But their cheap food, often produced on an industrial scale, has a high environmental price. German agriculture was responsible for 55.5 million metric tonnes of greenhouse emissions last year, roughly 7.4% of the country's emissions. During the "true cost" campaign, which runs until Saturday, customers at Penny's 2,150 branches, will be charged a price for nine products, from yoghurt to sausages and vegan schnitzel, that includes climate, health, soil and water costs. According to figures provided by Penny, organic products had environmental costs of an average of 1.15 euros, while non-organic products that relied on chemicals had an average environmental cost of 1.57 euros. It is unclear, however, whether consumers are prepared to pay more to reduce their environmental impact.

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Persons: Read, Penny, Stefan Goergens, Goergens, Holger Meckel, I'm, Riham, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Union, Reuters, Germany's Greens, Technical University of Nuremberg, University of Greifswald, Thomson Locations: Europe, BERLIN, Spain, Italy, Germany, Frankfurt, Penny's