The Planetary Health Diet

There are two big problems with the Planetary Health Diet. 

The first problem is that a lot of people can’t afford it.

So the EAT-Lancet team behind it were left with the dilemma: whether to water down their recommendations, or whether, globally, we should all be seeing to it that everyone can access a healthy diet.

Rightly, in my opinion, they went for the latter. The updated report, published at the end of last year, is substantially the same: advances in knowledge and evidence in six years have substantially reinforced the PHD published in 2019, but it has a big section on justice.

It defines “social foundations” of the diet: conditions that would enable basic human rights, including the right to food, decent work and healthy environments.

The second big problem is feeding everyone within planetary boundaries.

We’re wildly over-shooting our safe operating space. The report acknowledges that the challenges are immense. 

“Agricultural systems, particularly extensive monocultures, are the single largest drivers of both biosphere and ecosystem functional integrity loss”

But there’s mega good news: there is NO trade off between optimal diets and environmental health.

In fact, dietary change is a powerful driver towards planetary safety, supported by improvements to agricultural practices and reducing waste. 

What is the Planetary Health Diet?

Developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission, the PHD is based entirely on optimal health outcomes. It’s applicable globally (hence the name) – across different populations and contexts.

It is flexible and accommodates different food preferences and choices, including vegetarianism, veganism and pescatarianism.

It supports cultural and regional variation, emphasising the value of traditional diets – although currently all national diets deviate considerably. For example, the UK is over-reliant on animal protein, the US even more so, whereas countries in sub-saharan Africa are over-reliant on root crops. 

For details, check out the report, but the headlines of the PHD are:

• an appropriate energy intake; 
• a diversity of whole or minimally processed foods that are mostly plant sourced; 
• fats that are primarily unsaturated, with no partially hydrogenated oils; 
• small amounts of added sugars and salt

8 Priority Solutions

The EAT-Lancet Commission offers 8 priority solutions, and they are as relevant to us in Lincolnshire as anywhere. If you are involved in any of these, let’s work together – get in touch! Laura@lincolnshirefoodpartnership.org

(1) create food environments to increase demand for healthy diets, ensuring they are more accessible and affordable;

(2) protect and promote healthy traditional diets;

(3) implement sustainable and ecological intensification practices; 

(4) apply strong regulations to prevent loss of remaining intact ecosystems; 

(5) improve infrastructure, management, and consumer behaviour change to reduce food loss and waste; 

(6) secure decent working conditions;

(7) ensure meaningful representation for all; 

(8) recognise and protect marginalised groups

Thank you to the Lincoln Independent for publishing this article in 2026