Concern over narrowing food supply

 By JAMES LARAKI

THE world’s reliance on narrow range of foods will lead to an increase in diseases like diabetes and a food supply that is more vulnerable to environmental changes like global warming, a new study warns. 

Human diets around the globe have become more and more similar throughout the past five decades, to the point that people currently get 90 per cent of their calories, protein and fat from the same 50 crops, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This may be due to increasingly modernised agriculture, urbanisation and the rise of supermarkets and processed foods, among other factors.

More and more people, the study found, are consuming a “Westernised” diet of animal meat, dairy, sugary drinks and oils. The use of local staples and vegetable crops are slowing declining.

“People are eating more fats, more calories and more protein,” lead author Colin Khoury, a scientist at the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, said. 

“The sum total is, we’re heading toward a more homogenous diet.” 

The study, which analysed national per capita food supply data from 152 countries comprising 98 per cent of the world population from 1961 to 2009, noted people were found to eat more energy-dense foods, such as rice, wheat, soybean, even in areas where they were previously unavailable. 

But perhaps most alarming is how the growing reliance on a smaller number of crops will affect our health: The report says it will accelerate a worldwide rise in obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes, especially in developing countries. 

And aside from the health risk, the study notes, having a global preference for a narrower range of foods presents an environmental danger.

“It makes agriculture more vulnerable to major threats like drought, insect pests and diseases, which are likely to become worse in many parts of the world as a result of climate change,” study co-author Luigi Guarino, a senior scientist at the Global Crop Diversity Trust in Germany, said.

So, what can be done to reverse the trend? 

Khoury suggests implementing strong government policies that encourage food diversity and nutrition. This could include making food stamps available at farmers markets, or increasing funding for research and development of alternative crops to diversify the global food supply, he said. 

“We have learning techniques and tools and agriculture that we could apply to other crops to make them more competitive and productive, if we had the energy and we wanted to,” Khoury said. 

“But right now the overwhelming majority private and public research funding in crops is going to soybean, maize, wheat, and rice.”

While it is no doubt that green revolution contributed to our present day agriculture, it has, on the other hand, resulted in simplifying our agriculture system, where the bulk of the global agricultural production is now coming from the cultivation of few species and even from use of limited varieties from less cultivated crop species. 

One of the major problems associated with green revolution is the narrowing of species diversity in agro-biodiversity. 

There are about 400,000 plant species worldwide, out of which 300,000 species have been documented in some form of their existence. And of these about 30,000 species are edible and have the potential to contribute to our food security. 

However, from this large number of edible species, only 7,000 species have so far been utilised at varying levels. 

Statistical records for cultivation are only available for about 200 edible species, of which only 30 species feed the majority of the world population. 

But it is noted that almost 60 per cent of the global food production comes from only three crops: Rice, wheat and maize.

Efforts are required to capture the full range of traits contained in the diversity of species and varieties available so that the information could be used to enhance the quantity and quality of foods.

As Khoury suggested, we need a clear strategy and commitment towards, which is presently lacking. Priority in terms of research and development, and allocation of necessary resources has been lacking as well. 

The Asian Pacific region is the centre of diversity of many important species of crops and livestock and we have an important role to play on this front. 

We need to research and develop alternative crops to diversify the global food supply.

In light of climate change, increasing world population, rising food prices and other issues confronting us, the world cannot be fed with few plant species or rely on three crops to produce 60 per cent global food.