Cash for Veggies: Incentives Boost Healthy Eating, But With Trade-Offs

Hooded Antpitta

30-09-2025

Lately, the bird community has been engulfed in uneasiness due to the coming of some strange Pelicans.
These guys are here to eke out a living. Just three guys, but this is a hardworking bunch, preying on the fish from morning till midnight.

In “Family Legacy”; Wild Wise Weird [1]

© Wix

Rural India records one of the world’s lowest levels of fruit and vegetable intake, with an average of just 130 grams per person per day—far below the recommended 500 grams [2]. To tackle this nutritional gap, a recent study piloted a financial incentive scheme in Telangana villages, providing households with ₹50 cashback when they spent at least ₹250 per week on fruits and vegetables. The researchers assessed not only how this intervention influenced purchasing behaviors but also the unintended consequences that emerged [3].

The results were encouraging. Many families spent their own money to reach the cashback threshold, then used the bonus to buy even more produce. About 77% of participants used the cashback for vegetables, and 45% for fruit. This shift increased the variety of produce bought in local markets and encouraged more frequent shopping, which aligns with dietary guidelines emphasizing fresh and seasonal items [4].

But the scheme also had side effects. As more households shopped locally, new farmers entered village markets, boosting diversity but also squeezing the profits of long-standing vendors. Some villagers misused the system by presenting produce bought elsewhere for stamping or inflating purchase amounts. A minority even used the cashback for less healthy items such as sugar and oil. These findings illustrate the complexity of altering food environments in “unorganised” retail settings, where informal vendors dominate [5].

Beyond nutrition, the study highlights a deeper connection between food systems and the nature–human nexus. Fresh, locally sourced produce supports not only human health but also ecological balance, reducing dependence on long supply chains. Here, the ecological intelligence is useful. Households with higher NQ are more likely to recognize that healthier diets emerge from supporting local farmers, valuing biodiversity in markets, and consuming seasonal crops. Yet, sustainability requires designing incentives that benefit both consumers and vendors, avoiding ecological or social imbalances [6].

This experiment shows that even modest incentives can change eating habits in rural India. But true progress depends on fostering food environments where economic signals and cultural practices reinforce mutual flourishing between humans and nature [7].

References

[1] Vuong QH. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?id=N10jEQAAQBAJ

[2] Mathur P, et al. (2021). National noncommunicable disease monitoring survey (NNMS) in India: estimating risk factor prevalence in adult population. PLoS One, 16, e0246712. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246712

[3] Lieber J, et al. (2025). Unintended consequences of a financial incentive scheme for fruit and vegetable purchasing in an unorganised retail setting in rural India. Global Food Security, 46, 100869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100869

[4] ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. (2024). Dietary guidelines for Indians.

[5] Kinra S, et al. (2023). Impact of a financial incentive scheme on purchase of fruits and vegetables from unorganised retailers in rural India: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia, 12, 100140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lansea.2022.100140

[6] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH. (2025). On Nature Quotient. Pacific Conservation Biology, 31, PC25028. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25028

[7] Nguyen MH. (2024). How can satirical fables offer us a vision for sustainability? Visions for Sustainability, 23(11267), 323-328. https://doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/11267