According to the FAO, (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), “only five cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize, millet and sorghum) provide 60 per cent energy intake of the world population.” Among these crops, particularly wheat, only a small number of varieties account for the bulk of the production. It wasn’t always this way. Right now, only 30 species of edible plants are consumed regularly, writes the FAO, even though there are 30,000 species of edible plants in the world. If you think you eat more than 30 species regularly, consider that certain species can account for a number of types of foods. For example, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, European kale and collards are all types of one species, Brassica oleracea.
The loss of genetic diversity has serious repercussions; it has “led to a large loss of biodiversity with negative consequences such as the extinction of species, vulnerability of ecosystems, and difficulties to meet future agricultural demands, because genetic variability to provide climatic and pest adaptation is lost. Furthermore, traditional dishes, recipes and customs in food preparation have disappeared, resulting in a strong decrease in food diversity.”
One way to reverse the trend of declining genetic diversity is to re-introduce ancient foods into our diets. While some plant breeders look to ancient species as a source of genes to insert into modern varieties, two plant breeders take a different approach — using social media rather than genetic engineering.
Longin and Würschum suggest that ancient foods can “be reintroduced as crops by creating markets for specialty products, along with a rediscovery of traditional recipes and customs.” This practice has been successful with spelt, quinoa and ancient grains. The key is for plant scientists to involve people from all steps of the production chain from the beginning. For example, with a bread grain there is a need to identify the characteristics desired by consumers, bakers, millers and farmers. Once varieties have been found that meet their needs, the production line can be established and marketing can begin.
Although the niche marketing will be initially aimed at high-end consumers, the increase in genetic diversity of our food crops is a positive global phenomenon. The writers want to encourage more plant breeders to take a “holistic approach . . . with special focus on product quality and health-promoting ingredients” rather than crop yields.
Back to the Future — Tapping into Ancient Grains for Food Diversity. C. Friedrich H. Longin & Tobias Würschum. Trends in Plant Science. Volume 21, Issue 9, pp. 731-737. Sept. 2016.
- Janet Wallace