Food security inequities worsen due to conflicts, climate change: Lancet

About half of the world's population may not be able to access healthy food, clean environment or earn a living wage, indicating inequities in human health that have been made worse by geopolitical conflicts and climate change, according to a new Lancet report.

Further, the world's food system -- contributing to 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions -- is the main driver of challenges the planet faces by impacting climate, biodiversity, land use change, among others, it said.

The crisis of inequity in access to conditions required for good human health and environmental harm due to global food systems threatens human health and the resilience of planet Earth, authors said in the '2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems'.

Launched in January 2019, the 'EAT-Lancet Commission' outlines recommendations for a 'planetary health diet' -- favouring fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes and small portions of meat and dairy -- and targets for achieving a sustainable food production by 2050.

The 2025 report "presents the most comprehensive scientific analysis of global food systems to date," the authors said.

"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," they wrote.

They added, "Although hunger has declined in some regions, recent increases linked to expanding conflicts and emergent climate change impacts have reversed this positive trend."  "The evidence laid out in our report is clear: the world must act boldly and equitably to ensure sustainable improvements. The choices we make today will determine the health of people and the planet for generations," Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, co-chair of the commission and director for nutrition, health and food security at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global parternship of organisations working on food security, said.

"Food systems are a major contributor to many of the crises we face today, and at the same time, the key to solving them," Thilsted said.

The report reinforces the planetary health diet, first described in the 2019 report as plant-rich, flexible diets, including whole grains -- about 150 grams or three to four servings per day.

Five hundred grams or five servings of fruits and vegetables, 25 grams of nuts and 75 grams of legumes such as beans and lentils (one serving of each) is recommended in the diet.

The "plant-rich diet" is supported by a moderate intake of foods obtained from animals, with red meat contributing zero-200 grams or one serving in a week and poultry up to 400 grams or two servings in a week.

Fish can constitute up to 700 grams or two servings in a week, and dairy up to 500 grams or one serving of milk, yogurt, or cheese per day, along with three to four eggs in a week, according to the recommendations.

Adherence to the dietary recommendations has been associated with significantly reduced risk of major chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and obesity, the report said.

Benefits also include an estimated 27 per cent lower risk of premature death, which may translate into averting around 15 million premature deaths every year globally, compared to current diets, it said.

While a reduced intake of red and processed meat is recommended, the diet ensures sufficient intake of protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin B12 through diverse plant and moderate animal sources, the authors said.