8 Oct 2025

Why what we eat matters more than ever

Healthy, Sustainable and Just Food Systems

The 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission report leaves no room for doubt: our food system is pushing the planet beyond its safe operating space. For the first time, researchers have measured the system’s impact across all 9 planetary boundaries and found that food is the single biggest driver of biodiversity loss, land use, freshwater depletion, nitrogen and phosphorous pollution, and a major contributor to climate change.

At the same time, poor diets (high in refined grains, saturated fats, salt, added sugars, and red meat) have become a leading cause of chronic disease worldwide, fueled by the easy availability of unhealthy options.

The bottom line: The food we produce and eat shapes both planetary health and human health.

person standing near vegetables

What is EAT-Lancet?

The EAT-Lancet Commission brings together world-leading scientists to define what a healthy and sustainable diet looks like, for both people and the planet. Their landmark reports, published in The Lancet in 2019 and 2025, set science-based targets for transforming global food systems within Earth’s limits.

Learn more

What needs to change?

The EAT-Lancet 2.0 findings are a wake-up call, but also a roadmap for action.

The report shows that getting the global food system back within the planet’s safe operating space is still possible, but only with strong, large-scale action. According to the EAT-Lancet Commission, 3 big shifts are key: 

  • Producing food more efficiently and sustainably

  • Reducing food loss and waste 

  • Shifting global diets toward the Planetary Health Diet, a flexible, largely plant-based way of eating that supports both people and planet.

Adopting this dietary pattern could prevent roughly 27% of the total deaths worldwide and reduce the rates of many chronic diseases.

Even with ambitious efforts, the report warns that challenges will remain. While climate and freshwater use could return to safer levels, pressure on nitrogen and phosphorus cycles would still be high, though much lower than today. Wider adoption of circular approaches, such as closing nutrient loops and improving resource efficiency, could reduce these pressures and help move to a truly sustainable food system.

Building on its 2019 edition, EAT-Lancet 2.0 brings stronger science, richer data, and a crucial new focus on justice. The message is clear: the food transition must be sustainable, healthy, and fair, inclusive of all people and respectful of cultural differences.

man and woman standing in front of table

What is Planetary Health Diet?

A flexible eating pattern designed to keep people healthy while protecting the planet,  It emphasizes mostly plant-based foods - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds - with moderate amounts of dairy, fish, and poultry, and limited red meat, sugar, and highly processed foods.

From science to solutions

Where Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk fits in

For us, this new report is both validation and motivation. The EAT-Lancet report 2.0 defines what needs to happen, our work focuses on how to make it happen.

Linking nutrition and environment through robust data

Using our high-quality, farm-to-fork LCA Food Databases, we help businesses evaluate the nutritional and environmental performance of foods side by side. Our integrated data enables nutritional LCAs and hotspot analyses across the entire value chain. 

More about LCA Databases

Using advanced modelling to shape healthy, sustainable diets

We combine our LCA data with diet optimization tools to identify realistic dietary shifts that meet both nutritional and sustainability targets. Because there is no “one-size-fits-all” diet, we tailor analyses to reflect local habits, food systems, and cultures. In our study with WWF-NL, for instance, we aligned environmental indicators with the EAT-Lancet planetary boundaries to design a Dutch diet that stays within safe limits while meeting population nutrition needs.

Check our study for WWF NL

Turning global goals into practical pathways

We bridge the gap between global ambitions and real-world action. In a study for the food sector, we translated IPCC climate targets into actionable GHG reduction goals, linking global climate ambitions to specific, measurable steps for companies and policymakers.

Read publication on healthy and sustainable diets

This is exactly the space where we add value, bridging science and action through high-quality environmental data, advanced modelling, and actionable insights. We help food system stakeholders explore pathways and define their role in the transition to sustainable, nutritious and culturally relevant diets.

At Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk, we’re ready to support you to turn these global insights into action, and make sustainable nutrition a reality.  

Contact us to turn sustainable nutrition into action

Reach out to us

Alessandra Grasso
Alessandra Grasso
Consultant - Sustainable Nutrition Specialist

Get in touch with Alessandra to learn more about our expertise on sustainable nutrition and how we can support you to put it into action.