The EAT-Lancet Commission released a report on this topic in 2019. The Commission is made up of 37 scientists from around the world in the fields of food, health and planet. The Report focuses on the two main goals: “Healthy Diets” and “Sustainable Food Production”. For this purpose the authors elaborated  a specific form of nutrition, the “Planetary Health Diet”. This diet is supposed to be optimal for human health as well as for the planet. It should mainly consist of plant-based foods and optionally be supplemented to a small extent with fish, meat or dairy products (Fig. 1). The “Planetary Health Diet” represents a rough guideline, which is open to local interpretation and adaptation to consider cultural and geographical aspects. Furthermore, a diet consisting mainly of plant-based food is unrealistic for countries struggling with malnutrition. Therefore, the amount of meat consumption is relevant in the context of the particular region or country. Besides the “Planetary Health Diet” the Commission has its focus on improved food production practices, and reduced food waste or loss. The report elaborated five strategies for a global food transformation. These include, for example, “seek international and national commitment to dietary change”, like the “Planetary Health Diet” or “sustainably intensify food production to increase high-quality output”. Another strategy bases on the protection of biodiversity and aims saving natural ecosystems and species-rich forests from the conversion into new agricultural land (Willett et al., 2019).

The World Resources Institute suggested in the World Resources Report (WRR) a slightly  different way to ensure the nutrition for the population in 2050. The basic principle, shown in the report, is to close the gaps in food production, agricultural land area and greenhouse gas emissions. The authors assume that the need of food in 2050 is 56% higher compared to the amount that is available in 2010. The needed agricultural land will increase as well by almost 600 million hectares in this period. Furthermore, the difference between the estimated annual GHG emission from agriculture and land-use change (about 15 GT) and the aimed value to achieve the climate targets (about 4 GT), represents the last of the three gaps. In a detailed catalog of 22 measures the WRR lists prospects to close those three gaps and addresses thereby five main topics. This approach is similar to the one mentioned in the report above. However, the focus is more on environmental aspects and less on human health. One of the main topics focuses on reducing GHG emissions from agricultural production.  Two other strategies lie on increasing food production without expanding agricultural land and on protecting and restoring natural ecosystems. The amount of food consumed today would be insufficient to feed the people in 30 years (Fig. 2). Hence, the WRR, as well as the report of EAT-Lancet Commission, appeals to a moderate ruminant meat consumption. While the space requirement of ruminant livestock is huge, with about 30% of the global agriculture land, the provision of calories and protein is generally low. Therefore, one item in the WRR’s catalog is to transform especially the diets of people who consume high amounts of calories and animal-based food, to a more sustainable one (Searchinger et al., 2014).

In conclusion it is both possible and necessary to feed the 10 million people on this earth by 2050 in a sustainable way. However, data strongly indicates that this requires a fundamental change in the global food system and a close cooperation between the various parties, such as governments, businesses and consumers. The ideas that are outlined above are only small excerpts from two different reports and there are many other ideas and strategies. In the end there is no right or wrong and it is not essential which approach is chosen, but rather that a global decision is made as soon as possible and that it is implemented with concrete actions. This is the only way to ensure a diet that is healthy and sustainable for the population in 2050 and the only option to comply with the SDGs set by the UN as well as the Paris Agreement.

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