RIVM researcher: healthier and more sustainable food does not have to be expensive

Healthier and more sustainable food choices does not necessarily mean people have to pay more, according to RIVM researcher Reina Vellinga, who has written about the subject in a thesis for which she will get her doctorate on Wednesday at the Wageningen University & Research.

Her research claims climate-friendly and healthier food is possible at costs comparable to the current prices. This goes for people of all socioeconomic groups.

The study says that steps can be made with “moderate increases” in vegetables and less dairy, red meat, and processed meat. With these changes, compliance with healthy eating guidelines would increase by approximately half as much. The emissions from greenhouse gasses would be around 19 to 24 percent lower than with the current diets.

Healthier eating patterns and environmental gains usually go hand in hand. However, the changes that would contribute to this do not come naturally. The researcher suggests that the government can contribute to this by making healthy and sustainable food cheaper and unhealthy and unsustainable products more expensive.

Vellinga also thinks the government could force companies to make their food healthier and more sustainable. This can be done by allowing less sugar, salt, and saturated fats.

The current policy for healthier and more sustainable food is “insufficient and too dispersed,” according to Vellinga.