This week at the True Price office, professionals from different sectors gathered to discuss the hidden costs of our food system
The session started with Reinier de Adelhart Toorop’s presentation on the latest SOFA report. He emphasized the importance of embracing True Cost Accounting (TCA), echoing Keynes: “It’s better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” Important points were raised about health costs, emphasizing the need to understand the impact at population level. TCA is more feasible than ever, and the FAO has embraced it; it is time to collectively embrace this change.
Michel Scholte presented the discussion paper called “Fixing Food Prices” and noted the unprecedented momentum for true pricing. He stressed the role of true pricing in achieving a sustainable economy. Michel questioned the oversupply and hunger paradox in global food markets, emphasizing the power of bottom-up movements. He is certain: if consumers and retailers implement true pricing, governments will follow suit.
Egon van Wees of Amsterdam Impact presented the 2023-2026 agenda, focusing on supporting impact entrepreneurship in Amsterdam. He stressed that this should be an inclusive movement, connecting all neighborhoods of the city. True pricing initiatives, such as Sababa, exemplify local efforts.
Wilco de Lijster of LNV Ministry answered our questions and shared the goal of increasing demand for sustainable products and fair prices for farmers. He also recognized the importance of facilitating proposals by businesses to make their value chain more sustainable.
To close the session, Claire van den Broek shed light on the Global Partnership on True Price of Food and outlined plans for the coming year. The partnership continues to raise global awareness and promoting institutionalization of true pricing in the food sector.
The discussions underscored the urgency of embracing true pricing and the collective responsibility we bear for positive societal impact. We thank all the participants for their active contributions. Special thank you to Werner Schouten who skillfully moderated our discussions. As we continue these important conversations, let’s start transforming dialogue into action.
Do you want to join the next policy forum? Are you working in the food sector and are interested in integrating true pricing? The Global Partnership on True Price of Food is a coalition that aims to make healthy, sustainable, and affordable food accessible to all through true pricing. Want to know more? Reach out to us via globalpartnership@trueprice.org.