New EAT-Lancet Commission 2.0
A Roadmap for health, equity, and a liveable planet
A new landmark report from the EAT-Lancet Commission, released in October 2025, sets out a global pathway to achieve healthy, sustainable, and just food systems.1 Building on its influential 2019 report, the updated Commission brings together leading experts in nutrition, climate science, health, economics, social sciences, and agriculture from over 35 countries across six continents.
The findings are both urgent and hopeful:
A global shift toward healthier, more plant-rich diets could prevent around 15 million premature deaths every year while helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions from food systems by more than half, compared to a business-as-usual trajectory. Such a transformation would also help bring humanity back within planetary boundaries — the ecological limits that define a safe operating space for life on Earth.
Without addressing diets, agriculture, and food waste, the Paris Agreement targets cannot be met.
Food systems: the missing link in climate action
The Commission warns that even if the world phases out fossil fuels entirely, current food systems alone could still push global warming beyond 1.5°C. Food production and consumption are now the largest driver of five of the six breached planetary boundaries — including climate, biodiversity loss, land-system change, freshwater use, and nutrient pollution. Overall, food systems contribute roughly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
This underscores an urgent truth for climate negotiators at COP30 in Brazil: transforming OUR food systems is essential to achieving climate, health, and equity goals.
The Planetary Health Diet: a global standard for healthy and sustainable eating
The Planetary Health Diet (PHD) is at the heart of the EAT-Lancet framework. The PHD is a flexible, science-based dietary pattern that promotes optimal health while safeguarding environmental sustainability.
The PHD is predominantly plant-based, emphasising:
- Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts as dietary staples;
- Optional moderate-to-small amounts of animal-sourced foods such as fish, dairy, and meat;
- Limited intake of added sugars and highly processed foods.
What a healthy plant-based Brazilian plate could look like
Importantly, the PHD is based on the direct health impacts of dietary patterns. However, its adoption would also significantly reduce the environmental footprint of current diets. It allows for regional and cultural adaptation, ensuring that food traditions and local contexts can be respected while advancing global nutrition and sustainability goals.
A call to action
The EAT-Lancet 2.0 report provides a robust scientific foundation for policy coherence between health, environment, and equity. For decision-makers at COP30 and beyond, it highlights the need for:
1
Integrating food-system transformation into national climate commitments (NDCs).
2
Supporting plant-rich, culturally appropriate dietary shifts through fiscal, educational, and procurement policies.
3
Ensuring equitable access to nutritious and sustainable foods for all populations.
In short, the message is clear: transforming what we eat is just as critical as transforming how we produce energy. By aligning our global food systems with the Planetary Health Diet, we can create a future that is healthier, fairer, and within planetary limits.
