Karlotta Koch

Karlotta Koch is a Doctoral Candidate and Researcher at the Department of Social Transformation and Agriculture within the Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture at the University of Hohenheim. She has been affiliated with the university since 2017, first completing her Master's degree and subsequently working as a Research Associate since 2020, while pursuing her doctoral studies since 2022.

Her research focuses on organic certification systems, particularly examining the applicability and consumer acceptance of development-oriented certification procedures in organic farming. Dr. Koch's work bridges academic research with practical applications in sustainable agriculture, with special emphasis on how certification processes can become more participatory while maintaining quality standards.

Her research interests include:

• Organic certification
• Participatory guarantee systems
• Third-party certification
• Consumer research
• Consumer acceptance of organic food

Dr. Koch has been recognized for her academic excellence with the ELLS Prize for Excellent Master Theses in 2020, donated by Prof. Dr. Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c. Klaus Macharzina.

She has actively contributed to international academic discourse through presentations at the European Society for Rural Sociology satellite event in Vienna (2022), the Organic World Congress 2021 in Rennes, and the PGS pre-conference on '30 Years of PGS development' (2021), demonstrating her engagement with both theoretical frameworks and practical applications in organic certification systems.