Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Uncovering the true cost of food is the first step in making agrifood systems more inclusive, resilient and sustainable. As The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 revealed, agrifood systems activities generate significant benefits for society, but also have negative impacts on economic, social and environmental sustainability. 

The quantified hidden costs of agrifood systems amount to around 10 percent of global gross domestic product. Therefore, strategic action is necessary, and all agrifood systems actors ‒ from producers and agribusinesses to consumers and governments ‒ have a crucial role to play.

While transforming agrifood systems would yield a net global gain, the benefits and costs would be unevenly distributed among stakeholders and countries over time. The State of Food and Agriculture 2024 builds on the findings of the 2023 edition, delving deeper into the use of true cost accounting assessments of agrifood systems and identifying policy interventions aimed at transformation. Using updated global datasets, the report confirms previous estimates of the quantified hidden costs of agrifood systems and provides a detailed breakdown of the hidden costs associated with unhealthy dietary patterns and non-communicable diseases for 156 countries. These findings are analysed through the lens of six agrifood systems categories to take into account various outcomes and hidden costs that require different policy interventions. Case studies offering in-depth assessments of country, local and value chain contexts illustrate the economic, social and environmental impacts of current practices to guide policy interventions. Crucial to all contexts is the need for inclusive stakeholder consultations to inform interventions and reconcile power imbalances and trade-offs.

This report drew upon an extensive review of case studies on the hidden costs of agrifood systems. The identification of case studies relied on a two-step approach. The first step aimed to move the needle on true cost accounting (TCA) applications, especially in regions and countries not receiving as much attention. Through an open call for proposals on case studies from 6 to 27 October 2023 and in consultation with the FAO Regional Offices, FAO commissioned a total of seven studies as background papers for this report. Second, it gathered case studies through a call for submissions, entitled “How can the hidden costs and benefits of agrifood systems be effectively incorporated into decision-making for transformation?”, on the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition between 5 December 2023 and 29 January 2024. This resulted in 70 responses. The platform also allowed for inputs through a pilot artificial intelligence-based interviewer application, which mimicked a key informant interview, following the steps of Chopra and Haaland (2023). The call for submissions also accepted case studies that look at two or more aspects of the hidden costs under environmental, social or health categories. Out of all the responses, a total of 28 case studies were assessed as relevant to feature in this report. Through these steps, FAO created an inventory of TCA case studies, incorporating additional examples identified by the research and writing team through literature review and those shared by the advisory group.