Planetary Health Diet
- Feb 14
- 4 min read
I recently read a lengthy article on https://www.cspi.org titled Planetary health diet: Good for you and the Earth by Caitlin Dow, PhD. You can read the entire article from that website, but I found it interesting enough to summarize it a bit with my usual witty somewhat offbeat commentary:
In 2019, the EAT-Lancet Commission released its PLANETARY HEALTH DIET which outlined how we can feed the expected 10 billion people by 2050 without causing undue harm to the environment. It was recently updated in October 2025 with the latest data.
You may be wondering what our dietary habits have to do with the environment? Well, put down that tuna and rye for a minute and I'll tell you.
The world's food system contributes about 30% of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. We're already seeing the effects in a global intensity of storms, droughts, wildfires and heat waves. And yes, I know some of you are shaking your heads saying climate change isn't really a thing. But no matter what your politics, the world is seeing some gonzo changes in the environment that are affecting our food supply. When crop fields flood, it affects harvests. Extreme heat hurts both livestock and crops as well.
The people who study our environment are documenting the changes - they're seeing entire species of animals going extinct because they're being driven out of their natural habitats because we need their land to grow more food. (Move over Bucky Beaver, we need your home to feed people). We're seeing a scarcity of freshwater, we're overusing pesticides, fertilizers and antibiotics which cause other problems.
What's the answer? We've got to retool our thinking in a few ways:
We need to reduce food loss/waste
We need to improve our food production models
We need to change our diets
When our mothers told us we needed to finish what was on our plates, she probably didn't know how right she was. From a global perspective, we waste:
Approximately 2.88 million tons of food PER DAY.
Approximately one BILLION wasted meals very single day
Approximately 45 TRILLION gallons of fresh water annually
From a global perspective, the experts say humans waste anywhere from 35% to 40% of their food EVERY DAY. And guess what? Even that wasted food consumes our resources and produces greenhouse gases. (roughly10% gases, 24% of agricultural water).
The crazy part is that despite all this food being thrown away, we still have 783 MILLION people that are undernourished on a daily basis. You don't have to be Rockefellers (or Elon Musk, Larry Page or Mark Zuckerberg for that matter) to realize that the way we produce, eat and waste food isn't helping us.
Depending on where you live in the world, the strategies vary. The United States, Europe, China and India, use too much nitrogen and phosphorus-based fertilizers. Africa needs to use MORE fertilizer because so much of their soil is depleted. We need a shift.
Surprisingly, changing our diet will have the biggest impact on climate change.
The experts recommend a Mediterranean-style as the best diet for our health which typically includes:
It also centers on minimally processed, plant-based foods. Wine may be consumed in low to moderate amounts, usually with meals. Fruit is a common dessert instead of sweets. Poultry is more common than red meat in this diet.
If it's all Greek to you and you enjoy red meat, you may want to opt for the number 2 healthy diet, the Flexitarian Diet:
Eat mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.
Focus on protein from plants instead of animals.
Incorporate meat and animal products from time to time.
Eat the least processed, most natural forms of foods.
Limit added sugar and sweets.
A standard American diet has a lot of room for improvement from a planetary health diet. We need to eat more whole grains as opposed to refined grains, potatoes and increase our nuts, beans and lentils. We also need to reduce the amount of red meat we eat, reduce added sugars and the portion size of foods that we eat. Our oversized meals are contributing heavily to our oversized bodies.
Our obsession with red meat here in the U.S. isn't helping the environment either. The production of red meat requires vast amounts of land for grazing and growing feed crops like soy and corn - nearly 80% of global farmland is used for livestock. Our demand is also driving deforestation, especially in the Amazon, where forests are cleared for cattle ranching. In 2024 alone, the Amazon saw over 1.7 hectares of deforestation (approximately 4.2 MILLION acres). If you remember what you learned in science, the Amazon produces enormous amounts of oxygen to the world while absorbing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide. Think about that the next time you're dining at Buffalo Bob's Blazing Big Burger Bonanza.
It's a new year. New habits, new commitments to improving our health and our lives. Why not go for a two-fer and help to improve our environment as well? It's a win-win. :)
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