Professor Pieter van ’t Veer (1957) was trained in Human Nutrition and Epidemiology (Wageningen, 1982; Harvard, 1983). He chaired the Nutritional Epidemiology group (Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen, 2002), and was awarded an endowed chair in Nutrition, Public Health and Sustainability (2015-2024).

Methodologically, his career emphasized study design, biomarkers, exposure assessment, dietary habits and human health. His initial focus on nutrition and carcinogenesis gradually shifted to food systems as related to personal, public and planetary health. This implied a ‘mental shift’ from linear cause-effect models towards mutual interactions between human health, environmental impacts and food systems. In his view, the supply of energy and nutrients from foods interacts with cells and supports health of organisms. Analogously, food supply systems interact with socioeconomic development and support public and planetary health. These interactions are crucial to cocreate the transition to sustainable diets with public and private supply chain actors.