Over the last couple of years, young German doctor Lisa Pörtner diversified her medical work by becoming a passionate and known advocate for planetary health, and the role that a pre-dominantly plant-rich diet plays as part of it. In this short conversation with Marinke van Riet, HFHP's Chief Weaver, Lisa explains how planting a small seed with the German Health and Climate Alliance (KLUG) was transformative - both for her as well as KLUG.

Marinke van Riet (MVR): Thank you so much for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to talk to me. In recent years, you have shifted your career as a doctor in internal medicine by becoming an advocate for planetary health, and in particularly the role of food. How did this shift come about?

Lisa Pörtner (LP): It has been an interesting journey for me. I became increasingly concerned about the climate and environmental crisis and the role of nutrition as part of overall planetary health - in addition to human health. I specialised in nutritional medicine and found that the different aspects of nutrition - health, ecology and ethics - are all intertwined and mutually reinforcing. We hence need to take a holistic intersectoral look. My own diversification in research and roles is an illustration of that intersectoral approach.

MVR: You became engaged with Healthy Food Healthy Planet due to a consultancy for Wir Haben Es Satt as part of a Learning by Doing project with Eating Better in the UK, Reseau Action Climat in France and the European Public Health Alliance. What are the key learnings and results emanating from that project for you?

LP: The title Learning by Doing was deliberately chosen and very much reflected the spirit of our work. We created the essential safe space amongst ourselves to regularly discuss potential entry points for engaging with the health sector in the various countries - all with very different contexts. I was the only medical doctor in our midst and was able to provide some insights from the viewpoint of a “business insider”. After all, the health sector is not a monolithic body - just as we know the climate and environmental world is also not! The safe space was very needed as we bounced off ideas and sparred on the approach to take. For Germany, it was decided to take a multi-prong approach to networking and relationship building by engaging with the Deutsche Allianz Klimawandel und Gesundheit (KLUG or the German Climate and Health Alliance) as well as networks uniting stakeholders from the environmental and health sector, such as #ErnährungswendeAnpacken - initiated by WWF. This proved to be a valuable exchange platform which led to two position papers: in 2021 for the new coalition government and in 2022 as inputs into the national food strategy. And due to these papers it has led to a lot of visibility for KLUG and the Planetary Health aspect of nutrition. In addition, the relationships built in the process are very helpful for engaging with the more conservative bodies within the medical world - not yet (fully) convinced about the links between human and planetary health.

MVR: What are your recommendation for the HFHP pooled fund (and other funders) especially regarding the cross-cutting lever of engaging with the health sector? ‍

Invest in intersectoral networks and people and more precisely, invest in people within intersectoral networks!

It is about creating and then seizing opportunities -and I can imagine that other Climate and Health Alliances across Europe would benefit from additional investments and engagements as well – as would medical organisations that might be willing to join the movement when provided with financial incentives to engage and increase their capacities! My own journey illustrates how a small investment in a consultancy has led to a whole programme of work and workstream within KLUG. And combining that with my own networks both in the climate and medical world has led to the famous flywheel effect -which is precisely what the (climate and health) doctor ordered!

Lisa Pörtner is a specialist in internal medicine with additional qualifications in nutritional medicine and geriatrics. In addition to her many years of clinical work, she has been involved in the climate and environmental movement for years. In addition to her (nutritional) medical expertise, she has experience with transformation processes in hospitals as well as coordinating local networks and various event formats. The different aspects of nutrition - health, ecology and ethics - as well as the role of nutrition in addressing major planetary crises are her main topics. At KLUG, she is responsible for the field of action Nutrition in the context of Planetary Health.