Future 50 Foods: Transforming Your Workplace for a Healthier Planet
They say variety is the spice of life. However, when it comes to the food we grow, produce, transport and eat, it could prove to be much, much more.
Today, the selection of foods that feed daily diets is limited—75% originates from just twelve plant and five animal species. This widespread dietary monotony doesn’t provide enough vitamins and minerals, which can lead to health problems. More importantly, our dependence on a narrow range of agricultural products increases the vulnerability of our food system, which is already under threat from climate change. In particular, our over-reliance on animal-based foods has an enormous impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
Knorr Professional and leading conservation organization WWF’s Future 50 Foods initiative sets out to tackle these pressing issues and contribute to large scale change. The Future 50 Foods are crucial to a sustainable food system that protects the planet and promotes human health, and they also offer exciting opportunities for culinary experimentation. Sodexo has partnered with Knorr and WWF-UK to bring Future 50 into the workplace, transform existing services and help our clients reinforce their commitment to the corporate responsibility roadmap.
Did you know? The Future 50 Foods can be grouped into 11 categories:
- 9 Beans
- 9 Cereals & Grains
- 9 Leafy Greens
- 4 Nuts and Seeds
- 4 Tubers
- 3 Fruit Vegetables
- 3 Root Vegetables
- 3 Sprouts
- 3 Mushrooms
- 2 Algae
- 1 Cacti
Businesses ready to make a difference can embrace Future 50 and adapt their onsite food services to promote diverse and sustainable diets and employee satisfaction. Change can also extend beyond the workplace, with employees influencing the behaviors of the people in the cultures and communities they live in.
The Impact of a Limited Food System
Eating too much of the same foods is not good for our health or the health of our planet. From a dietary perspective, current practices exclude many valuable sources of nutrition. According to the World Health Organization, 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, which is partly due to our limited diets.
Over-reliance on a small range of crops can also have serious repercussions on the food supply. Growing the same crop on a piece of land instead of rotating in others make them more prone to diseases and pests, and is not good for the soil.
Furthermore, our over-dependence on animal-based foods has an enormous impact on climate change. The World Resources Institute shows that global agriculture and land-use accounts for at least a quarter of all greenhouse emissions, with resource intensive products such as meat and dairy among the biggest polluters.
As a first step toward a global food system that reinvigorates agrobiodiversity, the Future 50 Foods Report identifies under-utilized plant-based foods that optimize nutrient density, reduce environmental impact and unlock variety for the global population. For leaders, it offers a clear path to participate in change, promote health and sustainability from within the business, and demonstrate the benefits of variety to the wider community.
