Ensure access to and adoption of healthier, more sustainable diets for all

Balancing food security with climate and biodiversity goals

Achieving global food and nutrition security in the coming decades, while also meeting climate and biodiversity goals, requires significant changes to both food production and consumption. Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and reducing food waste are critical steps to reducing emissions and minimizing agricultural expansion into high-carbon and biodiverse ecosystems. However, such shifts alone are insufficient to help limit warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) and conserve biodiversity, given the projected demand for animal-based foods from rising incomes and population growth.

Dietary shifts away from ruminant meat and other animal-based foods and toward plant-based foods will be necessary to keep emissions in line with pathways that limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C. Moderating consumption of emissions- and land-intensive foods like beef should be concentrated among high-consuming populations in regions like North and South America, Europe and Oceania. By contrast, improving nutrition and food security in low-income and under-consuming populations will likely involve increasing animal product consumption, especially among young children.

Across all regions, consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds generally needs to increase, alongside balancing under- and over-consumption to ensure adequate but not excessive nutrient intake. These dietary shifts can improve health as well as reduce risks of micronutrient deficiencies and diet-related diseases. Additionally, to fully address hunger and food insecurity, changes to food production and consumption must be paired with broader efforts to address poverty, gender disparities, political instabilities, and limited access to health and social services.
 

What governments and companies can do to promote healthy and sustainable diets

Governments and companies are beginning to recognize their role in enabling more sustainable food consumption patterns. For example, a growing number of countries are incorporating sustainability considerations into their dietary guidelines, recognizing the impact of diet on climate change. At the same time, broader efforts are needed to comprehensively advance healthy and sustainable diets through national policies, such as including dietary shifts in climate mitigation commitments; increasing the share of agricultural subsidies for pulses, fruits and vegetables; and offering public education campaigns to increase consumer knowledge and skills to prepare healthy, plant-based meals.

Meanwhile, food companies are setting targets to reduce food-related emissions and increase alternative proteins in their portfolios. More corporate actions are needed to shift purchasing patterns, including reducing spending on marketing unhealthy and unsustainable foods.

Global efforts to advance shifts to healthy and sustainable diets must accelerate to match the pace and scale needed to meet climate and biodiversity goals while eliminating food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger.