., Götz, K.-U., Iweala, S., Martínez, J., Nieberg, H., Nöthlings, U., Pischetsrieder, M., Renner, B., Spiller, A., Voget-Kleschin, L., Weingarten, P., Wesseler, J. Wieck, C. (2023) Ernährungsarmut unter Pandemiebedingungen; in: Berichte über Landwirtschaft - Zeitschrift für Agrarpolitik und Landwirtschaft , https://doi.org/10.12767/buel.vi236.468