EARTHDAY.ORG has launched Food for Our Planet, a multiyear global campaign to transform how food is produced, consumed and valued, with the aim of building a healthier, more sustainable and fairer global food system.
The campaign was launched in Rome on 14 October 2026, as the World Food Forum met ahead of World Food Day, and it will be the central theme of Earth Day 2027 on 22 April 2027. It is built around three linked priorities: Healthy People, Healthy Soils and Healthy Futures.
Why food is now a climate and health campaign
According to EARTHDAY.ORG, today’s food systems are damaging both public health and the environment. Diet-related chronic diseases have reached epidemic proportions, while harmful pesticides, chemicals, plastics and microplastics and ultra-processed foods raise growing health concerns, and millions of people still lack access to healthy, affordable food.
At the same time, food production is a major driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water pollution and soil degradation. The campaign argues that fixing the food system requires fundamental change in how food is grown and eaten, including less reliance on industrial animal agriculture and a faster shift to healthier, more plant-based diets.
“We cannot continue to ignore the enormous toll our food system is taking on public health and the environment,” said Jillian Semaan, EARTHDAY.ORG’s Global Director of Food and Environment, at the launch. “Food for Our Planet is about mobilizing people, engaging governments and businesses, and building partnerships to drive meaningful change toward a healthier, more transparent food system that puts people and the planet first.”
What Food for Our Planet promises to do
Under Healthy People, the campaign aims to cut the use of harmful pesticides, chemicals, plastics and microplastics in food by 30 percent by 2040, push for mandatory labelling of all ultra-processed foods, and build a global movement of 10 million people committed to eating more plant-based foods. It also plans to expand plant-based options in schools and universities, mobilise at least 20 billion US dollars in investment in alternatives to harmful chemicals, and reach at least 100 million people with education about food, health and the environment.
Under Healthy Soils, it aims to move 100 million acres of farmland onto regenerative and other soil-restoring practices that improve soil health, increase carbon storage and restore surrounding ecosystems, while helping farmers reduce reliance on harmful pesticides, chemicals and synthetic fertilisers and mobilising finance for the transition.
Under Healthy Futures, the campaign will work on reducing food and packaging waste, developing safer alternatives to synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, pushing for an end to deceptive food labelling, and engaging young people in shaping the future of food.
EARTHDAY.ORG, which grew out of the first Earth Day in 1970, says it works with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries, and the campaign will run through events, education programmes and community actions around the world.
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FAKTA
- What: Food for Our Planet, a multiyear global campaign by EARTHDAY.ORG for a healthier, more sustainable and fairer food system.
- Launched: 14 October 2026, Rome, at the World Food Forum ahead of World Food Day; central theme of Earth Day 2027 on 22 April 2027.
- Three priorities: Healthy People, Healthy Soils and Healthy Futures.
- Healthy People targets: Harmful substances in food down 30 percent by 2040; mandatory labelling of ultra-processed foods; 10 million people eating more plant-based foods; at least 20 billion US dollars for safer alternatives; 100 million people reached with education.
- Healthy Soils target: 100 million acres of farmland moved to regenerative and soil-restoring practices.
- Healthy Futures work: Less food and packaging waste, safer farm inputs, an end to deceptive labelling, and youth engagement.
- Network: EARTHDAY.ORG works with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries.
Conclusion
Food for Our Planet puts everyday choices — what we eat, what we buy, what we throw away — at the centre of climate action. Its targets will take years to judge, but as the theme of Earth Day 2027 it sets the agenda for the world’s largest environmental observance next April.
