True Cost Accounting Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods and Data: A Case Study Comparing Palm, Rapeseed, and Coconut Oils for Sustainability and Nutrition

True Cost Accounting (TCA) aims to assess positive and negative externalities in agri-food value chains by focusing on four capitals: produced, natural, human, and social. While produced capital is easily measured through market values, obtaining relevant data for measuring natural, human, and social capitals can be challenging. To address this challenge, this paper presents a case study around the production in Asia of three globally important edible plant oils: palm, rapeseed, and coconut. Results show that readily available methods and data from different types of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) can be integrated into the framework of TCA to quantify and monetize positive and negative externalities associated with the production and consumption of these oils and to analyze the tradeoffs involved in choosing among them. However, the use of LCA methods and data also entails significant assumptions and limitations that must be considered when evaluating their use in TCA. Specific results show that the environmental impacts of production are small in comparison to the potential nutritional health benefits of consuming one oil over another. This study provides a roadmap for conducting similar analyses, allowing for a greater understanding of often overlooked sustainability and nutritional issues of food items.