Helping decision-makers understand the true cost of food

Conventional agricultural practices can adversely impact biodiversity and ecosystem health, according to a recent report published in Solutions. In fact, both corporations and eaters rarely pay for the true cost of food on the environment, public health, and social welfare and equity. But The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), an initiative hosted by the UN Environment, focuses on “making nature’s values visible.” Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the TEEB office valuates biodiversity and ecosystem services in economic terms and suggests how to implement those values in business and government.

“We found that the need to value nature and its services, what we call ecosystem services, has become quite an interesting new area to be explored by policymakers, by businesses, and by NGOs,” says Pavan Sukhdev, TEEB’s Study Leader and the UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador. TEEB looks at valuation in terms of how to use it, when to use it, and its implications for policymakers, businesses, and citizens.

A project initiated in October of 2016, TEEB for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) aims to valuate ecosystems and agricultural industries as a whole. Leaders of the project work to capture economic value by introducing mechanisms that incentivize environmental stewardship. These components of food systems are often assessed in isolation from one another, despite their many and vital links, TEEB refers to this as the eco-agri-food system’s complex. Currently, economic linkages in eco-agri-food systems are virtually impossible to identify—something that TEEBAgriFood seeks to change.

Read more at Foodtank