Nature & More takes true cost of food to the consumer

At a crowded Green Week in Berlin, the international organic umbrella organisation IFOAM and organic food distributor Nature & More jointly introduced the True Cost of Food initiative.

Nature and More explains, that it promotes the idea that food prices should reflect the true cost of food, including hidden environmental and social costs. Consumers have a right to be informed. While international policymakers are still discovering the promise of full cost accounting and writing reports, Nature & More will take True Cost to the market. The True Cost of Food transparency initiative shows consumers the true cost of organic vs conventional products. Berlin-based retailer BioCompany was selected as launching partner.

The True Cost of Food campaign was started as a joint effort together with the FAO, who recently published a groundbreaking full cost accounting study. The campaign enjoys the support of IFOAM and Stiftung Ökologie und Landbau. At the launch, former German minister of agriculture and Green politician Renate Künast stated that the externalization of environmental and social costs is a subject that has been on the international food agenda for decades now.“

Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein, president of the German Association of Ecologic Agriculture BÖLW, added: “The transformation has already begun. Organic farmers, organic food processors and retailers show, together with consumers, where the future of sustainable food production lies. However this will only work across the board if the prices of our food products actually convey the truth.” BioCompany is the first grocery retail chain to take the message into stores. CEO Georg Kaiser said: "We are thrilled to be the first food store in the whole of Germany to communicate the real costs of food. The first results confirm the choice we have made: organic is the way to go."