Can food biodiversity transform our diets and food systems?

Despite the remarkable diversity of edible species available worldwide, modern diets have become increasingly homogeneous.

This simplification of our diets not only contributes to biodiversity loss but also limits dietary diversity and the resilience of food systems.

Food biodiversity—the diversity of plants, animal and other species consumed as food—is increasingly recognized as a common lever for improving both human and planetary health. Beyond conserving ecosystems, increasing the diversity of species on our plates can enhance diet quality, strengthen food and nutrition security, and support more sustainable agricultural systems (Lachat et al., 2018; Beal et al., 2021). However, achieving this ambition requires better ways to measure, preserve and promote food biodiversity.

This issue of the Global Fruit and Veg Newsletter explores these three complementary dimensions.

The first article by Aceves-Martins et al., 2025 demonstrates that dietary species richness (DSR) can be reliably measured using four-day dietary records. Using UK national survey data, the authors show that greater dietary biodiversity is associated with higher diet quality and better adherence to recommendations for fiber, fruit and vegetables, and fish, supporting its use as a practical indicator of healthy and sustainable diets DSR is increasingly recognized as an key methodology for linking diets to landscapes and to health (Blundo-Canto et al., 2020). And Aceves-Martins et al., 2025 study strengthens both the method and the evidence base we need to transform food systems for biodiversity.

The second article by Knez et al., 2023 reviews the untapped potential of underutilized plant species and sets 13 recommendations focused on consumer demand and awareness, policies, and production changes. Often neglected by modern food systems, these traditional crops offer high nutritional value while contributing to food security, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and local livelihoods. The authors call for stronger research, commercialization, and policy support to bring these species back onto our plates.

Finally, Ngigi et al., 2023 illustrate how this transition can be implemented in practice. Authors differentiate between neglected or underutilized food plants, the key being to understand how these plants are cultivated, and embedded culturally, so researchers and policymakers can reintegrate them into food systems. Focusing on Kenya and Ethiopia, they identify priority traditional fruits, vegetables and pulses that combine nutritional, economic and environmental benefits, while emphasizing the importance of strengthening value chains, improving food composition data and empowering women to accelerate their adoption.

Together, these articles remind us that food biodiversity is no longer only a conservation issue. It is becoming a measurable, actionable, and policy-relevant component of healthier and more sustainable diets. Diversifying the species we grow and consume may ultimately be one of the most promising pathways to simultaneously address malnutrition, biodiversity loss and the sustainability of our food systems.

Ramya Ambikapathi Scientist in Food Environments and Consumer Behavior

Alliance Biodiversity International and CIAT, Colombia