Giving Compass' Take:

• Counting the Beans is an online tool created by the U.N. World Food Program to allow individuals to understand the differences in food cost around the world.

• Understanding relative food cost helps us to see the burden for individuals in other countries buying  food. What makes the costs largely different between countries? Is there a way to address the gap?

• Read more about how to understand the value of our food.

A U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) tool is highlighting the true cost of food by presenting variation in the cost of food around the world. The tool, called Counting the Beans, includes a data-driven, open-access online interface to help both experts and the general public quantify the relative cost of food in nations worldwide. The tool presents price and affordability as very different measures.

Counting the Beans compares what food really costs to members of different societies, suggesting that nominal food price is not telling enough. Dramatic variation in incomes and market values around the world makes it difficult to understand difference in cost burdens of purchasing food.

For example, imagine spending US$322.07 on a simple plate of food. Then imagine that this same plate—a 600-calorie stew made from basic ingredients—is valued at US$1.20. The difference in cost is a representation of the difference in the burden for those in different populations buying the same plate of food. These numbers, for example, compare burden for residents of South Sudan with burden for residents of New York City.

Read the source article about the true cost of food by Rocco Pallin at Food Tank