Planetary Health Diet
The EAT-Lancet Commission defined a reference diet for feeding 10 billion people within planetary boundaries. How does your plate compare?
What would it take to feed 10 billion people without destroying the planet? The EAT-Lancet Commission brought together 37 scientists from 16 countries to answer exactly that.
The Reference Plate
The EAT-Lancet reference diet targets 2,500 kcal/day. Here is how those calories are distributed across food groups.
| Food Group | g/day | kcal | % |
|---|
Your Plate vs the Planet's Plate
How do typical national diets compare to the EAT-Lancet reference? Select a country to see the gap.
EAT-Lancet Reference
Typical American
Grams per Day: Reference vs Typical American
Environmental Impact of Food
Not all foods are created equal when it comes to their planetary footprint. Greenhouse gas emissions vary dramatically by food group.
gas emissions
land used
withdrawals
Health Benefits of the Planetary Diet
The EAT-Lancet Commission estimated that a global dietary shift could substantially reduce premature mortality and chronic disease.
prevented per year
chronic disease
type 2 diabetes
TriageMethod Optimal vs. EAT-Lancet
Two evidence-based approaches to healthy eating — one optimised for individual health and performance (TriageMethod), the other for planetary boundaries (EAT-Lancet). Where do they agree, and where do they diverge?
| Dimension | 🏋️ TriageMethod | 🌍 EAT-Lancet | Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 1.8–2.2 g/kg | ~0.8 g/kg | ✗ TM targets 2–3× more, largely from animal sources |
| Fibre | 10–15 g/1000 kcal | ~45 g/day | ✓ Both well above typical Western intake |
| Omega-3 (EPA+DHA) | 2.0–5.0 g/day | 0.25 g/day | ✗ TM targets 8–20× more, requiring fish or supplements |
| Saturated fat | <10% kcal | ~8% kcal | ✓ Broadly aligned on moderation |
| Red meat | Food-agnostic | 14 g/day max | ~ TM is source-agnostic; EAT-Lancet limits for planetary reasons |
| Vegetables & fruit | Via fibre target | 500 g/day | ✓ Both encourage high intake; EAT-Lancet is more prescriptive |
| Micronutrients | 100% RDA all | Not explicit | ~ TM explicitly tracks; EAT-Lancet assumes adequacy from diversity |
| Primary goal | Individual health & performance | Planetary boundaries & population health | Different optimisation targets |
Adjust for Your Calorie Level
See how both diets look at your calorie target. EAT-Lancet food groups scale proportionally from the 2,500 kcal reference. TriageMethod macros derive from body weight.
| Macro / Target | 🏋️ TriageMethod | 🌍 EAT-Lancet |
|---|
EAT-Lancet Food Group Targets
| Food Group | g/day | kcal |
|---|
What If Your Country Adopted the Planetary Health Diet?
Select a country to estimate how many dietary deaths could be prevented if national food supply aligned with PHD targets for fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts & seeds.
Environmental Footprint: Your Country vs the Planet’s Diet
What would happen to your country’s environmental footprint if everyone shifted to the Planetary Health Diet? Compare greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use per capita.
GHG Breakdown by Food Category
If Country A Ate Like Country B
Compare any two countries’ food supply patterns and see how adopting a different national diet would change environmental footprint and dietary health outcomes.
Food Supply Comparison
Environmental Footprint Change
Dietary Health Indicator
What If You Changed Your Country’s Diet?
Select a country and adjust food group sliders to model hypothetical dietary shifts. See the real-time impact on environmental footprint and dietary health risk indicators.
Environmental Footprint Impact
Dietary Health Risk Indicators
The Great Food Transformation
The EAT-Lancet Commission concluded that a Great Food Transformation is needed to feed 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries by 2050. This requires roughly doubling global consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, while reducing red meat and added sugar consumption by more than 50%. The science is clear: what we eat is not just a personal health choice, but a planetary one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet?
The EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet is a science-based reference diet published in 2019 by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health. It defines a dietary pattern that can healthily feed 10 billion people by 2050 while staying within safe planetary boundaries for land use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions. The diet is largely plant-based, with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts forming the majority of caloric intake, and small optional amounts of animal-source foods.
How many lives could the Planetary Health Diet save?
The EAT-Lancet Commission estimated that a global shift to the Planetary Health Diet could prevent approximately 11 million premature deaths per year. The majority of these deaths are from cardiovascular disease, with additional reductions in type 2 diabetes (estimated 41% reduction) and overall chronic disease burden (estimated 19% reduction). These are modelled estimates based on comparative risk assessment frameworks.
What percentage of global emissions come from the food system?
The global food system accounts for approximately 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). It also uses about 50% of habitable land and 70% of global freshwater withdrawals. Red meat production is by far the most resource-intensive food group, producing roughly 27 kg of CO2-equivalent per kilogram of product, compared to less than 1 kg for most plant foods.
Data Sources & Limitations
Reference diet: Willett et al. (2019), "Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems," The Lancet, 393(10170), 447-492.
Environmental data: Poore & Nemecek (2018), "Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers," Science, 360(6392), 987-992.
Typical diets: Approximate national averages derived from FAO Food Balance Sheets and USDA dietary intake surveys. These are illustrative estimates, not precise measurements.
Limitations: The EAT-Lancet diet is a reference framework, not a rigid prescription. Individual nutritional needs vary by age, sex, activity level, and health status. The health impact estimates are modelled projections with inherent uncertainty. Environmental impact data represents global averages and varies significantly by production method and region.
Explore Related Topics
See also: Risk Factor Overview · Deficiency Atlas · Cost of Nutrition · Nutrition Transition