Carbon-intensive ultra-processed ingredients subsidised by nearly $43 billion a year

Governments around the world are subsidising ingredients for ultra-processed foods (UPFs) by up to US$42.5 billion a year despite negative consequences for both people and planet, while production of fresh fruit and vegetables is hampered by tariffs, according to new analysis by IIED.

In total, 72 countries plus the European Union subsidised carbon- and land-intensive beef, chicken and pork meat, maize, wheat, soybeans and sugar by $149.2 billion a year on average between 2016 and 2021.

Using an estimated range for the proportions of these commodities which find their way into UPFs, researchers concluded that production of this food received support totalling between $14.5 billion and $42.5 billion a year, on average, during that period. This includes direct subsidies as well as the effects of tariffs and other policies.

By the same metric and in the same timeframe, government tariffs and price controls made fresh fruit and vegetables less attractive to consumers and producers to the tune of $16.3 billion a year – effectively a negative subsidy. The subsidies for important meat-substitute protein sources like nuts and pulses were just $4.6 billion and $1.1 billion respectively.

Alejandro Guarín, a principal researcher at IIED, said: “The food subsidy regimes of our biggest agricultural producers are plainly not designed to promote health either for consumers or the planet.

“The billions spent on meat in particular could be partly diverted to help farmers grow other, cheaper high-protein crops, like beans and lentils, which have a lower emissions footprint and also need less water and land.

“The developed world desperately needs to rethink its relationship with food and food production, which simply is not sustainable and is acting as a brake on climate action. Reforming subsidies could help make healthier, environmentally friendlier food more accessible to more people.”