The global food system is undergoing a profound transformation that threatens both human and planetary health. Diets in high-income countries have become increasingly homogenized, characterized by heavy reliance on a limited number of species and a growing dominance of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). These trends contribute simultaneously to poor diet quality, rising rates of non-communicable diseases, and accelerating environmental degradation.

This PhD project seeks to understand how the biological diversity of foods we eat and the degree of industrial processingjointly shape health and sustainability outcomes. It focuses on two complementary concepts: food biodiversity, quantified through dietary species richness (DSR), and ultra-processed food consumption, classified using the Nova classification system. Using large European cohort studies such as EPIC and NutriNet-Santé, the project will examine how food biodiversity and processing relate to nutrient adequacy, metabolic health, cancer risk, mortality, and environmental indicators including greenhouse-gas emissions and land use.

By integrating epidemiological, nutritional, and environmental analyses, the research aims to identify dietary patterns that support both population health and ecological resilience. Ultimately, it will generate evidence to inform public-health nutrition and sustainability policies, promoting diverse, minimally processed, and biodiversity-friendly diets that benefit people and the planet alike.