The Lancet: Billions lack access to healthy diets as food systems drive climate and health crises, but sustainable, equitable solutions are within reach, says new EAT-Lancet report

(Press-News.org) Building on the landmark 2019 report, the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission presents the most comprehensive scientific analysis of global food systems to date. It establishes a clear, science-based approach to provide 9.6 billion people with access to healthy diets within planetary boundaries while recognising that healthy and sustainable diets are the foundation of human rights. The report reveals that the global food system contributes to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and is the largest driver of planetary boundary transgressions through its impacts on climate, biodiversity, freshwater consumption, and land use change.  Although there is enough food produced globally, almost half of the world’s 8 billion people (about 3.7 billion) don’t have reliable access to healthy food, a clean environment, or earn a living wage.   The Planetary Health Diet (PHD), which emphasises minimally processed plant-rich foods with moderate intake of animal products such as meat and dairy, is associated with a 27% lower risk of premature death. Global adoption of this dietary pattern could potentially prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths per year and greatly reduce risks of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative conditions. The report also emphasises the urgent need to take social justice into account as part of overall efforts to transform food systems by calling for equitable access to healthy food, fair labor conditions, and inclusive governance. Food systems are key drivers of the world’s most urgent challenges, from chronic diseases and rising inequality to accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, according to the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems. The new report finds that while the world produces enough food calories for everyone, nearly 3.7 billion people are without access to a healthy diet, meaningful wages, or a clean environment. At the same time, food production is a significant contributor to environmental degradation, accounting for nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and pushing the transgression of the planetary boundaries (climate change, biodiversity loss, land use change, freshwater consumption, nutrient pollution, and novel entities such as pesticides and antibiotics). This crisis of inequity and environmental harm threatens human health and the resilience of planet Earth.
 
The new report also offers clear, science-based targets for a sustainable, healthy, and just food future. By adopting the Planetary Health Diet (PHD)—a flexible, plant-rich dietary framework—in combination with global efforts to reduce food loss and waste by half, implement sustainable and ecological agricultural practices, and halt agricultural conversion of intact ecosystems, the world can simultaneously improve public health, restore planetary health, and provide enough food for an expected global population of 9.6 billion people by 2050. The report’s analysis also reveals that shifting global food systems and diets could prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths each year by lowering rates of chronic diseases linked to poor diets such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
 
Building on the landmark 2019 report [1], the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission brings together leading global experts in nutrition, environmental science, economics, agriculture, justice, and health policy to provide the most robust scientific assessment of food systems to date, offering rigorous new data to inform ways to transform food production and consumption to improve health, food security, sustainability and economic opportunity.
 
“Food systems are a major contributor to many of the crises we face today, and at the same time, the key to solving them,” said Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, Commission co-chair and director for nutrition, health and food security at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). “The evidence laid out in our report is clear: the world must act boldly and equitably to ensure sustainable improvements. The choices we make today will determine the health of people and the planet for generations.”
 
The Planetary Health Diet: guidelines for healthy diets
 
The Commission reinforces the PHD, first introduced in the 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission, detailing balanced plant-rich eating patterns. The new report builds on the previous analysis by incorporating new evidence, enhancing cultural relevance, integrating social equity, and providing more precise and inclusive nutritional guidance.
 
The PHD recommends plant-rich, flexible diets, including whole grains (approximately 150 grams or three to four servings per day), fruits and vegetables (500 grams or at least five servings per day), nuts (25 grams or one serving per day), and legumes (75 grams or one serving per day). This plant-rich diet is complemented by moderate intakes of animal-sourced foods such as red meat (0-200 grams or one serving per week), poultry (0-400 grams or two servings per week), fish (0-700 grams or two servings per week), eggs (3-4 eggs per week), and dairy (0-500 grams per day or one serving of milk, yogurt, or cheese per day). It also calls for limiting added sugars, saturated fats, and salt to reduce diet-related chronic diseases. [See table 1 for the full list of intake recommendations].
 
