biology

Future 50 Foods report

Future 50 Foods report is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Future 50 Foods report rather than just read about it. In short: The Future 50 Foods report, subtitled "50 foods for healthier people and a healthier planet", was published in February 2019 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Knorr. It identifies 50 plant-based foods that can increase dietary nutritional value and reduce environmental impacts of the food supply, promoting sustainable global food systems.

Key takeaways

Future 50 Foods report belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Future 50 Foods report to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Future 50 Foods report from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Future 50 Foods report, subtitled "50 foods for healthier people and a healthier planet", was published in February 2019 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Knorr. It identifies 50 plant-based foods that can increase dietary nutritional value and reduce environmental impacts of the food supply, promoting sustainable global food systems.

Description

The report identifies 12 plant sources and five animal sources that make up 75 percent of the food humans consume, and three crops (wheat, corn and rice) accounting for about "60 percent of the plant-based calories in most diets". The report points out that lack of variety in food sources threatens food security, and "repeatedly harvesting the same crop on the same land depletes nutrients in the soil, leading to intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides that, when misused, can hurt wildlife and damage the environment". The report offers five steps to identifying a future food: "focus on plant-based foods, optimize nutrient density, evaluate environmental impact, consider culture and flavor, and deliver diversity." Criteria for inclusion on the list of 50 foods indicated they must be "highly nutritious, have as little impact on the environment as possible, affordable, accessible, and of course, tasty". The foods are grouped into categories:

Algae Algae contain essential fatty acids and antioxidants rich in protein, and are a potential replacement for meat. 1. Laver seaweed Porphyra umbilicalis 2. Wakame seaweed Undaria pinnatifida

Beans and pulses

Beans are in the legume family, and are a source of fiber, protein and B vitamins. 3. Adzuki beans Vigna angularis 4. Black turtle beans Phaseolus vulgaris 5. Broad beans (fava beans) Vicia faba 6. Bambara groundnuts/Bambara beans Vigna subterranea

7. Cowpeas Vigna unguiculata 8. Lentils Lens culinaris 9. Marama beans Tylosema esculentum 10. Mung beans Vigna radiata 11. Soy beans Glycine max

Cacti Cacti contains vitamins C and E, carotenoids, fibre and amino acids. 12. Nopales Opuntia

Cereals and grains

These whole grains and cereals provide nutritional value and also improve soil health by diversifying sources of carbohydrates from current dependence on white rice, maize, and wheat. 13. Amaranth Amaranthus 14. Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum 15. Finger millet Eleusine coracana

16. Fonio Digitaria exilis 17. Khorasan wheat Triticum turanicum 18. Quinoa Chenopodium quinoa 19. Spelt Triticum spelta 20. Teff Eragrostis tef 21. Wild rice Zizania

Vegetable-like fruits Compared to vegetables, these fruits are sweeter and usually contain more carbohydrates and water.22. Pumpkin flowers Cucurbita pepo 23. Orange tomatoes Solanum lycopersicum 24. Okra Abelmoschus esculentus

Leafy greens Leafy greens contain dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, and are low in calories. 25. Beet greens Beta vulgaris 26. Broccoli rabe Brassica ruvo 27. Kale Brassica oleracea var. sabellica 28. Moringa Moringa oleifera

29. Pak-choi or bok-choy (Chinese cabbage) Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis30. Pumpkin leaves Cucurbita pepo 31. Red cabbage Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis 32. Spinach Spinacia oleracea 33. Watercress Nasturtium officinale

Mushrooms Mushrooms have high B vitamin content, as well as vitamin D, protein, and fiber. 34. Enoki mushrooms Flammulina velutipes 35. Maitake mushrooms Grifola frondosa 36. Saffron milk cap mushrooms Lactarius deliciosus

Nuts and seeds Called "superfoods", these foods are high in protein, vitamin E, and "good fats". 37. Flax seeds Linum usitatissimum 38. Hemp seeds Cannabis sativa 39. Sesame seeds Sesamum indicum 40. Walnuts Juglans regia

Root vegetables Root vegetables have a broad variety of vitamins and minerals. 41. Black salsify Scorzonera hispanica 42. Parsley root Petroselinum crispum 43. White icicle radish (winter radish) Raphanus sativus var. Longipinnatus

Sprouts Sprouts have extremely high nutrient content. The sprouting process doubles, and in some cases triples, the nutritional value of the plant. 44. Alfalfa sprouts Medicago sativa 45. Sprouted kidney beans Phaseolus vulgaris 46. Sprouted chickpeas Cicer arietinum

Tubers

Tubers are usually high in carbohydrates and are a source of energy. 47. Lotus root Nelumbo nucifera 48. Ube (purple yam) Dioscorea alata 49. Yam bean root (jicama) Pachyrhizus erosus 50. Red Indonesian (Cilembu) sweet potatoes Ipomoea batatas

Reviews According to Cooking Light, "This report was developed by experts in food sustainability, food security, nutrition, human rights and agriculture to help us understand how to eat for optimal health and a healthier planet." Eleanor Beardsley of NPR's Morning Edition said, "As it turns out, the way we humans eat is very much linked to preserving wildlife — and many other issues." Claiming a 60% decline in wildlife populations since 1970, David Edwards of WWF advocates addressing "the drivers of habitat loss and species collapse", identifying the biggest driver as global farming. Global Citizen said, "Adopting a plant-based diet can help reduce your carbon footprint and decrease greenhouse gas emissions." It quoted Peter Gregory in the report: "Diversified diets not only improve human health but benefit the environment through diversified production systems that encourage wildlife and more sustainable use of resources."

References

External links Future 50 Foods report

Illustrations

Future 50 Foods report: Black turtle beans — Black turtle beans

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Future 50 Foods report

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Future 50 Foods report claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Future 50 Foods report before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Future 50 Foods report ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Future 50 Foods report

In research: Future 50 Foods report appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Future 50 Foods report in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Future 50 Foods report is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agroecology, Biodiversity, Food security, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Future 50 Foods report outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Future 50 Foods report in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Future 50 Foods report means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Future 50 Foods report out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Future 50 Foods report in simple terms?

Why does Future 50 Foods report matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Future 50 Foods report?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Future 50 Foods report.