The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework

Sustainable food systems provide enough quality, healthy, and affordable food to all without imposing a burden on planetary and social boundaries. By this standard, it is quite clear that food systems in many countries are not sustainable as they generate substantial environmental, social, and healt...

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Main Author: Benfica, Rui
Format: Informe técnico
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148762
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author Benfica, Rui
author_browse Benfica, Rui
author_facet Benfica, Rui
author_sort Benfica, Rui
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Sustainable food systems provide enough quality, healthy, and affordable food to all without imposing a burden on planetary and social boundaries. By this standard, it is quite clear that food systems in many countries are not sustainable as they generate substantial environmental, social, and health costs while failing to provide affordable food to all (FAO et al., 2020). This implies the need to have a good understanding of the extent to which those externalities are present in country specific food systems. The key challenge is that such externalities are not reflected in market prices (Baker et al., 2020), being therefore hidden factors to drivers of choices by market players, as the link between market activity and those social and environmental harms is not directly visible or reflected in the incentives that drive economic systems (UNFSS, 2021). Internalizing the externalities of the food systems will require the full estimation of costs, including the measurement of externalities through “True Cost Accounting” (TCA) approaches. This document provides the analytical framework for the application of approaches in a research study to measure the true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam. It focuses on: o Key research questions, their relevance, and policy implications o How the TCA analytical framework fits in The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework o Country selection and geographic focus – national, sub-national o Data requirements for estimating the true costs, including household surveys, workers’ surveys, externally compiled Global Impact Database (GID), and monetization factors. o A step-by-step process for estimating the true costs in the study area and country level GID analysis.
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spelling CGSpace1487622025-11-20T14:39:14Z The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework Benfica, Rui food food systems sustainability markets prices Sustainable food systems provide enough quality, healthy, and affordable food to all without imposing a burden on planetary and social boundaries. By this standard, it is quite clear that food systems in many countries are not sustainable as they generate substantial environmental, social, and health costs while failing to provide affordable food to all (FAO et al., 2020). This implies the need to have a good understanding of the extent to which those externalities are present in country specific food systems. The key challenge is that such externalities are not reflected in market prices (Baker et al., 2020), being therefore hidden factors to drivers of choices by market players, as the link between market activity and those social and environmental harms is not directly visible or reflected in the incentives that drive economic systems (UNFSS, 2021). Internalizing the externalities of the food systems will require the full estimation of costs, including the measurement of externalities through “True Cost Accounting” (TCA) approaches. This document provides the analytical framework for the application of approaches in a research study to measure the true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam. It focuses on: o Key research questions, their relevance, and policy implications o How the TCA analytical framework fits in The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework o Country selection and geographic focus – national, sub-national o Data requirements for estimating the true costs, including household surveys, workers’ surveys, externally compiled Global Impact Database (GID), and monetization factors. o A step-by-step process for estimating the true costs in the study area and country level GID analysis. 2024-06-27 2024-06-27T18:14:06Z 2024-06-27T18:14:06Z Report https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148762 en Open Access application/pdf application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Benfica, Rui. 2024. The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework. CGIAR Nature-Positive Solutions Technical Report. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148762
spellingShingle food
food systems
sustainability
markets
prices
Benfica, Rui
The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework
title The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework
title_full The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework
title_fullStr The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework
title_full_unstemmed The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework
title_short The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework
title_sort true costs of food in kenya and vietnam a conceptual framework
topic food
food systems
sustainability
markets
prices
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148762
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