One month in: 3 key lessons we have learnt from launching Planeatry Alliance

It’s been just a few months since we first started talking about the potential of Planetary Alliance - and three weeks since we officially launched. The response from all of you has been incredible and we've been listening, reflecting, and absorbing your feedback. We’re tackling issues that resonate across sectors. From transforming macro food systems to driving healthy diets, sustainably produced food, engagement across the value chain, and navigating the entrepreneurial journey—we’re diving into it all. This is us: through the eyes of three leaders from across the generations with a vision to reshape the food system for better, much better.

1. Concern about the Food System Is Growing Faster Than We Anticipated

So many of you said ‘great timing’. A sense of foreboding about the stability of the world’s most critically important economic sector is palpable but …. where do we start fixing it?

Whether it's the volatile supply chains induced by adverse weather and trade, government consultations, or (dare we say it) the impact of the Trump administration, agility is key.  2024 saw cocoa and coffee prices up 163% and 103% respectively, due to a combination of higher than average rainfall and temperatures in producing regions, while domestic vegetable production has decreased by 13%, primarily due to extreme weather conditions, despite consumers needing to eat at least 30% more of a variety of fruits and vegetables to meet healthy diet recommendations. The food system is undergoing a transformation at an unprecedented pace, and responding in real time is essential. 

And here’s the crux of the problem: while there’s plenty of hand-wringing over the cracks in today’s fragile food system, there’s little consensus - across society, business and policy - on the hard reality of how to replace it with one that can reliably feed 8 billion people a healthy diet every day. Unlike the automotive sector, where a clear transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has been driven by a widely accepted narrative—fossil fuels are out, electrification is in - the food system lacks a single, simple destination. Instead a multiplicity of views for and against particular food production techniques and technologies, cultural norms, and subsidy systems all jostle for dominance, preventing a unified path forward and stalling progress. 

That’s why we set out pragmatically at Planeatry Alliance with a whole diet and basket view. A place where multiple conversations with food producers, policy makers, businesses and consumers can be anchored. And the other thing you told us is that agility and adaptability needs to be right at the heart of our transformation strategy, because the transition to healthier baskets for people and planet isn’t a fixed destination; it’s a journey that requires constant learning, iteration, and action. We are fully on board with this. 

2. Transforming the food system through co-benefits is crucial—because this shift isn’t just about sustainability or health in isolation. 

The convergence of human and planetary wellbeing must be at the centre of change.  Many of you surfaced the perennial ‘elephant in the room’ - is sustainable food a priority for consumers full-stop? To help us answer your question, research from EIT Food Consumer Observatory shows that just 9% of people in Europe prioritise sustainability in their life choices and the number who take sustainability into account when purchasing food has dropped from 51% in 2020 to 46% today. 

Hardly surprising in the face of wider societal stressors - pandemic, war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, the immediacy of which dwarf the longer term play of a sustainable (e.g. low carbon) future. Added to this, our food environments are set up to promote the least sustainable and healthy options, making progress hard to achieve. 

We, and you, believe that for ‘better food’ to win - with policy makers, businesses and consumers, it needs to demonstrate co-benefits.  Sustainable and healthy. Sustainable and resilient. Sustainable and a source of good jobs and incomes. Because when sustainability aligns with what matters most to people, the transition becomes not just necessary - but inevitable.

3. Surfacing and demonstrating co-benefits requires a ‘bigger tent of actors’

Today, the food sector is full of strongly held, passionate views, but often, these conversations stay trapped in echo chambers. If we are serious about building a healthier, fairer, more sustainable, and resilient food system, we need to break down these walls and work with a broader ecosystem of actors who have a role to play in delivering the change. 

At Planetary Alliance, we’ve purposefully embraced an agnostic approach—one that stands for systemic transformation across all organisations invested in better outcomes. This idea is proving powerful, but we also know that breaking down barriers between the ‘usual suspects’ isn’t enough.  Many organisations across the food value chain silo ‘health’ and ‘sustainability’—leaving it to be handled by specialists, disconnected from commercial strategy, innovation, and supply chain decisions. This separation stalls progress. 

Perhaps the most exciting outcome of Planetary Alliance’s launch has been the breadth of you who have reached out — not just from sustainability and health teams, but commercial leaders, product developers, procurement specialists, operations, NGOs, investors, and marketing teams.

We see this as signalling a shift: a recognition that delivering better outcomes at a whole-basket level, for the whole of society, needs everyone in the system to work on it—not just those already convinced. 

This is the work we are here to drive forward.

We’re only a few weeks into our journey, but what we’ve learned so far, and what you have told us, is clear—meaningful change comes from connecting the dots, breaking down silos, and driving real-world solutions. Our working objective is to be one of the organisations helping to deliver that change, translating insight into action for a food system that works for both people and the planet. If you share this ambition, if you see challenges in your own organisation that need solving, or if you want to be part of shaping what comes next—reach out.

We’re only an email away.