31 May 2024 – Adopting a planetary health diet similar to the traditional Mediterranean diet could result in significant global benefits, including 15 million fewer deaths annually, a 29% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 51% reduction in land use, and an economic, health, and environmental boost worth $5 trillion each year. These findings stem from research conducted by the EAT-Lancet Commission.
The results were unveiled on Wednesday at the Athens Academy of Sciences by Walter C. Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Willett emphasized that food systems are responsible for approximately one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. He pointed out that even if fossil fuel consumption were completely eliminated, the Paris climate agreement targets would remain out of reach unless there is a transformation in food production and consumption systems. The primary challenge, according to Willett, is figuring out how to sustainably and healthily feed a projected global population of 9.8 billion by 2050.