Adoption of a plant-rich \u201cplanetary health diet\u201d could prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world, according to a landmark report.<\/p>\n
The diet \u2013 which allows moderate meat consumption \u2013 and related measures would also slash the food-related emissions driving global heating by half by 2050. Today, a third of greenhouse gas emissions come from the global food system and taming the climate crisis is impossible without changing how the world eats, the researchers said. Food<\/a> production is also the biggest cause of the destruction of wildlife and forests and the pollution of water.<\/p>\n The planetary health diet (PHD) sets out how the world can simultaneously improve the health of people and the planet, and provide enough food for an expected global population of 9.6 billion people by 2050.<\/p>\n The diet is flexible, allowing it to be adapted to local tastes, and can include some animal products or be vegetarian or vegan. However, all versions advise eating more vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and whole grains than most people in the world currently eat. In many places, today\u2019s diets are unhealthy and unsustainable due to too much meat, milk and cheese, animal fats and sugar.<\/p>\n People in the US and Canada eat more than seven times the PHD\u2019s recommended amount of red meat, while it is five times more in Europe and Latin America, and four times more in China. However, in some regions where people\u2019s diets are heavily reliant on starchy foods, such as sub-Saharan Africa, a small increase in chicken, dairy and eggs would be beneficial to health, the report found.<\/p>\n Chart shows different parts of the world and how much they eat from which food groups, as described in the fifth paragraph of the article<\/a><\/p>\n Severe inequalities in the food system must also be ended to achieve healthy and sustainable diets, the researchers said. The wealthiest 30% of the world\u2019s population generates more than 70% of food-related environmental damage, it found. Furthermore, 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet and 1 billion are undernourished, despite enough food being produced globally. The food system is also failing the 1 billion people living with obesity, the report said.<\/p>\n The report recommends shifting taxes to make unhealthy food more costly and healthy food cheaper, regulating the advertising of unhealthy food and using warning labels, and the shifting of today\u2019s massive agricultural subsidies<\/a> to healthier and more sustainable foods.<\/p>\n The report recommends shifting taxes to make healthy food cheaper. Photograph: Wu Hao\/EPA<\/p>\n \u201cWhat 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,\u201d said Prof Johan Rockstr\u00f6m, who co-chaired the EAT-Lancet Commission<\/a> that produced the report. \u201cThe evidence is undeniable: transforming food systems is not only possible, it\u2019s essential to securing a safe, just, and sustainable future for all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a deprivation diet,\u201d said Prof Walter Willett of the Harvard TH Chan school of public health, and another commission co-chair. \u201cThis is something that could be delicious, aspirational and healthy. It also allows for cultural diversity and individual preferences, providing flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n The report, published in the Lancet<\/a>, was produced by 70 leading experts from 35 countries and six continents. It builds on the 2019 report<\/a> that introduced the PHD, but includes new evidence of the health benefits of the diet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been able to look at this diet in relation to health outcomes such as total mortality, diabetes, respiratory diseases, heart disease, stroke, etc and we found very strong inverse relationships\u201d said Willett. The diet was also linked to reduced cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n Overall, the researchers estimated global adoption<\/a> of the PHD could prevent 15m early deaths a year<\/a> in adults. The estimate did not include the impact of the diet reducing obesity, meaning it is probably an underestimate.<\/p>\n The PHD recommends plant-rich, flexible diets, including:<\/p>\n Fruits and vegetables \u2013 at least five portions a day<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Whole grains \u2013 three to four portions a day<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Nuts \u2013 one portion per day<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Legumes (beans, peas, lentils) \u2013 one portion per day<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Dairy \u2013 one serving of milk, yoghurt or cheese portions a day<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Eggs \u2013 three to four a week<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Chicken \u2013 two portions a week<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Fish \u2013 two portions a week<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Red meat \u2013 one portion a week<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The planet’s most important stories. Get all the week’s environment news – the good, the bad and the essential<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Dr Marco Springmann from UCL in the UK and an author of the report said the differences between the PHD and current diets vary: \u201cWhat needs to be reduced differs a lot. In low income countries, it\u2019s the starchy foods and grains, whereas in high income countries it is animal-sourced foods, sugar, saturated fats, and dairy. It\u2019s insane how much dairy is consumed in Europe and North America.\u201d<\/p>\n The data underlying the report is available online<\/a> and can be used to tailor different planetary health diets for the tastes of people in specific countries and of different ages. The website also shows how much the diets reduce deaths, improve nutrition, and cut environmental impacts. \u201cHopefully this will lead to more science-based policymaking,\u201d said Springmann.<\/p>\n \u2018What needs to be reduced differs a lot [from country to country]. In low income countries, it\u2019s the starchy foods and grains.\u2019 Photograph: eFesenko\/Alamy<\/p>\n The PHD is better than current average diets for many nutrients, including fatty acids, fibre, folate, magnesium and zinc. Adequate iron and vitamin B12 could be provided by green leafy vegetables, fermented soy foods and algae, the researchers said.<\/p>\n Moving diets towards the PHD could be achieved by helping consumers make better everyday choices, said Prof Line Gordon, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, for example by shifting taxes to make healthy foods cheaper, and putting warning labels on unhealthy foods. \u201cBut it is not just about getting prices lower, it\u2019s also about bringing purchasing power up so that people can afford a healthier diet\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur recommendations are grounded in scientific evidence and real-world experience,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cChanges are already under way, from school meal programmes to regenerative agriculture and food waste reduction initiatives.\u201d England banned price promotions on unhealthy foods<\/a> on Wednesday and will ban advertising such foods online<\/a>.<\/p>\n The report estimates that food-related ill health and environmental damage costs society about $15tn a year. It said investments to transform the food system would cost $200bn to $500bn a year, but save $5tn.<\/p>\n Alongside a shift in diets, the report calls for other changes to the food system, including cutting the loss and waste of food, greener farming practices, and decent working conditions, as a third of food workers earn below living wages.<\/p>\n\n