Category: Indigenous knowledge systems

We are happy to pass on this request from Simran Sethi. Do get in touch with her, you wont regret it.

I am an environmental journalist focusing on the loss of biodiversity in our food system. This erosion of agrobiodiversity echoes through every part of our food system. It strips soil, seed, pollinators, crops, livestock and aquatic life of their ability to adapt to changes in the environment—and puts our entire food supply at risk.

This extinction of food is a process, not a singular event. It is buried in the soil, hidden within feedlots and immersed in the ocean. I addressed some of this in my recent TEDx talk on seeds as the buried foundations of food, but seek to highlight this issue more broadly in my upcoming book “Endangered Food: The Erosion of What and How We Eat.” Because eating is both an agricultural and cultural act, my narrative is focused on conservation through consumption; specifically, on efforts to save foods by eating them.

And this is where I seek your assistance. I recognize this issue is complex and that consumption presents its own set of challenges. As those intimately involved in biodiversity preservation, you have firsthand knowledge of the ways in which your efforts engage and impact custodian farmers and local communities. Food is the embodied history and cultural identity through which the public can understand and address the global challenge of genetic erosion. To that end, I welcome any case studies on the expansion of underutilized species (both on farms and in markets) and/or examples of eating as a compelling and delicious way to support biodiversity and reshape the future of food through lived experience.

I can be reached for any questions or comments on simran “at” simransethi.com. Thank you for your consideration.