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THE YOUTH MANIFESTO “AFFORDABLE SUSTAINABLE FOOD AT THE HEART OF OUR FUTURE” : THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING SUSTAINABLE FOOD ACCESSIBLE TO YOUTH

The young people interviewed often reported being unable to afford sustainable food due to their limited budget. The difference in prices between sustainable and unsustainable food often pushed young people to buy the cheapest food available, resulting in unsustainable food consumption. Several participants expressed that high prices represented one of the main barriers to adopting sustainable eating patterns. The respondents made various suggestions for making sustainable food more affordable. First, they suggested lowering taxes on sustainable food, compared to animal products, which should be taxed more, reflecting accordingly their impact on the environment. The European Consumer Organisation and the Food Policy Coalition have highlighted the need to decrease or eliminate value-added tax (VAT) on healthy and sustainable food while increasing VAT for unsustainable and unhealthy foods. Furthermore, research has shown that monetary incentives have been proven to motivate the adoption and maintenance of sustainable behaviours. Also, they suggested creating sustainable food vouchers or youth cards with discounts on sustainable food which would allow young

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Publisher: The Agroecology Europe Youth Network
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Author: The Agroecology Europe Youth Network
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Organization: The Agroecology Europe Youth Network
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Year: 2023
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Country/ies: European Union
Geographical coverage: European Union (European Union)
Type: Policy brief/paper
Content language: English
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