A major update of the influential Planetary Health Diet (PHD) has concluded that a global shift to a flexitarian diet could help halve greenhouse gas emissions. Food systems currently account for around 30% of total GHC emissions and, the report finds, are driving breaches of five out nine ‘planetary boundaries’ (a tool used to define safe limits for vital planetary processes). 

The 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission, the organisation behind the review, says its latest findings present the “most comprehensive global scientific evaluation of food systems to date”. 

The report sets scientific targets for healthy diets, food’s impact on planetary boundaries, and outlines the foundation for “a just food system” – and shows how far different parts of the world are from these targets.

Additional headline findings include: 

• Shifting global diets could prevent up to 15 million premature deaths per year

• The wealthiest 30% of people drive more than 70% of food-related environmental impacts

• Transforming food systems could halve their current GHC emissions 

• Fewer than 1% of the world’s population is currently in the ‘safe and just space’, where people’s rights and food needs are met within planetary boundaries.

Building on its influential 2019 report, the new Commission – comprising leading international experts in nutrition, climate, economics, health, social sciences and agriculture from more than 35 countries across six continents – finds that shifting global diets could prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths per year. At the same time, concerted global efforts to transform food systems could bring us back within planetary boundaries and cut annual greenhouse gas emissions from food systems by more than half compared with a business-as-usual scenario.

The Commission’s findings stress that just food systems will be essential to achieving improved health and social development outcomes.

The analysis warns that even with a complete global transition away from fossil fuels, food systems could still push temperatures beyond 1.5°C. The planetary boundaries framework defines nine key Earth system processes that regulate life on Earth. The world has already passed six of these nine boundaries: climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and novel entities (pesticides, antimicrobials, and microplastics). Food systems are the largest contributor to five of these transgressions and contribute around 30% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

The planetary health diet recommended by the commission means that people around the world should eat more whole grains, legumes, fruit, vegetables, and nuts, while reducing animal products, especially red meat.“EAT-Lancet 2025 places justice at the centre, not only as a goal but also as a vital part of enabling transformation,” says Line Gordon, from the Stockholm Resilience Centre and one of the report’s lead authors. “You could 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.”

Johan Rockström, Commission co-chair and Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, stated: “The report sets out the clearest guidance yet for feeding a growing population without breaching the safe operating space on Earth set by the planetary boundaries. It also exposes the stark winners and losers in today’s food systems, where entrenched power dynamics drive deep inequities. 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/”

Background
The Planetary Health Diet, first published in 2019, is a global reference diet designed by the EAT-Lancet Commission to improve human health while ensuring sustainable food production within planetary boundaries. It is intended to be a flexible, “plant-forward” eating pattern that includes modest amounts of animal-sourced foods.

Within the science and public health communities reaction to the PHD has been generally positive on its impacts on both human health, and its perceived inclusivity (the PHD’s flexible framework allows for adaptation to different culinary traditions and can accommodate diverse dietary needs, including vegetarian and vegan choices). But there has also been criticism from nutrition groups, who say the diet fails to provide adequate micronutrients for certain population. Some critics say the diet relies on weak epidemiological evidence rather than robust clinical trials, casting doubt on its nutritional targets. 

Some reports suggest that global meat industry actors were behind a social media campaign intended to discredit the low-meat PHD ahead of its initial publication.