The Economic Feasibility of Sustainable and Healthy Diets: A Price-Based Analysis in Italy
Author(s)
Date Issued
2025
Type
article
Journal
Abstract
This study focuses on the economic dimension of food poverty and aims to develop
a replicable methodology for estimating the cost of adhering to Healthy and Sus-
tainable Diet (HSD) patterns in Italy. Using a novel dataset built through web
scraping from the Osservatorio Prezzi e Tariffe, we estimate diet costs across
different population groups in line with national nutritional guidelines. The
dataset provides detailed price information for key food categories across Ital-
ian provinces, enabling an assessment of local disparities in food affordability. To
address missing data, we apply an imputation strategy that leverages spatial and
temporal correlations. Results reveal substantial variation in HSD costs across
provinces, with important implications for food poverty and social inequality.
This work contributes to the broader discussion on the economic accessibility of
sustainable diets and offers a methodological framework for estimating food costs
using publicly available data. The findings have practical relevance for policy-
makers seeking to enhance access to nutritious and environmentally sustainable
food options
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Name
s11135-025-02441-y_compressed.pdf
Size
1.52 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
538c19b7d1e443e452c0fce8f175dc37
Project(s)
PRIN 2022 MeaSure Food Poverty