Foundation behind world famous 'Planetary Health Diet' is shutting down

In a statement, the foundation said the decision follows ”profound change in the international donor landscape”, where ”funding priorities and conditions have shifted significantly”.

As a result, the board has concluded that EAT’s current organisational and financial model is no longer resilient enough to sustain its ambitions.

"The world has changed, and the shifts in the international donor landscape are real," EAT's founder Gunhild Stordalen, a Norwegian physician and environmental advocate, wrote on LinkedIn.

Founded formally in 2016 alongside the world renowned Stockholm Resilience Centre, EAT championed evidence-based approaches to transforming the global food system.

Its most high-profile output, the EAT-Lancet report, argued for a largely plant-based “planetary health diet” designed to balance human and environmental wellbeing. The latest version of the diet was published in October last year.

What now?

The winding-down process will start immediately and from Oslo, where EAT is headquartered.

According to the foundation, key documentation will be archived to ensure that its scientific outputs remain accessible through partner institutions and established publication channels. The statement does not specify which partners will take on that role.

While the foundation will begin a formal wind-down this year, the board says it is exploring alternative structures with partners and funders that could allow selected flagship initiatives to continue – and potentially scale – beyond the limits of the current setup.

”Although no concrete arrangements have been agreed, there are encouraging indications of interest in sustaining projects that have delivered significant impact over the past decade," Stordalen in a press statement.

"The challenge hasn’t gone away," she continued. "If anything, it’s more pressing and the next chapter must be built to scale solutions in a way that is sustainable and fit for the world we are in."

In a LinkedIn post, Stordalen said the decision had been taken after careful consideration. She stressed that the need for a just transformation of the food system remains undiminished, and finished off with:

”To everyone working to build healthier, more sustainable and more just food systems: keep going.”

Impact Loop has approached EAT for further comment but has yet to receive a response.