Global Partnership for the True Price of Food

Everything we produce, buy, and consume causes damage to the environment and our society. We currently pass the price of these hidden costs on to the environment and society. Also, future generations pay the price. Take the loss of biodiversity: the orangutan is critically endangered because the apes have been pushed out of their habitat and if we do not act, they will disappear completely. Or consider the pollution of air, soil, and water due to the emission of nitrogen gases from livestock farming activities, where pastures are quiet and monotonous and leave no space for trees, different types of grass or insects.

These challenges are global; we all consume products with supply chains that have their origin far beyond our own borders. A kilo of bananas from Colombia for example: Growing bananas requires a farmer, land, water, and fertilizer. Additionally, the bananas are provided with a plastic tape or sticker, placed in cardboard boxes, and transported in temperature controlled containers to markets and supermarkets at home and abroad. There are hidden costs for land use, loss of biodiversity, water pollution and soil pollution. In addition, the farmer should receive a fair wage, which is not always the case. We often do not pay for these costs in the store. These externalities are paid for by the planet, individuals in the value chain, taxpayers, and future generations. True prices offer a solution.

The Global Partnership True Price of Food

The Global Partnership True Price of Food aims to empower actors in the food system to adopt true pricing at scale. The partnership addresses challenges such as the limited awareness and understanding of true pricing, unknown effects of policy interventions, a lack of accessible (primary) data and technology, and regulatory blockers.

Together we raise global awareness and on a national and international level work on the implementation of true pricing through:

• Scalable True Price pilots
• Co-developing strategies to reduce the true price gap and take remediation actions
• Policy related sessions, events, and campaigns

Visit the website for more information: https://www.truepricefoundatio...

Recent True Price Developments 

There is a lot of momentum for true pricing at policy level. The Dutch cabinet completed the multi-year true pricing experimental programme, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) called on the cabinet to stimulate true prices, and the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Piet Adema, wants to launch a public campaign about the true price of food. Internationally, the UN Food Systems Summit launched a true price initiative. In the United States the White House embraced a conference after research based on the true price method and the majority of the European Parliament voted for true prices in the Farm to Fork Strategy.