The global context has shifted dramatically since publication of the first EAT–Lancet Commission in 2019, with increased geopolitical instability, soaring food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and creating new challenges. However, food systems remain squarely centred at the nexus of food security, human health, environmental sustainability, social justice, and the resilience of nations. Actions on food systems strongly impact the lives and wellbeing of all and are necessary to progress towards goals highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Although current food systems have largely kept pace with population growth, ensuring sufficient caloric intake for many, they are the single most influential driver of planetary boundary transgression. More than half of the world’s population struggles to access healthy diets, leading
to devastating consequences for public health, social equity, and the environment. Although hunger has declined in some regions, recent increases linked to expanding conflicts and emergent climate change impacts have reversed this positive trend. Obesity rates continue to rise globally, and the pressure exerted by food systems on planetary boundaries shows no signs of abating. In this moment of increasing instability, food systems still offer an unprecedented opportunity to build the resilience of environmental, health, economic, and social systems, and are uniquely placed to enhance human wellbeing while also contributing to Earth-system stability.
This updated analysis builds upon the 2019 EAT–Lancet Commission, expanding its scope and strengthening its evidence base. The first Commission defined food group ranges for a healthy diet and identified the food systems’ share of planetary boundaries. In this Commission, we add an analysis of the social foundations for a just food system, and incorporate new data and perspectives on distributive, representational, and recognitional justice, providing a global overview on equity in food systems. Substantial improvements in modelling capacity and data analysis allow for the use of a multimodel ensemble to project potential outcomes of a transition to healthy and sustainable food systems.
JOHAN Rockstrom;
THILSTED Shakuntala;
WILLETT Walter C.;
GORDON Line J.;
HERRERO Mario;
HICKS Christina C.;
MASON-D'CROZ Daniel;
RAO Nitya;
SPRINGMANN Marco;
WRIGHT Ellen Cecille;
AGUSTINA Rina;
BAJAJ Sumati;
BUNGE Anne Charlotte;
CARDUCCI Bianca;
CONTI Constanza;
COVIC Namukolo;
FANZO Jessica;
NITA Forouhi G.;
GIBSON Matthew;
GU Xiao;
KEBREAB Ermias;
KREMEN Claire;
LAILA Amar;
LAXMINARAYAN Ramanan;
MARTEAU Theresa;
MONTEIRO Carlos;
NORBERG Anna;
NJUKI Jemimah;
OLIVEIRA Thais Diniz;
PAN Wen-Han;
RIVERA Juan A.;
ROBINSON James;
SUNDIANG Marina;
WIERIK Sofie Te;
VAN VUUREN Detlef;
VERMEULEN Sonja;
WEBB Patrick;
ALQODMANI Lujain;
AMBIKAPATHI Ramya;
BARNHILL Anne;
BAUDISH Isabel;
BEIER Felicitas;
BEILLOUIN Damien;
BEUSEN A.;
BREIER Jannes;
CHEMARIN Charlotte;
CHEPELIEV Maksym;
CLAPP Jennifer;
DE VRIES Wim;
PEREZ DOMINGUEZ Ignacio;
ESTRADA CARMONA Natalia;
GERTEN Dieter;
GOLDEN Christopher D.;
JONES Sarah;
JOGENSEN Peter Sogaard;
KOZICKA Marta;
LOTZE-CAMPEN Hermann;
MAGGI Federico;
MARZI Emma;
MISHRA Abhijeet;
ORDUNA Fernando;
POPP Alexander;
SCHULTE-UEBING Lena;
STEHFEST Elke;
TANG Fiona H M;
TSUCHIYA Kazuaki;
VAN ZANTEN Hannah;
VAN ZEIST Willem-Jan;
XIN Zhao;
DECLERK Fabrice;
2026-02-06
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
JRC143132
1474-547X (online),
https://www.thelancet.com/commissions-do/eat-2025,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-673601201-2,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC143132,
10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01201-2 (online),
