Biodiversity for Resilience Video Series
Rice fields on terraced of Mu Cang Chai, YenBai, Rice fields prepare the harvest at Northwest Vietnam.Vietnam landscapes.28 December 2020
Agrobiodiversity underpins nearly everything we eat and drink, yet few people understand what it is or how the diversity of crops and livestock contribute to what we find on our plates. To strengthen this connection, we are excited to share with you a Food Forever micro-video series which highlights the importance of crop diversity and takes the viewer from our current global pandemic landscape to farmers’ fields, to seed banks, to chefs and lastly to the tables and plates of individuals.
We are diverse. We are resilient.
What makes us resilient? What enables us to overcome hardships no matter the crisis? What is our greatest strength?
Diversity. In our experiences and perspectives, but most importantly in our food and agriculture. Diversity is what enables us to bounce back from countless challenges. And it's that way for our agriculture as well. Protecting crop diversity helps protect us, too.
Farmers, Dedicated Stewards of Crop Diversity
For millennia, farmers have domesticated, selected and exchanged plants, making them the ultimate stewards of the world’s crop diversity. But the current climate crisis has left farmers facing new, urgent challenges (increased pests, diseases and more). Fortunately, the wealth of diversity in our food crops is a resource for adaptation. We must protect and use crop diversity if farmers are to continue growing the nutritious and resilient crops needed to feed a global growing population.
Genebanks, Ensuring Resilience
Genebanks are like active safety deposit boxes for the world’s crop diversity. Much like you store your money in a bank and withdraw it to pay bills, genebanks protect seeds for the long-term. This material is then withdrawn and used by scientists to create climate-resilient crops for farmers. By supporting the over 1,700 genebanks worldwide, you can help ensure that the foods we love will remain on our tables for good.
Chefs, Advocates for Biodiversity
Chefs have the opportunity to make a difference in our food systems by getting people interested in diverse dishes and how they make them. They can challenge our palates, inspire what we put on our plates, all by supporting local farmers and native ingredients by putting them on their menus.
A Food Secure World Starts with you
Diversity can be found in the produce aisle at your local grocery store. It’s on your dining table, it’s growing in the pot on your balcony or in your backyard. You don’t have to be a farmer, a genebank manager or a restaurant owner to support biodiversity. It’s all about the choices we make on a daily basis. You can help ensure diverse food remains on the table now and forever by choosing diversity that sustains your nutrition, adds spice and variety to your life, and supports farmer livelihoods.