We often think of healthy eating in terms of nutrients, calories and sustainability. But new research suggests there’s another, less visible factor to consider: the people behind the food.
A study published in Nature Food by researchers at Tufts University and the University of Nottingham found that some diets recommended for health and environmental reasons carry a higher risk of forced labor in their supply chains than what the average American currently eats.
The team analyzed five diets: the Healthy U.S.-Style, Healthy Mediterranean-Style and Healthy Vegetarian diets outlined in federal guidelines; the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet; and the current average American diet. Each was evaluated across more than 200 commonly eaten foods for risk of forced labor, based on where and how ingredients are typically grown, harvested or processed.
“We found that recommended healthy diets could have higher or lower risk of forced labor compared with what Americans currently eat, depending on the mix of foods,” said Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, associate professor at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and senior author of the study.
The differences often came down to fruits, dairy and red meat. Protein-rich foods were the largest source of forced labor risk across all diet patterns, though for different reasons.
Livestock farming involves risks tied to slaughtering, meat processing and animal feed production.
Fruits and nuts, often handpicked or shelled manually, carry higher labor risks than crops harvested by machine.
Seafood industries face particularly high global rates of forced labor.
The Healthy Mediterranean-Style diet, rich in fruits, seafood and dairy, and the Healthy U.S.-Style diet both showed greater overall risk than today’s average diet. In contrast, the Healthy Vegetarian and Planetary Health diets, which rely more on beans, soy, grains and nuts, had lower total risk, though nuts and seeds still ranked high for potential exploitation.
“The best way to reduce forced labor in our food supply chains is to let workers lead in shaping solutions and to back those solutions with legally binding agreements that protect them from retaliation,” said Jessica Decker Sparks, assistant professor at Tufts and corresponding author of the paper.
Sparks pointed to programs like the Fair Food Program as examples of how worker-led initiatives can reduce exploitation when supported by strong trade policies that ban imports made with forced labor.
The researchers say their findings could guide how institutions and governments purchase food at scale, from school lunches to citywide nutrition initiatives, to ensure that healthy and sustainable diets don’t come at the expense of human rights.
“We hope our work represents a starting point for communities to shape dietary transitions that promote equity and justice alongside health and sustainability,” Blackstone said.
The study was supported by the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab and School of Geography.