Eating a fake banana for breakfast or snacking on a fruit from the pandanus tree could become very common in the near future.
Faced with the threat of the climate emergency, scientists are already working to adapt our diets proof against severe food crises.
The war in Ukraine has highlighted the dangers of relying on a few globally traded crops.
With the 90% of calories from just 15 crops, the experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London, They are looking for ingredients to prepare the menu that we will eat at 2050.
Diversifying the food we eat is one of the solutions to alleviate hunger, tackle biodiversity loss and help adapt to the climate crisis, says Sam Pirinon, researcher at Kew Gardens.
“We know that there are thousands of species of edible plants around the world that are consumed by different populations, and this is where we can find some of the solutions for these global challenges of the future”, he comments.
Over 7,10 edible plants worldwide, only 417 are widely cultivated and used as food.
The pandanus
The pandanus (Pandanus tectorius) is a small tree that grows in coastal areas from the Pacific islands to the Philippines. The leaves are used to flavor sweet and savory dishes in much of Southeast Asia, while the pineapple-like fruit can be eaten raw or cooked.
The tree can tolerate adverse conditions, such as drought, strong winds and salt spray, says Kew Gardens researcher Marybel Soto Gómez, convinced that the pandanus fruit “is a climate-resistant and nutritious food, which is also delicious.”
“It would be great to diversify our menu to include foods that are culturally appropriate, nutritious and that can be grown in challenging conditions around the world”, emphasizes the expert.
beans
Beans, or legumes, are another “food of the future”. They are cheap, high in protein and B vitamins, and are adapted to a wide range of environments, from ocean shores to mountainsides.
There are 000,000 species of legumes in the world, but we use only a handful. “There are believed to be hundreds in nature that are still unknown to scientists,” says Helen Briggs, the BBC’s environment correspondent.
Morama bean (Tylosema esculentum
Wild cereals
Cereals, which come from grasses, also have great diversity, with more than 10, species, which offers great potential for new foods.
Fonio (Digitaria exilis), for example, is a nutritious African cereal used to make couscous, porridge and beverages. , and your plant can tolerate drought.
Fonio, a cereal used in the West Africa, is rich in iron, calcium and vitamins. (Photo: GETTY IMAGES)
The false banana
The ensete, or “false banana” (Ensete ventricosum), is a close relative of the banana, but is consumed only in a part of Ethiopia.
The fruit of the The plant is not edible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and used to make porridge and bread.
Studies suggest that this crop has the potential to feed more than 100 millions of people all over the world.
Relying on a handful of crops to feed the world’s population has led to malnutrition and aggravated the climate crisis.
It is estimated that the diet of more than 4, millions of people depend only on rice, corn and wheat, something that puts the food system at risk. or global.
Faced with this problem, the pandanus and the other “plants of the future” aspire to become, in a few decades, our best allies in the kitchen.
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