Myth buster: Healthy food is not more expensive

At last, the myth that says healthy food is more pricey has finally been busted. A White House expert paved the way at Zenith's Global Beverages Summit in Washington last spring, and now it's official.

The US Department of Agriculture has published a study ranking 4,000 different foods by price, calorie, weight and portion size. According to one of its authors, "healthy foods do not necessarily cost more than less healthy foods".

USA Today summarised the findings:

When considering portion size, the ranking from least to most expensive is grains, dairy, vegetables, fruit, protein and less healthy foods. So least healthy is most expensive.

Carrots, beans, lettuce, potatoes, bananas and orange juice are less expensive per portion than soft drinks, ice cream, chocolate, French fries and cakes.

Apparently, one problem with some previous research is that it focused on price per calorie, which produces a false comparison.

I wonder, can common sense also prevail when it comes to behaviour?

Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International

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