Fischer is a cultural anthropologist who studies values, development, and the cultural contexts of health and wellbeing. He is also an expert in coffee studies and in malnutrition. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Guatemala, Germany, and the United States. He is the author of several books, including The Good Life: Aspiration, Dignity, and the Anthropology of Wellbeing.
He is currently finishing a book on coffee and what it can teach us about economic and moral values.
He is the founder of Mani+, an award winning social enterprise that develops and manufactures nutritional supplements for children in Central America.