New research in the 2025 EAT-Lancet report suggests that adherence to the PHD is associated with significant reductions in the risk of major chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and obesity. This includes an estimated 27% lower risk of premature death, or the prevention of approximately 15 million premature deaths per year globally compared to current diets. While it recommends reduced consumption of red and processed meats globally, it ensures sufficient intake of protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin B12 through diverse plant and moderate animal sources.
 
“The Planetary Health Diet is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” explained Walter C. Willett, Commission co-chair and professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “It allows for cultural diversity and individual preferences, providing flexibility within clear guidelines to achieve optimal health and sustainability outcomes worldwide.”
 
The 2025 PHD framework supports a wide range of traditional and contemporary dietary patterns, respecting cultural identities, local food systems, and diverse populations. Moreover, the PHD framework acknowledges that dietary needs vary across populations and life stages, and that certain groups—such as pregnant women, infants, and young children—may require additional nutritional support. To address potential nutrient gaps, the framework highlights the importance of culturally appropriate adaptations, including food fortification and supplementation strategies. The report also finds that by shifting towards healthy plant-rich diets and reducing demand for resource-intensive foods like red meat, the PHD substantially decreases greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use, and nutrient pollution. Global alignment with the PHD cut food-related carbon emissions by over 15% compared to 2020 values. This value increases to at least 20% by cutting food loss and waste by half, and by improving production practices.
 
Food Systems: driving crises and offering solutions
 
Food systems encompass all processes and actors involved in feeding populations—from production and processing to distribution and consumption, as well as governance and policy frameworks. The report highlights that food systems contribute approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making them one of the leading drivers of climate change. Food systems emissions stem from a myriad of activities, of which the largest comes from meat production, methane from rice production, land-use change, and deforestation.
 
Moreover, food systems are the primary cause of five of the nine planetary boundaries being breached. Planetary boundaries are defined as the thresholds that keep the Earth system (i.e. the life support system of the planet that human development depends upon), stable and healthy [figure 1].
 
Despite these challenges, the food system holds immense potential to become engines of positive change. By adopting more sustainable production practices, such as regenerative agriculture and sustainable intensification, farmers can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance soil health, conserve biodiversity, and improve water use efficiency. Simultaneously, shifting dietary patterns toward the PHD can lower environmental pressures from livestock over production while improving nutrition and reducing diet-related diseases. Furthermore, promoting equitable policies, enforcing environmental regulations, and empowering marginalized communities ensures that the benefits of these changes are distributed fairly.
 
“Transforming food systems is a significant environmental and social challenge, but it is a precondition for us to have a chance of returning within a safe climate system and a healthy planet,” said Johan Rockström, Commission co-chair and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “How we produce and consume food affects the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil that grows our crops, and the health and dignity of workers and communities. Addressing these interconnected problems requires systemic and coordinated global action.”
 
Addressing inequities in food systems
 
The report highlights the stark disparity in the environmental impact of current dietary patterns across different socioeconomic groups. Specifically, it finds that the diets of the wealthiest 30% of the global population are responsible for approximately 70% of the overall environmental pressures caused by food systems. In contrast, nearly half of the world’s population does not have access to affordable healthy diets, fair wages, and safe environments.
 
Millions of children remain engaged in agricultural labor, and 32% of food workers earn below living wages, often under unsafe conditions. Women, in particular, face systemic wage disparities and lack adequate representation.
 
“Equity and justice are not optional—they are prerequisites for resilient and sustainable food systems,” said Christina Hicks, Commissioner and professor of social science at Lancaster University. “Without addressing entrenched inequalities within current food systems, no transformation will be complete or lasting.”
 
The Commission calls for targeted policies to improve the affordability and accessibility of nutritious food, secure fair wages and working conditions, and empower marginalised communities to participate meaningfully in governance.
 
Sustainable, healthy food systems by 2050
 
Researchers modelled different scenarios for how global food systems might change by 2050 [table 3] and assessed their potential impact on health and environmental outcomes.
 
The findings suggest that under the transformation scenario, which incorporates a total shift to the PHD in combination with strong climate policies to reduce emissions across all sectors (not only food systems), greenhouse gas emissions could drop by more than half from 7.35 gigatonnes to 2.75 gigatonnes CO₂, equivalent to removing emissions from all coal-fired power plants globally.
 
