Food Biodiversity as an Opportunity to Address the Challenge of Improving Human Diets and Food Security
Michelle Cristine Medeiros Jacob, Alice Medeiros Souza, Aline Martins de Carvalho, Carlos Frederico Alves de Vasconcelos Neto, Daniel Tregidgo, Danny Hunter, Fillipe de Oliveira Pereira, Guilhermo Ros Brull, Harriet V. Kunhlein, Lara Juliane Guedes da Silva, Larissa Mont'Alverne Jucá Seabr, Mariana de Paula Drewinski, Nelson Menolli, Patrícia Carignano Torres, Pedro Mayor, Priscila F. M. Lopes, Rafael Ricardo Vasconcelos da Silva, Sávio Marcelino Gomes, Juliana Kelly da Silva-Maia
Abstract
Scientists have warned for several years that food systems have become major drivers of environmental degradation, malnutrition, and food insecurity. In this paper, we present arguments from specialists that suggest that, in the transition to more sustainable food systems, biodiversity and food security can be mutually supportive, rather than conflicting goals. We have divided the opinions of these scientists into two "Big Topics". First, they examine the synergies and challenges of the intersection of biodiversity and food security. In the second section, they explain how various forms of food biodiversity, such as mushrooms, terrestrial wild animals, aquatic animals, algae, and wild plants, can contribute to food security. Finally, we present three main pathways that, according to these experts, could guide the transition toward biodiversity and food security in food systems.