Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security

The narrowing of diversity in crop species contributing to the world’s food supplies has been considered a potential threat to food security. However, changes in this diversity have not been quantified globally. We assess trends over the past 50 y in the richness, abundance, and composition of crop...

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Main Authors: Khoury, Colin K., Bjorkman, Anne D., Dempewolf, Hannes, Ramírez Villegas, Julián Armando, Guarino, Luigi, Jarvis, Andy, Rieseberg, Loren H., Struik, Paul C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42297
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author Khoury, Colin K.
Bjorkman, Anne D.
Dempewolf, Hannes
Ramírez Villegas, Julián Armando
Guarino, Luigi
Jarvis, Andy
Rieseberg, Loren H.
Struik, Paul C.
author_browse Bjorkman, Anne D.
Dempewolf, Hannes
Guarino, Luigi
Jarvis, Andy
Khoury, Colin K.
Ramírez Villegas, Julián Armando
Rieseberg, Loren H.
Struik, Paul C.
author_facet Khoury, Colin K.
Bjorkman, Anne D.
Dempewolf, Hannes
Ramírez Villegas, Julián Armando
Guarino, Luigi
Jarvis, Andy
Rieseberg, Loren H.
Struik, Paul C.
author_sort Khoury, Colin K.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The narrowing of diversity in crop species contributing to the world’s food supplies has been considered a potential threat to food security. However, changes in this diversity have not been quantified globally. We assess trends over the past 50 y in the richness, abundance, and composition of crop species in national food supplies worldwide. Over this period, national per capita food supplies expanded in total quantities of food calories, protein, fat, and weight, with increased proportions of those quantities sourcing from energy-dense foods. At the same time the number of measured crop commodities contributing to national food supplies increased, the relative contribution of these commodities within these supplies became more even, and the dominance of the most significant commodities decreased. As a consequence, national food supplies worldwide became more similar in composition, correlated particularly with an increased supply of a number of globally important cereal and oil crops, and a decline of other cereal, oil, and starchy root species. The increase in homogeneity worldwide portends the establishment of a global standard food supply, which is relatively species-rich in regard to measured crops at the national level, but species-poor globally. These changes in food supplies heighten interdependence among countries in regard to availability and access to these food sources and the genetic resources supporting their production, and give further urgency to nutrition development priorities aimed at bolstering food security.
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spelling CGSpace422972025-04-17T08:26:45Z Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security Khoury, Colin K. Bjorkman, Anne D. Dempewolf, Hannes Ramírez Villegas, Julián Armando Guarino, Luigi Jarvis, Andy Rieseberg, Loren H. Struik, Paul C. data analysis crops diversidad genética como recurso análisis de datos cultivos genetic diversity as resource The narrowing of diversity in crop species contributing to the world’s food supplies has been considered a potential threat to food security. However, changes in this diversity have not been quantified globally. We assess trends over the past 50 y in the richness, abundance, and composition of crop species in national food supplies worldwide. Over this period, national per capita food supplies expanded in total quantities of food calories, protein, fat, and weight, with increased proportions of those quantities sourcing from energy-dense foods. At the same time the number of measured crop commodities contributing to national food supplies increased, the relative contribution of these commodities within these supplies became more even, and the dominance of the most significant commodities decreased. As a consequence, national food supplies worldwide became more similar in composition, correlated particularly with an increased supply of a number of globally important cereal and oil crops, and a decline of other cereal, oil, and starchy root species. The increase in homogeneity worldwide portends the establishment of a global standard food supply, which is relatively species-rich in regard to measured crops at the national level, but species-poor globally. These changes in food supplies heighten interdependence among countries in regard to availability and access to these food sources and the genetic resources supporting their production, and give further urgency to nutrition development priorities aimed at bolstering food security. 2014-03-18 2014-09-09T18:50:47Z 2014-09-09T18:50:47Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42297 en Open Access National Academy of Sciences Khoury CK, Bjorkman AD, Dempewolf H, Ramírez Villegas J, Guarino L, Jarvis A, Rieseberg LH, Struik PC. 2014. Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 6 p.
spellingShingle data analysis
crops
diversidad genética como recurso
análisis de datos
cultivos
genetic diversity as resource
Khoury, Colin K.
Bjorkman, Anne D.
Dempewolf, Hannes
Ramírez Villegas, Julián Armando
Guarino, Luigi
Jarvis, Andy
Rieseberg, Loren H.
Struik, Paul C.
Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
title Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
title_full Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
title_fullStr Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
title_full_unstemmed Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
title_short Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
title_sort increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
topic data analysis
crops
diversidad genética como recurso
análisis de datos
cultivos
genetic diversity as resource
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42297
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