A global shift to a ‘Planetary Health Diet’ could prevent around 15 million premature deaths each year, according to the landmark second EAT-Lancet Commission, building on its influential 2019 findings.
Bringing together leading experts in nutrition, climate science, economics, health, social sciences, and agriculture from more than 35 countries, the Commission calls for urgent, coordinated action to transform the way the world eats and produces food.
The findings reveal that fixing food systems is one of the most powerful tools for improving health, fighting climate change, and reducing inequality. Transforming global diets and production methods could slash food-related greenhouse gas emissions by more than half and bring humanity back within planetary boundaries – the safe limits for life on Earth.
But the report also sounds the alarm: today, fewer than 1% of people live in the “safe and just space” where everyone’s food needs are met without overshooting environmental limits. Nearly one-third of food system workers earn below a living wage, while the wealthiest 30 per cent of people drive more than 70 per cent of food-related environmental impacts. And despite global calorie sufficiency, over one billion people still go hungry.
The proposed Planetary Health Diet offers a flexible, culturally adaptable approach. It can include modest amounts of animal products or be entirely vegetarian or vegan – but its foundation is clear: more vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and whole grains, and, in many regions, less meat, dairy, animal fats and sugar.
“The evidence is undeniable: transforming food systems is not only possible, it’s essential to securing a safe, just, and sustainable future for all,” said Johan Rockström, Commission Co-Chair and Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Walter C. Willett, Commission Co-Chair and Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said: “We are at a global crossroads, and governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals all have a role to play in realigning food systems for the benefit of all people and the planet.”