To build a more biodiverse food system, we must first expand the breadth of foods we look to for sustenance and enjoyment.

The foods featured below are among some of those identified by the Rediscovered Foods Initiative (RFI), as overlooked and underutilized, despite their value in diversifying and strengthening ecosystems and communities across the world.

According to RFI, each of them represents and opportunity to “combat hunger, respond to climate change, promote biodiversity, provide women with livelihoods, and support healthier and more secure food systems.”

These foods have the power to delight our palates, nourish our bodies, build up communities, and help support a healthier planet. By utilizing them, we play an important role in raising awareness and demand for them, which will help their presence grow on our plates and our planet.

24 Foods to Help Promote Biodiversity

About the Rediscovered Foods Initiative

The Rediscovered Food Initiative explores the power of 25 neglected and underutilized foods to shift consumer diets away from ultra-processed foods by helping farmers grow more nutritionally balanced, locally produced crops that provide greater biodiversity and resilience, are adapted to climate change, help conserve resources, and contribute to regionally-based economic models that promote food sovereignty.