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Many Americans choose food based on cost and nutrition, but personal values, such as animal welfare and environmental concerns, also shape what ends up on our plates.

Now, researchers at 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 have measured the risk of forced labor behind ingredients in recommended U.S. diets. By showing when healthy eating may come at the expense of exploited workers, the findings could inform how governments and institutions buy food at scale.

The International Labor Organization estimates that approximately 28 million people worldwide are currently ensnared in forced labor, including across the United States. "Forced labor takes many forms, but most often it traps workers in jobs through isolation, dependencies on employers, exploitative pay schemes and binding recruitment debt," explains Jessica Decker Sparks, assistant professor at the Friedman School and corresponding author on the research. Forced labor can also involve intimidation, withheld wages, abusive living conditions, or even violence.

For the first-of-its-kind published in Nature Food, the researchers analyzed the ingredients of five different diets: three diets recommended by federal dietary guidelines (Healthy U.S.-Style Diet, Healthy Mediterranean-Style Diet and Healthy Vegetarian Diet); the 2019 EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet; and the current average American diet, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

To assess the risk of forced labor among these recommended healthy diets and the current American diet, researchers rated more than 200 commonly eaten foods on a risk scale, based on how and where foods available in the United States 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," says Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, associate professor at the Friedman School and senior author on the paper.

The biggest differences came from how much fruit, dairy, and red meat people eat. Protein foods were the biggest source of forced labor risk across the five diets studied, but the drivers varied.

When looking at livestock farming, the researchers accounted for the risk involved in slaughtering, meat processing, and producing feed for these animals. Fruits that must be handpicked (versus harvested by machines) or nuts that must be shelled by hand tend to have a higher risk of forced labor. The fishing industry also has a very high risk compared with many other food sectors.

The Healthy Mediterranean-Style diet, which leans toward plant-based foods and seafood, with some dairy and red meat; and the Healthy U.S.-Style diet, which includes a balanced mix of nutrient-dense foods with a relatively high amount of dairy, showed greater forced labor risk than today's average diet. Seafood on top of red meat and dairy substantially raised risk in the Mediterranean pattern, and fruits also contributed to the risk. Dairy was the highest contributor to overall risk in the U.S.-Style pattern.

In contrast, the Healthy Vegetarian diet, which includes beans, soy, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and the Planetary Health diet, which is mostly plant-based, with very small amounts of meat and dairy to reduce environmental impact, had lower risks. These diets both showed outsized risk from nuts and seeds.

While swapping foods on individual plates may not end forced labor, the study could have far-reaching implications. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans shape what millions of children and adults eat through public programs like school lunches, and cities worldwide are using the Planetary Health Diet to help guide purchasing policies.

"We hope our work represents a starting point for communities to shape dietary transitions that promote equity and justice alongside health and sustainability," Blackstone says.

"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," says Sparks.

She notes that programs such as the Fair Food Program show how farmworkers can drive real change when they have a seat at the table. These, coupled with trade policies that block imports made with forced labor, can help level the playing field so that companies that respect workers aren't undercut by exploitative practices abroad.