One in three people on the planet cannot afford a healthy diet

The world food system both contributes to the global crisis and can be a solution to it, according to a new report by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems 2025.

The study found that despite sufficient calorie production, some 3.7 billion people still lack access to healthy food, decent incomes and a safe environment.

Meanwhile, agriculture remains a major source of environmental problems: it accounts for almost 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a significant share of land degradation, biodiversity loss, water and air pollution. All of this directly threatens human health and the sustainability of ecosystems.

However, according to scientists, humanity still has a chance to turn the situation around. The central solution may be a shift to the Planetary Health Diet (PHD), a flexible, plant-based dietary pattern that takes into account both human health and the planet's capabilities.

The report argues that adherence to PHD principles - combined with halving food loss and waste, sustainable agriculture and an end to deforestation of natural ecosystems - could:

• feed the world's population by 2050 (expected to be 9.6bn people),

• prevent up to 15 million premature deaths per year from diet-related diseases (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology),

• reduce CO₂ emissions from the food industry by 15-20% compared to 2020 levels,

• reduce agricultural and water use, and restore biodiversity.

The Planetary Health Diet proposes:

• a plant-based diet (grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts),

• moderate consumption of animal products (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy),

• limiting added sugar, salt and saturated fat.

Importantly, the PHD model is flexible and culturally sensitive to different regions, allowing it to be adapted to traditional cuisines and individual needs, including children, pregnant women and the elderly.

The authors emphasise that the wealthiest 30% of the population is responsible for 70% of the environmental burden, while billions of others have no access to nutrition or decent working conditions. In the food sector, 32% of workers earn below a living wage, and women and children are particularly vulnerable.

TheCommission calls for:

• social protection for workers in the food sector,

• investment in sustainable agriculture,

• reorientation of subsidies towards sustainable practices,

• improvement of school feeding and education programmes,

• participation of vulnerable groups in food system governance.

Experts estimate that an annual investment of $200 to $500 billion in food system transformation could yield up to $5 trillion in benefits through improved health, increased productivity, and reduced environmental losses.

"We have every scientific reason to act. It's time for a global solution that is sustainable, equitable and healthy," concluded Line Gordon, co-author of the report and Director of the Stockholm Centre for Sustainable Development.