Businesses advancing social justice in food systems

People are at the center of food system transformation according to the new 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission

In 2019 leading scientists published the first science-based recommended ‘The Planetary Health Diet’ for healthy diets that can be produced within planetary boundaries ⁽¹⁾. Back then, the social dimensions were not fully in scope yet. This changed with the new 2025 report ‘The EAT-Lancet commission on healthy, sustainable and just food systems’: The ‘social perspective’ has now been put right at the middle of the necessary food system transformation ⁽²⁾. Shakuntala Thilsted, Commission co-chair explains: “We have to include ‘Justice’ as it relates to People: All People eat food [..]. And People are integral for the solutions we need to be healthy and the planet to survive”.

What does Justice mean in food systems?

In a ‘just’ food system people have the freedom and agency to make the best choices for their own well-being. he Commission identified 3 rights related to food systems ‘Right to Food’, ‘Right to Decent Work’, and the ‘Right to a Healthy Environment’ – all rooted in the UN Human Rights Declaration and frameworks of the UN High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) ⁽³⁾.

Progressive businesses drive social justice across their business

The Commission recommends strong internal governance in companies, to ensure employee agency and freedom of expression for their own employees, inclusive hiring practices as well as human rights policies and grievance mechanisms for their own operations and supply chains We see around the world that progressive multinationals lead the way in implementing social

sustainability programs across their businesses and supply chains. They are advancing access to healthy foods, enhancing living and working circumstances and support healthy, biodiverse, and resilient landscapes.

For businesses, tackling inequality is both a moral and strategic imperative. Investments are contributing to supply chain stability, better business relations, reduced reputational risks, and preparedness for emerging regulations ⁽⁴⁾. Socially responsible business practices – such as human rights due diligence, decent work and ethical conduct – are correlated with modestly higher revenues and return on capital employed ⁽⁵⁾.

Let’s explore different dimensions of Social Justice as highlighted by the EAT-Lancet commission – and how companies are contributing:

Right to food

The ‘Right to Food’ is fundamental to social justice in food systems. Unfortunately, worldwide 2.6 billion people do not have access to a healthy diet ⁽²⁾. Progressive agri-food companies play an active role in improving access to and affordability of nutritious food – starting with workers in their own business and supply chain ⁽⁶⁾.

Julie Greene, CSO of Olam Agri: “Through our Food Security and Nutrition work Olam Agri aims to support 200,000 households by 2030 to improve their nutritional status. Last year our programs reached 122,000 households across the world ⁽⁷⁾. Initiatives include providing inputs and trainings for home gardens to stimulate nutritious vegetable production, support in growing poultry to boost protein consumption and training and sensitization campaigns on what comprises a healthy diet. Good nutrition improves farmers’ quality of life, bolsters community resilience and strengthens our relationships with suppliers.”

Right to decent work: living wages and living income

More than a billion people earn less than what is needed for a decent standard of living ⁽⁸⁾. For a dignified and decent standard of living of households, a ‘living wage’ for workers, and a ’living income’ for self-employed farmers is emerging as the minimum ⁽⁹⁾. Earning a living wage is not only fair for the workers, 93% of companies paying a living wage report business benefits. ⁽¹⁰⁾.

Yann Wyss, Global Head for Social Impact and Human Rights of Nestlé, explains: “We actively work with farmers in our supply chains to help them close the living income gap. With our Nestlé Income Accelerator Program, we support farmers with good agricultural practices to improve productivity and create additional income sources in the cocoa sector -resulting in higher incomes and better social conditions – which also means stronger relationships with Nestlé and our business partners. We are already reaching 30,000 cocoa farmers in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana and it is our goal to scale and reach an estimated 160,000 farmers worldwide by 2030 ^{(11, 12)}”

Julie Greene: “At Olam Agri, we continually assess the net household incomes in our supply chains. Where need arises, we provide trainings to diversify incomes, support Village Savings and Loans Associations and help to improve yields. We currently support over 300,000 farming households across our global supply chains. We aim to improve the household net incomes, strengthening resilience across our supply chains and improving supplier relations” ⁽¹³⁾.

Right to decent work: farmer training

The EAT-Lancet Commission recommends advancing farmers trainings – especially women and youth – to improve productivity and efficiency and preparedness for transitions.

Julie Greene shares the unique and holistic approach of Olam Agri ”We support farmers in adapting new technologies to reduce post-harvest losses, often in partnership with organizations such as Wageningen University. In Nigeria we are helping rice, wheat and sesame farmers to shift from manual to mechanized harvesting and threshing of rice. Our interventions have the potential to reduce post-harvest losses by half for 18,000 supported farmers in our Nigerian supply chains, improving their incomes while significantly reducing the emission intensity per kg of consumed produce, benefitting the farmer, the company and the planet. Ultimately Olam Agri aims to cut harvest- and post-harvest losses in half for 20,000 farmers by 2030 ⁽¹⁴⁾.

Yann Wyss: “For Nestlé, building resilience in farms, communities and ecosystems is a business priority. To secure supply also in the future, we pursue farming as an attractive career ⁽¹⁵⁾. We train and upskill our farmers – especially on regenerative agriculture, soil health and agroforestry practices. Nestlé aims to have 50% of all key ingredients sourced from regenerative agriculture farms–already reaching 20% by 2025 ⁽¹⁶⁾. Training in regenerative agriculture can lead to an income increase now and farm resilience in the future, which improves our security of supply”.

Equity as the unlocker for a sustainable and just future

We see leading companies already embedding Social Equity throughout their value chains to support the transition to more healthy, sustainable and just food systems.

For businesses tackling inequality is a moral responsibility and strategic imperative. Investments help to reduce risks and create business value: stronger supply chain stability, improved business relations, reducing reputational risks, alignment with investor expectations and staying ahead of regulatory changes.

Social Justice is now recognized as a prerequisite for future proofing food systems. But social foundations are equally relevant for other sectors, like energy, textiles and apparel, chemical sector, built environment and transport and mobility preparing for just transitions. Access to basic needs, safeguarding decent work, healthy livelihoods are paramount to create the just transitions that are needed in all sectors – by people for people ⁽¹⁷⁾.

The EAT-Lancet Commission is welcomed as an important scientific reference point for sustainable, just and future proof food systems. We see it as valuable input to help businesses enhance resilience, ensure stability, and remain competitive in a changing market. Achieving this transition must have people at its heart — a principle WBCSD has long championed through our People Action work, our focus on livelihoods, and our engagement with agriculture and food value chains.

Building on the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission, WBCSD will continue to provide forward-looking companies with the tools, insights, and platforms they need to translate global scientific developments into actionable business strategies.

We call out to business leaders in all industries to use Equity as the unlocker for the necessary transitions towards a sustainable and just future – in which all people can flourish.