Are we eating our way to extinction with Dan Saladino

Lab-grown meats, Deliveroo and a ‘grab and go’ mantra have become our current food system. Yet, as our demand for this food culture, due to our demanding lives and increasing population, leads to damaging effects on our health and our planet and overall food system? We hear of the importance and worry of the extinction of animals but are we as aware of the extinction of our foods?

Did you know we could eat some 300,000 plant species yet we eat a mere 200 species globally, and half our plant-sourced protein and calories come from just three:  maize, rice and wheat? Or that there are 1500 types of banana, yet globally we mass produce only one - The Cavendish? Our ancestors weren’t eating eggs and avocado on toast, fish and chips or mountain burgers, so what were they eating and how did we get to the foods we eat today?

In today’s episode of the #LiveWellBeWell Podcast, we speak to journalist, author and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme, Dan Saladino.

Dan’s love of food traditions and discovery of something called “The Ark of Taste” - an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods- led him to write his book, “Eating to Extinction.”

You might be thinking, so what if we only eat one type of banana, does it matter if we lose a type of cheese produced in Albania or a type of corn grown in Mexico? Well yes, because it means we’re losing biodiversity within the human food chain which has already had a big impact on our gut microbiome and our wider health, mentally and physically.

In this episode, we hear amazing stories from Dan’s travels all around the world as he meets farmers, scientists, producers and indigenous communities who are defending food traditions and fighting for change. We learn how our change in taste has evolved over the years, how historical events have impacted the food we eat today, processes and traditions we’ve lost, and how technology is helping to keep some of those traditions alive.

We also discuss the relationship between the problems in our food systems and our health and the importance of diversity, not just in our diets but in agriculture, and the impact it is having on our health and the planet.

Show notes:

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