New diet, new destiny? saving the planet takes more than changing what we eat

Originally published as an Op-Ed on FoodTank

Can changing our diet save the planet? When the EAT-Lancet Commission launched a new landmark report last month, it was widely interpreted as saying that forking down less red meat and more vegetables should ensure that we can provide nutritious food for 10 billion people while maintaining a healthy Earth.

However, while changing our diets can help turn around planetary degradation, the challenge is greater than that. As the EAT-Lancet commission points out, the way we produce our food must also be changed to ease the pressure on natural resources, not least water.

What’s surprising is that the relationship between water and nutritious food is not particularly well understood. Recently, I, along with colleagues from the…