Rediscovering the Contributions of Forests and Trees to Transition Global Food Systems

Abstract

The importance of forests to safeguard agricultural production through regulating ecosystem services such as clean water, soil protection, and climate regulation is well documented, yet the contributions of forests and trees to provide food for the nutritional needs of the increasing human population has not been fully realized. Plants, fungi, and animals harvested from forests have long provided multiple benefits—for nutrition, health, income, and cultural purposes. Across the globe, the main element of “forest management” has been industrial wood production. Sourcing food from forests has been not even an afterthought but a subordinate activity that just happens and is largely invisible in official statistics. For many people, forests ensure a secure supply of essential foods and vital nutrients. For others, foraging forests for food offers cultural, recreational, and diversified culinary benefits. Increasingly, these products are perceived by consumers as being more “natural” and healthier than food from agricultural production. Forest-and wild-sourced products increasingly are being used as key ingredients in multiple billion dollar industries due to rising demand for “natural” food production. Consumer trends demonstrate growing interests in forest food gathering that involves biological processes and new forms of culturally embedded interactions with the natural world. Further, intensifying calls to “re-orient” agricultural production provides opportunities to expand the roles of forests in food production; to reset food systems by integrating forests and trees. We use examples of various plants, such as baobab, to explore ways forests and trees provide for food security and nutrition and illustrate elements of a framework to encourage integration of forests and trees. Forests and trees provide innovative opportunities and technological and logistical challenges to expand food systems and transition to a bioeconomy. This shift is essential to meet the expanding demand for secure and nutritious food, while conserving forest biodiversity.

Transforming food systems with trees and forests

“…Direct provisioning of food from forests is not confined to the tropics, although quantifying relative contributions across countries globally is difficult because data on forest-sourced foods are generally not systematically collected. 30 However, a 2020 survey of households in 28 European countries found widespread local collection and consumption of forest plants and fungi, and indicated that the official data underestimated actual consumption by a factor of around ten. 31 In its 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment, the Food and Agriculture Organization 32 asked countries to report on their ten most commercially important non-wood forest products, including food.…”

Phenotypic variation of fruit and ecophysiological traits among maqui (Aristotelia chilensis [Molina] Stuntz) provenances established in a common garden

“…The global consumption of fruits is increasing due to the higher awareness of their health benefits and nutritional values 1 . Forests have an essential role in future food security as they represent a valuable source of vital nutrients and natural antioxidants 2 , 3 . Among fruits, berries have an enormous potential for the food industry as they are a rich source of bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids and anthocyanins 4 .…”

Dịch vụ Hệ sinh thái rừng Việt Nam: Từ lý thuyết đến thực tiễn tại 17 tỉnh Trung du miền núi phía Bắc

“…Rừng đóng vai trò quan trọng trong việc cung cấp lương thực, đảm bảo dinh dưỡng, đem lại các giá trị bảo tồn văn hóa và thu nhập cho người dân trên toàn cầu (Temu và Msanga 1994;Härkönen và Vainio-Mattila 1998;Kajembe và cộng sự 2000;Ruffo và cộng sự 2002;Nyambo và cộng sự 2005;Caspersen và cộng sự 2018;Miller và cộng sự 2020;Chamberlain 2020). Các nghiên cứu trên toàn cầu đều chỉ ra rằng trên 30% dân số toàn cầu đang phụ thuộc trực tiếp vào nguồn lương thực từ rừng.…”