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Sustainable food, in the sense used by the UN’s food and health agencies, is not a product label. It describes food as part of a dietary pattern that is healthy, has low environmental impact, and is accessible, affordable, safe, equitable and culturally acceptable. This guide sets out the two definitions FAO and WHO have published, regroups the 16 guiding principles as a checklist, and shows what a “sustainable” claim does and does not cover.
Short answer
There is no single legal definition of sustainable food. The most-cited authority is the 2019 FAO and WHO report Sustainable healthy diets: Guiding principles, which defines Sustainable Healthy Diets as dietary patterns that “promote all dimensions of individuals’ health and wellbeing; have low environmental pressure and impact; are accessible, affordable, safe and equitable; and are culturally acceptable.” It applies to diets, not to single foods.
Definition and scope
FAO and WHO convened an expert consultation in Rome and published the guiding principles in 2019. Per the report, the principles take a holistic approach: they consider international nutrition recommendations, the environmental cost of food production and consumption, and adaptability to local social, cultural and economic contexts. The experts settled on the term “Sustainable Healthy Diets” to cover both sustainability and healthiness.
The stated aims are optimal growth and development at all life stages, preventing all forms of malnutrition (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, overweight and obesity), reducing the risk of diet-related noncommunicable diseases, and supporting the preservation of biodiversity and planetary health. The report links this to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12 and 13.
Two points of scope matter. First, the unit is the dietary pattern, so a single item is neither sustainable nor unsustainable on this framework. Second, the report states that countries should decide on the trade-offs according to their situations and goals, and it recommends national food-based dietary guidelines that account for local social, cultural, economic and environmental circumstances.
Two FAO definitions compared
An earlier FAO definition of “sustainable diets” came from the 2010 symposium Biodiversity and Sustainable Diets: United Against Hunger. The table sets the two side by side, using wording from each document.
| Element | FAO, 2010 (symposium) | FAO and WHO, 2019 (guiding principles) |
|---|---|---|
| Name used | Sustainable diets | Sustainable healthy diets |
| Environment | “low environmental impacts”; “protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems” | “low environmental pressure and impact” |
| Health and nutrition | “nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy”; contributes to “food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations” | “promote all dimensions of individuals’ health and wellbeing”; aims include preventing all forms of malnutrition and reducing diet-related NCD risk |
| Access and economics | “accessible, economically fair and affordable” | “accessible, affordable, safe and equitable” |
| Culture | “culturally acceptable” | “culturally acceptable” |
| Resources | “optimizing natural and human resources” | Not stated in the definition sentence; environmental principles cover greenhouse gas emissions, water, land, nitrogen and phosphorus use |
Both agree on the core idea that health, environment, affordability and culture are assessed together. The 2019 text adds explicit disease-prevention aims and an equity term.
The 16 guiding principles as a classification checklist
The 2019 report groups its 16 principles into health, environmental and sociocultural aspects. The list below is the report’s content, condensed. It can be used to test which dimension a “sustainable” claim actually addresses; a claim touching one group does not show the diet meets the definition, which the report says must “combine all the dimensions of sustainability to avoid unintended consequences.”
Health aspects (8)
- Start early in life, with early initiation of breastfeeding.
- Be based on a great variety of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, balanced across food groups, restricting highly processed food and drink products.
- Include wholegrains, legumes, nuts and an abundance and variety of fruit and vegetables.
- Be able to include moderate amounts of eggs, dairy, poultry and fish, and small amounts of red meat.
- Include safe and clean drinking water as the fluid of choice.
- Be adequate, meaning reaching but not exceeding energy needs and nutrient requirements.
- Be consistent with WHO guidelines to reduce the risk of diet-related NCDs.
- Contain minimal levels, or none if possible, of pathogens, toxins and other agents that can cause foodborne disease.
Environmental aspects (5)
- Preserve biodiversity (including crops, livestock, forest-derived foods and aquatic genetic resources) and avoid overfishing and overhunting.
- Keep greenhouse gas emissions, water and land use, nitrogen and phosphorus application and chemical pollution within set targets.
- Minimize the use of antibiotics and hormones in food production.
- Minimize the use of plastics and derivatives in food packaging.
- Reduce food loss and waste.
Sociocultural aspects (3)
- Be built on, and respect, local culture, culinary practices, knowledge and consumption patterns.
- Be accessible and desirable.
- Avoid adverse gender-related impacts, particularly on time allocation for buying and preparing food and for acquiring water and fuel.
Where it matters for labs and clinics
Three of the 16 principles overlap directly with work done in food, nutrition and clinical laboratories. The foodborne-agent principle (pathogens, toxins) is a testing and surveillance question. The antibiotics-and-hormones principle concerns residues and production practice. The packaging principle names plastics, which is relevant to labs that handle food-contact materials; see whether nitrile exam gloves are food safe for one related handling question. Labs that want to reduce their own operational footprint can start with the lab sustainability guide and sustainable lab practices. For farming systems that overlap with these principles, see organic agriculture, and for the field’s literature, the Trends in Food Science and Technology journal guide.
Common misunderstandings
- “Sustainable” means environmentally friendly only. Both FAO definitions include health, affordability and cultural acceptability alongside environmental impact.
- A single food can be certified sustainable on this framework. The 2019 principles are written at the level of the dietary pattern.
- One global recipe exists. The report leaves trade-offs to countries and calls for context-specific national guidelines.
- The principles are a regulation. They are guiding principles from an expert consultation, not a binding standard or a product label scheme.
FAQ
What is sustainable food?
Food that forms part of a Sustainable Healthy Diet as defined by FAO and WHO in 2019: healthy, low in environmental pressure, accessible, affordable, safe, equitable and culturally acceptable.
Who defines sustainable food?
No single body sets a legal definition. FAO published a definition of sustainable diets in 2010, and FAO and WHO jointly published guiding principles for Sustainable Healthy Diets in 2019. National guidelines apply them in context.
Is organic food the same as sustainable food?
The 2019 principles do not equate the two. They set criteria across health, environment and sociocultural dimensions for the whole diet; a production method addresses only part of that. See the organic agriculture guide for what organic standards cover.
Sources
- FAO and WHO (2019). Sustainable healthy diets: Guiding principles. Rome. WHO publication page; full text at FAO Open Knowledge. Read 2026-11-11.
- FAO (2010). Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity: Directions and solutions for policy, research and action. Proceedings of the International Scientific Symposium, Rome, 3-5 November 2010. fao.org/4/i3004e/i3004e.pdf. Read 2026-11-11.
