Abstract
We humans appreciate wide varieties of foods and tastes because of our omnivorous evolutionary history. In today’s fast-paced life, preparing a wholesome supply of nutrients in all meals regularly is challenging. We mostly eat to fill our stomach. Such foods in our daily diet do not provide the complete nutrition to the body as the diversity of nutrients that different foods deliver is being compromised with. We have lost many fruits, vegetables, and grains in the last century because of multiple anthropogenic factors. Selective consumption is one of them. Just think of the kinds of fruits, vegetables and grains we are bringing into our kitchens. We prefer the same types of food again and again, increasing the homogeneity in the food demand and supply. This practice inadvertently impacts the local farmers and also our economy. Farmers do not get good price for the crops that are not in demand in the market. They are forced to switch to the agricultural products in demand, leading to the augmentation of monoculture. Could it be that eating variety of foods can save us from losing many native crops and hence crop diversity? Another related consideration is: with our present homogenous food consumption patterns, will we end up losing the genes required for the metabolism of those foods which are innocently getting ignored? Food is the ingredient that binds us humans. Eating right is important not only for the global health but also a crucial step to save crop diversity.
Presenters
Shweta RanaAssociate Professor and Department Chair, Physical and Natural Sciences, FLAME Univesrity, Maharashtra, India
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
CONSERVING CROP DIVERSITY,FOOD HOMOGENEITY,SELECTIVE CONSUMPTION
