Global food transition needed to reduce pressure on the planet and to save millions of lives 

On October 3, the new EAT-Lancet commission´s report Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems will be published in the leading medical journal The Lancet. The Commission's report has been produced by an international team of researchers in areas such as nutrition, climate, health, economics and agriculture. Several researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) at Stockholm University have contributed to the commission and played a central role in the work.

Updated based on the latest research 

Stockholm Resilience Centre and Swedish actors have developed menu proposals based on EAT Lancet 2025. They show that it is possible to eat well, healthily and sustainably in Sweden – at a reasonable cost and with food that resembles our regular diet. Photo: Axfoundation

The report sets scientific benchmarks for a healthy diet, the impact of food on planetary boundaries and basic social conditions for a fairer food system – and shows how far away different parts of the world are today. Compared to the commission published in 2019, the following is new:

• The "planetary health diet" is updated based on the latest research. It is broadly the same as in 2019 and the Commission now shows that a global transition to it could more than halve the food sector's greenhouse gas emissions and prevent up to 15 million deaths each year.
• The impact of the food system on all nine planetary boundaries has now been mapped (only five of the boundaries were included in 2019). 
• The mapping shows that the food system is the main driver behind five out of seven boundaries exceeded, and the second largest driver behind the sixth boundary (that of climate).
• Identification of so-called social basic conditions that are necessary for the right to food, decent work, a healthy environment, as well as freedom and freedom of action to be re-alized. The analysis shows that 3.7 billion people lack these basic conditions.
• Only about 1 percent of the world's population is in the "safe and just space" of the food system, where people's rights and needs are met within the planet's boundaries.

Line Gordon Photo/Niklas Björling

“EAT Lancet 2025 places justice at the centre, not only as a goal but also as a vital part of ena-bling transformation,” says professor Line Gordon, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, and one of the lead authors of the report.

A diet for the planet

The planetary health diet recommended by the commission means that, compared to today's average consumption in Sweden, we should eat more whole grains, legumes, fruit, vegetables and nuts, while the proportion of animal products, mainly red meat, needs to be reduced. The planetary health diet recommends a daily intake of, for example: fruits and vegetables: 500 grams, legumes: 75 grams, dairy: 250 grams (or a range of 0–500 grams), fish and shellfish: 30 grams per day (0–100 grams), poultry: 30 grams per day (0–60 grams) and about 15 grams of red meat (pork, beef or lamb) per person per day, with a range of 0–30 grams. 

“You could can call this a flexitarian diet. It is rich in plant-based foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, but also contains some animal products,” says Line Gordon. 

The diet can be adapted to local conditions. The commission is in the process of producing information material on what this might look like around the world. For Sweden, there is already a draft that can be viewed as a preview. 

If everyone is to eat the planetary health food, some production needs to increase while other production decreases. The modelling carried out by the commission shows that global production of legumes would have to increase by up to 190 percent, production of vegetables by 42-48 percent, while livestock production would have to be reduced by 22-27 percent. 

Huge benefits with the transition

Line Gordon and her colleagues at the Stockholm Resilience Centre have had special responsibility for highlighting solutions for how food systems can be transformed. 

The commission highlights that a global transformation of food systems can bring huge benefits in terms of better health, restored ecosystems and increased climate preparedness. According to previous calculations, these are worth more than ten times the necessary investments. To succeed, however, funding of up to $500 billion annually is required.

“Transforming the food system is an investment that reduces future costs and strengthens our socities. It is especially important to review investments and support systems for farmers so that they are not left alone to bear the cost of transformation,” says Line Gordon.

Johan Rockström, one of the commission's three chairs, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK, and professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, says:

“By uniting the latest science on health and climate, it shows that what we put on our plates can save millions of lives, cut billions of tonnes of emissions, halt the loss of biodiversity, and create a fairer food system,” he explains.

To achieve the transition, rapid political decisions, changing eating habits and global financial incentives that support fair and sustainable systems are needed.

Anne Charlotte Bunge
Photo: SRC

“To drive progress, we need bold political leadership, proactive businesses, and a growing pub-lic demand for change,” adds Anne Charlotte Bunge, researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and co-author of the report.

The way forward globally and in Sweden

The Commission stresses everyone's right to healthy food. To make the recommended diet accessible and affordable, carefully thought-out combinations of several measures should be implemented. These include subsidies for fruit and vegetables, taxes on unhealthy foods, clear warning labels and restrictions on marketing to children. At the same time, traditional, healthy diets should be preserved and made attractive again.

A healthy diet must not be at the expense of the planet. The commission therefore highlights, among other things, sustainable and ecological intensification, investments in the production of legumes and nuts, and support for networks of farmers sharing knowledge and equipment. Halting the transformation of intact ecosystems and reducing food waste are other key measures.

Transition also requires the protection of marginalised groups. This needs to be done through increased purchasing power rather than through reduced food prices. It is also important that authorities, businesses and civil society work together in broad coalitions. At the same time, decision-making needs to be protected from undue influence, so that efforts are based on science and public interest and not individual interests. 

Participating researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Centre: Line Gordon, Anne Charlotte Bunge, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Costanza Conti, Amar Laila and Isabel Baudish.

Read the full report in Lancet