True Costs in Agriculture and Food

Agriculture and food involve important side effects and costs that are not included in food prices. Today’s rules force us all to bear the costs that others have caused. The results are injustices, resource waste and damage to human health and the environment. The solution to the problem is called true costs. What is behind this term, which is often only superficially understood? What does true costs mean for the rules of production and consumption?

How we as a society set the rules ultimately depends on our values: Who should own the shared environment – water, air and the services of landscapes and biodiversity? Is it enough for polluters to pay half of the cost, with society paying the rest? Is this how we want to pay for food? And if so, on what grounds? Do we want to continue to support the agricultural industry and farmers through distorted prices and unfair competition, or do we want a level playing field? The answers to these questions determine our political regulation of agriculture and food.

This text presents the essential knowledge and background on true costs in an easily understandable form. It is divided into small sections according to the question-answer principle. Readers can easily find the information they need and are inspired to think about regulations themselves.

The publication is aimed at experts involved in agriculture, the environment, climate and nutrition, as well as politicians, media representatives, teachers and the interested public.