In order to make its customers more aware of the environmental impact of food production, a supermarket chain in Germany launched a campaign with the real cost of food.
This is the German supermarket chain Penny, which since last week decided to market nine foods at their “real price”, that is, the cost to the environment generated by production is added to the price paid by the consumer.
The campaign, described as daring by some and criticized by others, places the real cost of food under the microscope due to its impact on the environment during the production process.
Penny has around 3,000 products for sale in her supermarket chain, but she will only sell nine at their “real price”, an amount that was calculated by adding to the conventional price of a food, the costs that its production generates for the environment.
For the consumer, this campaign would imply a greater expense, since it represents up to 94% more expensive when including the cost of the environmental impact.
The criticism that Penny has received for this campaign
Despite the fact that Penny has promised to donate the additional amount of food to a project with for climate protection and the preservation of nature in which family farms in the Alpine region are involved, her detractors have described her as “greenwashing” pure and hard
As Penny’s COO explains to Direct Marketing, “Our customers have to deal with persistently rising food prices. However, we have to face the uncomfortable truth that food prices do not really reflect the costs associated with the environment”.
The adjustment that this German chain made to arrive at the “real prices” were calculated by scientists from the Nuremberg Institute of Technology and the University of Greifswald.
To determine the price, they included the usual production costs, the effects derived from food production on the soil, climate, water and health.
After considering the aforementioned aspects, the increase in value was notable, even some of the products almost doubled the price.
One of the most notable cases was Maasdam cheese whose “real price” was 94% more. While Vienna sausages, whose “real price” is 88% more expensive than what Penny’s customers normally use.
While the rise in the price of vegan breaded fillets had less impact since the amount grew by barely 5%.
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