Policy seminar: the true cost of eating right – are nutritious diets becoming more accessible?

Is healthy eating becoming more affordable on a global scale? Consumers in places like Africa and South Asia are experiencing rapid changes in their local food systems as incomes rise and prices fluctuate. This shifting landscape has posed many questions for global nutritional outcomes, prompting new research into the cost of maintaining a healthy diet. A May 29 IFPRI policy seminar explored this issue, focusing on the Tufts-IFPRI project Changing Access to Nutritious Diets in Africa and South Asia (CANDASA) .

That effort has kick-started new ways of measuring food prices by examining the everyday cost of maintaining nutritionally sound eating habits, casting light on how food systems in Africa and South Asia are changing, and the ways that food policy must be adapted to make better diets affordable.

Photo: Jamed Falik/IFPRI