The scenario also projects a 7% reduction in agricultural land use, freeing land for biodiversity restoration and ecosystem services. Economically, the shift may lead to reduced labor demand, notably in livestock sectors but significant growth in plant-based agriculture, underscoring the need for policies supporting worker transitions and social protections.
 
Current food systems impose hidden costs totaling $15 trillion annually, from healthcare burdens to environmental degradation, underscoring the economic rationale for urgent change. The report finds that annual investments of $200–-$500 billion annually to transform food systems will yield returns exceeding $5 trillion per year, including savings from avoided healthcare costs, increased productivity, and reduced environmental damage. Funding can be unlocked by repurposing agricultural and fisheries subsidies, mobilising climate and biodiversity finance, and private investment aligned with environmental and social targets. Low-income countries will need international support via overseas development aid (ODA) or targeted debt relief.
 
To effectively address the complex challenges facing global food systems, the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission proposes eight solutions that simultaneously advance health, environmental sustainability, and social equity [figure 16].

Shifting to healthy diets by encouraging dietary patterns aligned with the PHD. Protecting and promoting healthy, culturally appropriate traditional diets. Advancing farming practices that increase productivity while minimising negative environmental impacts. Protecting remaining forests, wetlands, and other natural habitats to preserve biodiversity. Reducing food loss and waste by addressing inefficiencies throughout the food supply chain to decrease unnecessary resource use and emissions. Ensuring that all workers within food systems receive fair compensation and operate in safe working conditions, which is essential for social equity and sustaining livelihoods. Empowering smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples, women, and other marginalised communities to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives and environments. Implementing social safety nets, equitable access to resources, and targeted support to alleviate poverty and reduce disparities in food security and nutrition. The Commission highlights that successful transformation requires strong partnerships among public institutions, businesses, and civil society, with changes bundled together and carefully sequenced to ensure policies are grounded in science and serve the public’s best interest. For example, combining taxes on unhealthy foods with subsidies for fruits and vegetables, supporting agricultural practices focused on legumes, grains, and nuts, and improving public programs like healthier school meals can work in tandem to increase the acceptability and feasibility of the Commission’s recommendations. EAT has taken a big step in this direction by convening over 750 food system actions in Communities for Action spanning Consumers, Farmers, Fishers, Cities, Health Care Professionals, National policy makers, Restaurants and Food Service, Food Retailers and Manufacturers, inviting them to take ownership of key actions and collaborations to drive transformation to healthy, sustainable and just food systems. 
 
“Our recommendations are grounded in scientific evidence and real-world experience. Changes to global food systems are already underway, from school meal programs to regenerative agriculture and food waste reduction initiatives. Investing in and scaling up efforts to reshape global food systems now is the best way to build toward a sustainable, equitable future,” said Line Gordon, Commissioner and Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.
 
She added, “The private sector can play a crucial role in transformation, but an effective food system transformation needs to ensure that decision-making is for the public good and protected from undue corporate influence. Justice is not just a goal of food system transformation but a prerequisite for its success.”
 
In a linked Comment, Lancet Editor-in-Chief Dr Richard Horton and Consulting Editor Tamara Lucas wrote, “We are acutely aware that many people often do not have a choice between hunger and poor nutrition options, but putting the recommendations of the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission at the centre of the post-2030 agenda and joining our call to action will contribute to a cascade of positive effects. Everybody has a part to play in how food systems are reshaped. Now that we have the knowledge and scientific evidence, it is a collective responsibility to act to save and repair the planet’s systems before it is too late, and we call on all to join us in this revolution. The reward of food justice for all will be restored balance of Earth’s natural systems, and the nourishing sustenance that is healthy and delicious food.”
 
NOTES TO EDITORS
 
This study was funded by the IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Wellcome Trust, The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A full list of authors and their affiliated institutions is provided in the Commission report.
 
The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE.pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office (pressoffice@lancet.com).
 
Quotes from Authors cannot be found in the text of the Commission but have been supplied for the press release. The Comment quote is taken directly from the linked Comment.
 
[1] Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems, The Lancet, published 16 January 2019, https://www.thelancet.com/commissions-do/eat

 

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