Global health and environmental costs of food industry are $10tn a year – UN

Stunted maize in Honduras. Many farmers in poorer countries cannot afford a good diet and suffer from malnutrition, the FAO says. Photograph: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty

The health and environmental damage caused by food production costs the world $10tn (£8tn) a year, or 10% of global GDP, the UN said.

Conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, the consequence of poor diets, account for $7.3tn, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which has put a “price tag” on the hidden costs of the global food industry in its annual report, published on Monday.