About the Book: Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition
Posted on: July 22, 2020
Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition, 1st Edition
A New Agenda for Sustainable Food Systems
By Danny Hunter, Teresa Borelli, Eliot Gee
Impact
Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition, A New Agenda for Sustainable Food Systems hones in on how food biodiversity can unite efforts to improve nutrition, livelihoods, conservation and agriculture. Anybody involved in the fields of food systems, nutrition, and sustainable development - from academics and students to practitioners and policymakers - will be interested in learning about challenges, successes, and best practices related to research and strategic promotion of varied local food sources. The book addresses these issues within both a global narrative and through in-depth examples of country approaches and experiences.
Highlights
1) Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition, A New Agenda for Sustainable Food Systems is the brainchild of a longstanding initiative focused on food biodiversity in Brazil, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. The book distills 7 years of research and activities into the “ABCs” of the project, telling readers a comprehensive story of the innovations, methods, and processes involved throughout.
2) Country examples, from Brazilian school feeding policy to Turkish wild edible plant festivals, help readers gain a tangible understanding of the project, and the wider issues at hand. Snapshots, graphics, and direct quotes from country partners contribute to a comparative view, suggesting ways to adapt localized activities to additional countries and regions in the future.
3) Sections are guest-authored by specialists on topics such as urban-rural linkages and sustainable gastronomy. These underscore the importance of agricultural/food biodiversity in wide-reaching areas (and places!).
Research
From both an editorial and a research perspective, terminology is a challenge for this topic: “local food biodiversity” or “neglected and underutilized species” only minimally convey the complexity and range of fascinating crops, indigenous varieties, and wild edible plants that are out there. We tried to include as many examples as we could.
Development
While it is certainly a challenge to compile 7 years of experiences across 4 countries, we were very lucky to have a dedicated ‘family’ of country partners contribute their insights and experiences. Our partners were very supportive from afar (our only chance to work together on drafting the material was during a conference hosted by our Turkish partners in 2018). We’re also grateful to our many guest-authors for really filling out the diversity of knowledge you’ll find in the book.