Unveiling hidden costs in agrifood systems: A systematic review of true cost accounting

Global agrifood systems generate substantial environmental, health, social, and economic externalities that remain largely invisible in market prices. True Cost Accounting (TCA) is an emerging framework to make these “hidden costs” visible and inform more sustainable food system decisions. However, studies on TCA remain fragmented across framework development, methodologies, and empirical applications. We conducted a systematic literature review to (i) trace the evolution of TCA, (ii) compare methodological practices, and (iii) synthesize empirical application patterns. Our review started with around 3600 records for initial screening, narrowing to 53 papers on TCA related to agrifood systems. We first consolidated dispersed TCA initiatives into an integrated three-phase timeline: conceptual framework (before 2019), operational guidelines (2020–2022), and mainstream applications (after 2021). Methodologically, we found four TCA steps that are unevenly developed across environmental, social, economic, and health dimensions. Integration approaches are typically hybrid, combining monetary and non-monetary elements, but remain weakly standardized. Empirical applications of TCA clustering at national and local scales focus on the production and consumption stages and most often integrate environmental outcomes with health or economic outcomes, while social equity and distributional aspects are seldom explicit. Our review highlights that TCA has the potential to transform agrifood systems by revealing hidden costs and promoting sustainable decision-making. However, doing so requires further research to standardize methodologies and embed TCA more directly into policy instruments. • Calls for scaling true cost accounting to inform agrifood system transformation. • Unveils hidden environmental, health, social, and economic costs in food systems. • Maps a three-phase evolution from conceptual frameworks to mainstream applications. • Identifies gaps in social dimensions, mid-chain stages, and Global South coverage. • Shows that advancing TCA requires methodological standardization and policy alignment.