New report from the EAT-Lancet Commission

The EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable and Fair Food Systems releases its new report..

The food systems are at the crossroads of health, climate, environment and justice. Their transformation is essential if we are to respond jointly to the climate, biodiversity and health crises, while reducing inequalities. The study stresses that food policies must become a global lever for coherence between economics, governance and equity.

The Planetary Health Diet (PHD) forms the basis of this transformation: adequate energy intake, a varied and predominantly plant-based diet, composed of minimally processed foods, unsaturated fats, and low amounts of sugar and salt. This flexible model, compatible with local cultures, prevents non-communicable diseases and could avoid up to 15 million premature deaths a year.

Currently, food systems are responsible for around 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and for five major breaches of planetary limits: land use, biosphere integrity, freshwater, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. Without reform, they will jeopardize the objectives of the Paris Agreement, even with a successful energy transition.

On the social front, the human rights to food, a healthy environment and decent work are not respected: almost half of humanity lives below these thresholds. The wealthiest 30% generate more than 70% of environmental pressures, while barely 1% of the world's population lives in a safe and just space. National policies must therefore correct these imbalances.

To make PHD accessible and desirable, we need to act on food environments, stimulate culinary research, support healthy traditional diets and strengthen purchasing power. A transition combining healthy diets, increased agricultural productivity and reduced waste would significantly reduce pressure on climate, water and biodiversity ; no single measure is sufficient.Ecological intensification practices could even lead to a carbon-neutral food system, thanks to carbon sequestration and habitat restoration.

This transformation would profoundly alter production patterns: a 33% drop in ruminant meat and a 63% increase in fruit, vegetables and nuts would be needed to sustainably feed 9.6 billion people by 2050. Success will depend on structural justice : decent wages, worker representation, transparency, fair access to resources, and the fight against the concentration of economic power.

Finally, the EAT-Lancet Commission calls for anunprecedented mobilization : multi-stakeholder coalitions, redirected funding, national roadmaps and articulation with major global frameworks (Paris Agreement, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework). Food systems must become the driving force behind a global transformation towards a healthy, fair and sustainable planet.