BENDING THE CURVE: THE RESTORATIVE POWER OF PLANET-BASED DIETS

The report analyzes how shifting from current diets to planet-based diets—which prioritize plant-based foods over animal-source foods—can mitigate biodiversity loss, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower premature mortality globally. It identifies five strategic actions: reversing biodiversity loss, living within a global carbon budget for food, feeding humanity on existing cropland, achieving negative emissions, and optimizing crop yields. While global trends show clear benefits, the report emphasizes that impacts vary by country; for instance, some undernourished nations may see increased land-use pressure if dietary improvements are not coupled with sustainable production and reduced waste. The document concludes with policy recommendations for national governments to integrate sustainable diets into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and update National Dietary Guidelines (NDGs).

• The global food system is a primary driver of environmental degradation, contributing approximately 27% of total global greenhouse gas emissions and acting as the main driver of biodiversity loss and tropical deforestation.
• Shifting toward planet-based diets can significantly reduce global biodiversity loss, with estimated reductions ranging from 5% for a flexitarian diet up to 46% for a vegan diet.
• To stay within the planetary boundary for food production emissions, total greenhouse gas emissions from the food system must be reduced to a maximum of 5 Gt CO2-eq.
• Dietary shifts can facilitate negative emissions by freeing up agricultural land for reforestation and restoration; globally, this could sequester approximately 9 Gt CO2 per year.
• Feeding a projected global population of 10 billion people by 2050 within planetary boundaries requires halting the expansion of new agricultural land and utilizing existing cropland primarily for human consumption rather than livestock feed.
• Adopting planet-based diets can reduce premature mortality in all countries, though the drivers differ: some nations benefit from reducing overall intake, while others benefit from increasing intake of nutrient-dense plant foods.
• National Dietary Guidelines (NDGs) in most countries are currently insufficient to meet global health and environmental targets and often align more closely with unsustainable current consumption patterns.
• In certain biodiversity-rich tropical countries, such as India and Indonesia, shifting to healthier diets to combat undernutrition could actually increase biodiversity loss if not combined with improved production practices and reduced food waste.
• Dietary shifts can reduce water use and eutrophication in some regions; for example, a flexitarian diet could reduce overall water use by up to 8% in the United States and 15% in China.

APA

Loken, B., Opperman, J., Orr, S., Fleckenstein, M., Halevy, S., McFeely, P., Park, S., & Weber, C. (2020). BENDING THE CURVE: THE RESTORATIVE POWER OF PLANET-BASED DIETS. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/444/7b5iok5vqz_Bending_the_Curve__The_Restorative_Power_of_Planet_Based_Diets__aLZAkH0.pdf.pdf

Chicago

Loken, Brent, Jeff Opperman, Stuart Orr, Martina Fleckenstein, Sarah Halevy, Peter McFeely, Sarah Park, and Christopher Weber. BENDING THE CURVE: THE RESTORATIVE POWER OF PLANET-BASED DIETS. WWF International, 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/444/7b5iok5vqz_Bending_the_Curve__The_Restorative_Power_of_Planet_Based_Diets__aLZAkH0.pdf.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{loken2020bending, author = {Loken, Brent and Opperman, Jeff and Orr, Stuart and Fleckenstein, Martina and Halevy, Sarah and McFeely, Peter and Park, Sarah and Weber, Christopher}, title = {{BENDING THE CURVE: THE RESTORATIVE POWER OF PLANET-BASED DIETS}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/444/7b5iok5vqz_Bending_the_Curve__The_Restorative_Power_of_Planet_Based_Diets__aLZAkH0.pdf.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }