CEO Corner: The True Cost of Food

Andy Naja-Riese, AIM CEO, March 14, 2022

Lately we are seeing retail costs of food rising due to increased expenses (gas, labor, supplies, etc.) and inflationary related trends. It’s alarming, but also a good reminder to step back and talk about the true cost of food – as we all know that food costs more than what is paid at checkout.

I think that rather than asking, “why is this product so expensive?” it’s time that we start asking, “why is that product so cheap?” It’s time to move away from “cheap food” and instead prioritize “high quality food.” Cheap, mass-produced foods still come with a hefty price tag: usually the environment, low wage workers— often immigrants and people of color—and our health care systems will pay for and bear the brunt of the true costs of food. According to the Rockefeller Foundation, in 2019, Americans spent $1.1 trillion on food in 2019 – that includes the cost of producing, processing, retailing, and wholesaling the food we buy and eat. However, when we factor in the food system’s contributions to water and air pollution, reduced biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and health care costs due to ultra-processed foods, the true cost of food is at least three times as big—$3.2 trillion per year.