The global food system is broken—it is unsustainable, unhealthy, unjust, and in dire need of transformation. It is also enormously complex, relying on value chains and infrastructure that span the globe, using vast amounts of land, water, fuel, and other resources. Alongside providing vital nutrition and employment, global food systems therefore create many negative impacts on the environment, human health, and society. These include impacts from food production and transportation, such as greenhouse gas emissions, habitat and biodiversity loss, pollution, and poor working conditions, as well as impacts from dietary patterns, such as increased incidence of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

All of these impacts create costs that are not reflected in the price of food at the point of sale, but that must be paid for by society later. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the hidden costs of current food systems amount to USD 10 trillion per year. These costs are disproportionately borne by vulnerable groups, such as lower-income populations that are heavily affected by poor nutrition and working conditions, as well as countries in the Global South that will bear the brunt of the climate catastrophe.

Since current economic models do not account for hidden costs, businesses that operate unsustainably have an unfair advantage. Meanwhile, those that attempt to reduce negative externalities—via sustainable land management that promotes carbon storage and protects biodiversity; commitments to fair wages, decent working conditions and animal welfare; and a focus on promoting food security and crop resilience through agroecology approaches—often do so at the expense of profit. This imbalance cascades down the supply, distribution, and consumption chain, so that consumers often find themselves in food environments that encourage unhealthy, unsustainable consumption or facing food insecurity.

Systems-level change to reduce hidden costs and transform current food systems in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is therefore urgently necessary. But in order to identify the most effective levers for change, we first need a comprehensive and accurate understanding of all the positive and negative impacts of food production, transportation, and consumption.

True Cost Accounting (TCA) reveals and measures the hidden costs and benefits of food systems, so that production systems, supply chains, business models, and dietary patterns can be directly and accurately compared. But simply demonstrating which of these have fewer negative impacts is not enough; such insights must be integrated into food policy, business practices, and financial incentives to drive increased health and sustainability across all levels of the agrifood sector—from farm to factory to distributor, but also to supermarket, restaurant, and fork.

TMG uses TCA to turn insight into action, bridging research with policy and practice to accelerate the transition to more healthy and sustainable food systems. With a focus on the EU, we use a systems approach to enable holistic decision-making and identify the most effective levers for change. We partner with research institutions, governments, the private sector, and civil society actors to support transformative action across the entire food value chain.