The current dominant food system also exacerbates poor nutrition. From over 6,000 food species being grown for food, fewer than 200 make substantial contributions to global food output.
What is even worse is that only nine plant species (sugarcane, maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet, and cassava) account for nearly two-thirds of the world’s total crop production. This monoculture-driven loss of biodiversity results in the homogenization of our diets: we eat foods from the same small number of staple crops, which drastically reduces our nutrient intake.
Monocropping also makes us more vulnerable to zoonoses or diseases that jump from animals to humans, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. This happens when forests are cleared for more crops, making us lose plants, wildlife, and other life forms that would otherwise buffer us from a reservoir of pathogens that cause zoonoses.
Furthermore, the dominant food system makes us ill due to its strong promotion of ultra-processed foods which are high in fat, sugar, and salt. The consumption of ultra-processed food triggers different forms of malnutrition and related non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes.