True Cost Accounting for Food: Balancing the Scale

True Cost Accounting is an effective tool to address the pervasive imbalance in our food system, creating a framework for a systemic shift towards more equitable and sustainable farming practices. It evaluates the actual costs and benefits of different food systems and their impacts and dependencies, and is essential reading for professionals and policymakers involved in developing and reforming the food system.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 278 pages
Publication date: 23 June 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The food system is widely recognized as being in a state of imbalance, leading to widespread hunger, diet-related diseases, and significant environmental impacts. It is argued that a radical transformation is necessary to address these issues. This book proposes that True Cost Accounting can be an effective tool for creating a systemic shift in the food system.

While True Cost Accounting may initially seem like a practice confined to accountants, it goes beyond that. It calls for a new perspective on the valuation of food and a deeper relationship with the food we consume. The book suggests that the reform of an out-of-balance system is the first step towards achieving this.

The chapters in this volume explore various aspects of the food system, including the true costs of corn, rice, and water, as well as incentives for soil health. They economically compare conventional and regenerative farming practices and food system structures, including the impact of cheap labor. The book aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of different food systems and the interdependencies between natural systems, human systems, agriculture, and food systems.

Overall, this volume presents a vision for a food system that is more human-centered than profit-centered and that has a more respectful relationship to the planet. It offers a path forward based on True Cost Accounting for food, which seeks to fix our current food metrics, in policy and practice, by applying a holistic lens that evaluates the actual costs and benefits of different food systems and the impacts and dependencies between natural systems, human systems, agriculture, and food systems.

This book is essential reading for professionals and policymakers involved in developing and reforming the food system, as well as students and scholars working on food policy, food systems, and sustainability. The food system is widely recognized as being in a state of imbalance, leading to widespread hunger, diet-related diseases, and significant environmental impacts. It is argued that a radical transformation is necessary to address these issues. This book proposes that True Cost Accounting can be an effective tool for creating a systemic shift in the food system.

While True Cost Accounting may initially seem like a practice confined to accountants, it goes beyond that. It calls for a new perspective on the valuation of food and a deeper relationship with the food we consume. The book suggests that the reform of an out-of-balance system is the first step towards achieving this.

The chapters in this volume explore various aspects of the food system, including the true costs of corn, rice, and water, as well as incentives for soil health. They economically compare conventional and regenerative farming practices and food system structures, including the impact of cheap labor. The book aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of different food systems and the interdependencies between natural systems, human systems, agriculture, and food systems.

Overall, this volume presents a vision for a food system that is more human-centered than profit-centered and that has a more respectful relationship to the planet. It offers a path forward based on True Cost Accounting for food, which seeks to fix our current food metrics, in policy and practice, by applying a holistic lens that evaluates the actual costs and benefits of different food systems and the impacts and dependencies between natural systems, human systems, agriculture, and food systems.

This book is essential reading for professionals and policymakers involved in developing and reforming the food system, as well as students and scholars working on food policy, food systems, and sustainability.

Weight: 488g
Dimension: 154 x 234 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367506858