A practical blueprint for healthier people and a healthier planet
The Planetary Health Diet is a practical, evidence-based approach to healthier, more sustainable eating. It can be applied across many settings, from hospitals and university campuses to workplace canteens, restaurants, and home kitchens.
Action Brief for Healthcare Professionals
Developed through dialogues convened by PAN International and EAT with more than 70 global health organisations, this brief provides practical guidance for healthcare professionals and organisations working to support healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable food systems.
Planetary Health Diet
What we eat has a major impact on both human and planetary health. Poor diets are a leading contributor to premature death and to the global burden of noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
The Planetary Health Diet is a flexible, science-based dietary pattern designed to support human health while reducing pressure on the environment.
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The Planetary Health Diet is a flexible dietary pattern developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission to support both human and planetary health. Rather than being a strict one-size-fits-all prescription, it offers a broad framework that can be adapted across cultures, regions, and food environments.
It emphasises a diverse intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and healthy plant-based foods, with smaller amounts of animal-source foods and fewer highly processed foods. Its aim is to help shift eating patterns in a way that supports better health outcomes while staying within planetary boundaries.
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Diet is one of the most powerful levers we have for improving health and reducing environmental harm. Current food systems are contributing to rising rates of diet-related disease, while also placing significant pressure on land, water, biodiversity, and the climate.
The Planetary Health Diet matters because it brings these challenges together in one practical framework. It helps show how healthier diets can also support more sustainable food systems, making it relevant not only to healthcare, but also to institutions, education, food service, policy, and everyday life.
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In practice, the Planetary Health Diet centres meals around plant-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and nuts, while reducing reliance on highly processed foods and large quantities of animal-source foods.
It is not about perfection or rigid rules. It is about moving towards more balanced, nutritious, and sustainable eating patterns in ways that are realistic and culturally relevant. This could look different in a hospital, university campus, workplace canteen, restaurant, or home kitchen, but the core principle remains the same: more plant-rich, minimally processed foods, and a healthier balance for both people and planet.
Implementing the Planetary Health Diet
Healthcare professionals have an important role to play in advancing healthier, more sustainable diets. But the Planetary Health Diet is not limited to clinical care alone. It can also help shape food environments across hospitals, university campuses, workplace canteens, restaurants, and communities.
As co-hosts of the Healthcare Professionals Community for Action, PAN International and EAT convened dialogues with 78 health professionals representing 72 organisations worldwide to translate the Planetary Health Diet into practical, sector-specific guidance. This process shaped the Action Brief, which outlines key priorities and actions to support transformation within healthcare and promote alignment across sectors.
Explore key actions, resources, and real-world examples to help bring the Planetary Health Diet into healthcare and other food environments.
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As co-hosts of the Healthcare Professionals Community for Action with EAT, PAN International convened healthcare organisations from around the world to explore how the Planetary Health Diet can be translated into action across healthcare systems, education, and policy.
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The Healthcare Professionals Action Brief is a practical framework outlining what the healthcare community must start, strengthen, and transform to accelerate the transition to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.
Integrate nutrition more fully into care and training
Prioritise prevention and healthier food environments
Move beyond fragmented approaches to diet and health
Work across sectors to support long-term systems change
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This Action Brief is a living tool that healthcare professionals and organisations are invited to explore, adapt, and apply in their own contexts.
Join the Healthcare Professionals Community for Action by writing to info@pan-int.org
Practical Resources
From Science to Action: Webinar Recording
Hosted by PAN International, this webinar features Professor Walter Willett, MD, Co-Chair of the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission, exploring the latest evidence behind the Planetary Health Diet and its relevance for clinical practice and public health.
The recording is available exclusively to PAN International Premium Members on PANCO.
Physician Factsheet: The Planetary Health Diet
This factsheet gives physicians a practical introduction to the Planetary Health Diet, including key recommendations, health and environmental benefits, nutrient considerations, and clinical relevance.
Access the factsheet for free on our global online community hub PANCO.
2025 EAT-Lancet Report Findings Summary
Explore our 2025 EAT-Lancet Report Findings Summary, created for physicians and health professionals. This resource summarises updates from the report, highlighting their relevance for health outcomes and practical applications in clinical settings.
Available exclusively to PAN International Premium Members on PANCO.
Planetary Health Diet Course Coming Soon!
Sign up and be the first to know when PAN's upcoming Planetary Health Diet course launches, along with new practical learning resources.
Accelerate the shift to healthy, sustainable diets and become part of our community
Join a growing global community advancing healthier, more sustainable diets
To join PAN International’s growing Healthcare Professionals Community for Action, email us at info@pan-int.org
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Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), American Heart Association, Botswanan LifeStyle Medicine Society - Sarai Holistic Care, CESNI, Convene, Dalhousie University, Doctors for Nutrition, Dr Tan & Remanlay Institute, EAT, Eat Better by Design, Federal University of Goiás, Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), Food and Planet, Fresh Medicine, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) & I-CAN, Greener Food, Hong Kong University, Howden, IMU University, INRAE, Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), Indonesian Society of Allergy and Immunology (ISAI), Institute for Global Health, University College London, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition (IFSN), Institute of Future Food Systems, Institute of Nutrition (Mahidol University), MRC Epidemiology Unit (University of Cambridge), MyNutriWeb, NHS England, NOURISH, NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, NutrishZen, ONAV, PAN Brazil, PAN International, PAN Israel, PAN Netherlands, PAN South Africa, Philippine Stakeholders for Nutrition and Dietetics (PSND) Inc., Philippines Regulations Commission, Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Food Value Chain in the Philippines (MV2C), Department of Agriculture & the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Physicians for the Future (Läkare för Framtiden), Plant-Based Data, Plant-Based Canada, Plant-based Health Professionals UK, Poltekkes Kemenkes Semarang, ProVeg International, ProVeg Portugal, Sociedad Chilena de Medicina y Nutrición Preventiva (SOCHIMENUP), South African Lifestyle Medicine Association, St John’s Innovation Centre, Swedish Association of Clinical Dietitians, Good Food Institute Europe, Green Dietitian, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Toronto Metropolitan University, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi MARA, University of Louvain, University College Léonard de Vinci, University of Ahmad Dahlan, University Of Mississippi Medical Center, University of Ghana, University of Indonesia Human Nutrition Research Center, University of Malta, University of Sao Paulo, World Health Organisation
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Afshin A, et al. (2019). Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30041-8
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Hay SI, et al. (2025). Burden of 375 diseases and injuries, risk-attributable burden of 88 risk factors, and healthy life expectancy in 204 countries and territories, including 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01917-8
IPCC. (2019). Climate Change and Land: An IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/
Rockström J, et al. (2025). The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01201-2
World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Fact sheet. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)
World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). Noncommunicable diseases. Fact sheet. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases
World Health Organization (WHO). (2024). Preventing diet-related noncommunicable diseases: Guideline for primary and secondary prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240115859