For A Healthier Planet, Eat These 50 Foods, Campaign Urges

|

March 25th, 2019

Just three crops — wheat, corn and rice — make up nearly 60 percent of the plant-based calories in most diets, according to a new report. Above, a farmer inspects a stunted cob in her dry maize field on March 13.

Jekesai Njikizana / AFP/Getty Images

Why would a wildlife conservation organization be involved in a campaign to push people to diversify their diets? As it turns out, the way we humans eat is very much linked to preserving wildlife — and many other issues. This was the topic at a recent conference in Paris where the World Wildlife Fund and Knorr foods teamed up to launch their campaign and report, titled “Future 50 Foods: 50 Foods for Healthier People and a Healthier Planet.”

The WWF’s David Edwards says that there has been a 60 percent decline in wildlife populations since 1970 and that working to protect animals is no longer enough to save them.

“We have to address the drivers of habitat loss and species collapse,” says Edwards. “And the biggest driver is global farming.”

Top Stories