Wealth for Health? Affordability of a Healthy and Sustainable Diet - A Food Basket Study

Abstract

Objective: To model healthy and sustainable food baskets in order to calculate the monthly costs and minimum income required for an average German family. Design: A food basket approach was used to construct six different diets based on the Planetary Health Diet (PHD), varying in meat consumption frequency (light, moderate, heavy meat consumption) and shopping style (organic and conventional farming). Actual food prices from REWE and ALDI Süd were collected to calculate total monthly costs and to analyse affordability, assuming 30% and 15% of disposable income per month spent on the food basket. Setting: Giessen, Germany. Participants: A theoretical reference family consisting of two adults and two children. Results: Across the six dietary patterns, monthly food basket costs ranged from 467€ to 830€. Higher costs were associated with an organic shopping style and an increased meat consumption. The study also showed that if 30% of disposable income was spent on the food basket, a minimum income of 1557€ to 2767€ per month was needed, whereas if 15% was spent on the diet, a minimum income of 3113€ to 5533€ per month was required. Conclusion: The data highlighted that less income is needed by choosing conventional food items and reducing meat consumption. Families who are willing to spend more on the food basket are more likely to be able to afford a healthy and sustainable diet, but not all families may have this option. Policy interventions are needed to ensure that healthy and sustainable diets are not a choice of wealth.