Healthy diet cost surge pushes nutrition out of reach for billions
A 25% rise in the cost of nutritious food has left nearly a third of the global population unable to afford a healthy diet, posing a major long-term economic burden through rising rates of noncommunicable disease.
The cost of a healthy diet has surged by 25% over the past five years, pushing the minimum daily expenditure for proper nutrition to $4.28 per person. According to a new United Nations report, this price spike means 2.69 billion people—almost one in three globally—can no longer afford to eat healthily.
This daily cost now sits well above the international extreme poverty line of $3.00 (€2.62). Speaking ahead of the publication of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report on 21 July, FAO chief economist Máximo Torero Cullen noted that “as a result, 2.69 billion people, almost one in every three people in the world, still cannot afford a healthy diet.”
The affordability crisis stems from a stark price disparity between basic energy and essential nutrients. While staple grains and root vegetables provide the bulk of daily calories, they account for just 13% of a healthy diet's total cost.
In contrast, fruits and vegetables supply only 5% of daily calories but drive 16% of the cost. Animal-sourced foods represent nearly 30% of the expense. “Calories are relatively inexpensive,” Torero said, “but nutrition is not.”
A supply chain disconnect
For global agricultural supply chains, this pricing structure represents a deepening market failure. The UN's data indicates the current food system is heavily optimized for cheap staples rather than the diverse outputs required for global health. The 25% surge in the cost of a nutritious diet over half a decade highlights severe bottlenecks or inflationary pressures in the production and distribution of fresh produce and proteins.
The macroeconomic consequences of this dietary gap will ultimately be felt in healthcare spending. The World Health Organization identifies an unhealthy diet as a leading risk factor for the global disease burden, directly driving the prevalence of noncommunicable conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Managing these chronic illnesses places a heavy, ongoing financial strain on both developing nations and advanced economies.
Realigning agricultural production and market incentives to lower the cost of nutrient-rich foods is emerging as a critical economic imperative. As Torero concluded, the core challenge facing global food systems “is not to produce enough calories but to make nutrient-rich foods more affordable.”
