Projects
14 August 2026
EU-funded project maps hidden costs of European diets to guide food policy
Projects
14 August 2026
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A policy brief from the Horizon Europe PLAN'EAT project applies True Cost Accounting (TCA), a method that quantifies the environmental, health and social costs of food not reflected in retail prices, to European diets. The analysis identifies red and processed meat, and to a lesser extent some dairy products, as carrying the highest hidden costs, driven largely by greenhouse gas emissions and diet-related disease, while most plant-based foods carry lower external costs.
Editorial team
TMG Think Tank for Sustainability
Topics
EU-27
Academic / Research and VET Institutions
Consumer Organisations
National authorities
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Agri-food strategic objectives
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Healthy and sustainable diets
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The brief notes some plant-based products, including cocoa, coffee and almonds, also carry notable environmental and social costs. Recommendations span regulatory measures (incorporating TCA into public procurement), fiscal measures (support for farmers transitioning to agroecology), and information measures (integrating TCA into national dietary guidelines).
The project is building a database covering true costs of over 2,000 food products consumed in Europe to support national dietary guidelines.
#HealthyDietsEU #ConsumerTrustFood #FoodSystemsRD
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