New global report warns food systems breach planetary limits
Estimated reading time: 1:40 | Adapted from the original press release
Presenting the most comprehensive global scientific evaluation of food systems to date, the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission released its report on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems. Dr. Jennifer Clapp, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, is a contributing author having worked on the justice section that stresses the importance of equity and rights as important features of healthy and sustainable food systems.
Among the report’s key messages are that food systems are the largest contributor to the transgression of five planetary boundaries and that the wealthiest 30 per cent of people drive more than 70 per cent of food-related impacts. The report stresses the importance of food systems transformation to reduce these impacts and to make those systems more equitable and just.
“Rising corporate concentration and power in food systems is one of the drivers of inequities that threaten the exercise of people’s rights in food systems, and it’s significant that the Commission chose to highlight this issue,” says Clapp.
The Commission was led by international experts in nutrition, climate, economics, health, social sciences and agriculture from more than 35 countries across six continents. They found that shifting global diets could prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths per year. At the same time, concerted global efforts to transform food systems could bring us back within planetary climate change boundaries and cut annual greenhouse gas emissions from food systems by more than half compared with a business-as-usual scenario. However, the analysis warns that even with a complete global transition away from fossil fuels, food systems could still push temperatures beyond 1.5°C.
Participating in global scientific collaborations is central to how the Faculty of Environment advances its vision of driving transformative change for people and the planet. It also reflects a broader strength of the University of Waterloo, which is known for championing partnerships across academia, industry, and communities. This commitment to collaboration fuels boundary-breaking research and is one of the many reasons Waterloo is recognized as a leader in sustainability research and education.
