Opinion - Op-eds
Selected news & magazine op-eds
My opinions are mine alone.
They do not reflect the position or opinion of my workplace
Opinion - Scholarly
Selected opinion pieces
Published with faculty colleagues & members of Witnesses to Hunger.
Op-ed. Food is not the hunger-ending hero we think it is: The world has enough food. It's who controls the food that's the problem. The Contrarian
Food has a role to play in ending hunger. But it’s not the hero people think it is. The main cause of modern hunger is not lack of food. Rather, hunger is caused by greed and hate.
This cruelty is not hard to pinpoint. Israel and the United States are giving us a master class in how greed and hate make people go hungry, get sick, and die early.
Mariana Chilton, Sept. 9, 2025
Op-ed. The Monster Behind the Big Beautiful Bill: Rich people’s insatiable hunger will make the rest of us hungrier The Contrarian
The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) is Congress’s biggest blow to America. With JD Vance having laid his finger on the scales toward cruelty, Republicans are plundering the bellies and bodies of regular people by stealing billions from SNAP and Medicaid.
Mariana Chilton, July 24, 2025
Op-ed. The Destructive Legacy of Mass Starvation Project Syndicate
(link above to a PDF behind a paywall - or click here.
To understand the consequences of mass starvation in Gaza, one need look no further than the United States, where a history of slavery and genocide has triggered cycles of racism and discrimination that continue today. This is reflected in significantly higher rates of food insecurity among communities of color.
Mariana Chilton, Oct. 15, 2024
Op-ed. Joe Biden's Philabundance Photo-Op Wouldn't Impress Dr. King Philadelphia Inquirer
Mariana Chilton, Jan. 19, 2021
Op-ed. Jazmine Headley’s Arrest Exposes the Punitive Design of Public Assistance. The Nation.
Mariana Chilton, Dec. 14, 2018
The public health imperative to improve wages and end stigma: Recommendations from SNAP Participants
Gaines-Turner, Simmons, J, and Chilton, MM. American Journal of Public Health, November, 2019
Gallegos, D. Chilton, MM. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019
Chilton, MM. Social Policy Report in the Society for Research in Child Development 2011
Developing a Measure of Dignity for Stress-Related Health Outcomes
Chilton, MM. Health and Human Rights 2006