Agriculture Reference
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Although wild foods cannot entirely bridge existing supply and demand gaps, without
them these gaps would be much wider. Edible species provide more than just food and
income. Important stakeholder groups depending on wild foods include some of the most
vulnerable groups in terms of poverty and hunger: women, children, subsistence farmers,
and those in areas prone to conflict, drought, and famine. In communities with a tradition
of wild food use, it is part of a living link with the land, a keystone of culture (Pretty 2007;
Pilgrim and Pretty 2010). The decline of traditional ways of life and decreased wild food
use are interlinked. Recent initiatives to revitalize traditional foods aim to reverse both
declines, and the are being used to provide health and cultural benefits to traditional com-
munities otherwise subject to the nutrition transition (Pilgrim et al. 2009).
Research needs are twofold: There is a need for (1) standardized, accessible, and com-
parable studies on the nutritional and toxicological properties of currently underutilized
wild species on a broad scale; and (2) the identification of priority areas for conservation
of wild food species and the recording of food-relevant local ecological knowledge.
While policies to conserve habitats and increase agricultural productivity can them-
selves act as drivers for decreased wild food use, the crucial need is for integrated poli-
cies that deliver conservation, food security, and sustainable intensification. The FAO
recognizes that “nutrition and biodiversity converge to a common path leading to food
security and sustainable development,” and that “wild species and intraspecies biodiver-
sity have key roles in global nutrition security” (FAO, 2009). Effective biodiversity con-
servation, too, depends on a recognition that wild species contribute to food security,
are actively managed for food provision, and are therefore affected by policies (or lack
thereof ) to protect habitats and species.
References
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