A Decade Across Half the Globe, Just to Document Vanishing Foods

Foodthink Says

“The story of food is the greatest story we can tell.” This May, Dan Saladino, a veteran BBC journalist, made this remark during an interview with Foodthink at the 3rd International Agrobiodiversity Congress.

Saladino has focused on food and agriculture reporting. For more than a decade, he visited over 30 countries and regions, documenting 40 stories about endangered foods. These stories were compiled and published in 2021 as The Vanishing Foods, which met with a warm response. The Chinese edition was translated and introduced by Beiye Books.

Talking about endangered foods is not nostalgia but a re-examination of humanity’s relationship with nature and of the relationship between agriculture and food. Saladino urges us to strive to understand food diversity and global food systems, and to forge connections between our everyday food and the ecosystems we inhabit. Only by preserving diversity will the planet and humanity have more options. This article is a written compilation of Foodthink’s interview with Saladino, and we hope it will serve as a guide for readers.

This Wednesday (2 July) at 7:30 pm, Foodthink and Beiye Books will co-host the first online event for The Vanishing Foods. Book your place for the live broadcast and buy the book at Foodthink’s Weidian shop to support more quality titles on food and farming!

◉ Dan Saladino with the original English-language edition of The Vanishing Foods. Image source: internet

How Did You Come to Focus on Agricultural Biodiversity as a Food Journalist?

Saladino: As a journalist and storyteller, the first priority is to understand, as fully as possible, the whole story of food. While writing this book, I became obsessed with the origins of food and the history of Homo sapiens. Think about it – it was only ten thousand years ago that humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to settled agriculturalists. Wild grasses were domesticated into rice and wheat.

For me, this is the most momentous story in human history. It utterly transformed the planet. These stories ought to be in school textbooks. The more we understand, the more we will care about diversity. My radio programmes, the books I write, and the work Foodthink is doing all inspire people to think about their relationship with food.

Even from a purely self-interested standpoint, food is intimately connected to our health. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that a diverse diet is beneficial to health without a single drawback.

In China, the burden of protecting agricultural diversity seems to fall on farmers, a vulnerable group, which is profoundly unfair. In the distribution chain, produce middlemen primarily purchase commercial varieties rather than heritage ones.

Saladino: The Sichuan farmer Sun Wenxiang mentioned in the book is the only farmer left in the area still growing Red-Mouth Glutinous Rice. At the time, I wondered: can you actually make a living growing Red-Mouth Glutinous Rice? Sun Wenxiang then showed me his chat messages with customers on his phone. I had not imagined that he could sell rice directly to consumers through his phone.

This shows that breaking through conventional supply chains and creating alternative ones is possible, and that digital technology can also be used to share their stories.

◉Sun Wenxiang at the Chengdu Farmers’ Market. On 19 July, he will also join us at the Chengdu Lifestyle Market for a book-sharing event on The Vanishing Foods. For event details, please watch for Foodthink’s upcoming announcements. Image provided by the Chengdu Lifestyle Market.

Saladino: The book’s afterword is titled “Thinking Like the Hadza”, and the book itself opens with the story of the Hadza. By the age of six, a Hadza child already knows where to find food. Try thinking like the Hadza – learn about the diversity of food around you. I am not calling for a return to hunter-gatherer life, but for a more active awareness of food and reflection on how we can support farmers and producers within our means.

For consumers, it is important to know that these niche foods exist, yet most people’s everyday food still comes from the industrial system. We recently published an article exploring how imported Brazilian meat affects pastoralists, and industrialised food production is precisely one of the causes of the sharp decline in diversity.

Saladino: That’s right – most consumers are most sensitive to price. Brazil is home to the world’s largest poultry-meat producer; its supply chain is highly concentrated and export-oriented, with cheap meat products efficiently shipped around the globe. This is where “True Cost Accounting” comes in. What does eating imported Brazilian meat mean for pastoralists? Where are the environmental impacts of these meat products? These are deeply complex questions. This is precisely why we need to tell the stories behind our food.

Right now, many regions and cities are discussing how to ensure food self-sufficiency while also supporting neighbouring farmers. Scientists, chefs and urban consumers can help rural communities protect diversity together. Restaurants can sell these uncommon crops, with the proceeds going back to the community, and chefs can tell urban consumers the stories of food diversity.

Even if these small attempts cannot transform the entire food system, they help sustain the vitality of these rural communities.

◉Click the image to buy the book and discover innovations in protecting food diversity around the world.

In Your Introduction, You Mentioned Attending the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York, Where Global Food Giants Were Also Discussing Food Diversity. How Do You View These Major Companies’ Role in Shaping the Global Food System? Are They Truly Willing to Change the Status Quo?

Saladino: That is an important question. Throughout the 20th century, these multinational food giants shaped our food system. They control food production and trade, making food everywhere ever more homogenised.

To come back to the summit mentioned in the book. Emmanuel Faber, the CEO of Danone, stated that 99% of the cows raised by the dairy industry were Holstein cows. They realised that original species diversity needed to be restored – he spoke about diversity with remarkable frankness. Interestingly, just 18 months later, he lost his job.

◉ After Emmanuel Faber’s speech at the summit, the media interviewed him to understand why major food companies were also actively “embracing the food revolution”. Image source: screenshot from European Supermarket Magazine

Saladino: In recent years, many food companies have also begun talking about “regenerative agriculture“. Some measures genuinely help restore diversity and improve soil health, such as intercropping. But in my experience, no one really believes that these innovations by the big food companies will lead to a qualitative shift. These projects are destined to remain niche offerings and could never replace their core business model.

At present, much public funding still subsidises unsustainable food-and-farming systems – we heard plenty of examples at the 3rd International Agrobiodiversity Congress. When this system leads to public health crises and environmental destruction, it is still public money that cleans up the mess. This is precisely our opportunity to return to the grassroots and to farmers.

We need to hold the line so that local food systems preserving diversity do not collapse. In turn, these local systems can inspire further innovation; the complexity they display has never been replicated by the big food companies, nor can it be.

You Frequently Take Part in International Discussions and Food Movements on Climate Change and Biodiversity. What Positive Impact Do You Think These Discussions Have Had on Farmers Protecting Endangered Crops?

Saladino: As a journalist, these so-called “big words” are how I tell stories. Attending international conferences gives me access to cutting-edge science and various forms of international cooperation. I weave this material together with my on-the-ground observations through specific case studies.

At heart, these stories are not academic. On the contrary, they are deeply grassroots – just as The Vanishing Foods is inextricably linked to the “Ark of Taste“, an initiative launched by the Slow Food movement. It was precisely because people had catalogued all sorts of endangered crops in the Ark of Taste that I was able to follow the trail and tell the stories of food diversity. I would get in touch with these people and, if I was lucky, visit them in person. This grassroots energy is where my stories begin, while international discussions form the broader context.

◉ Saladino speaking at the 3rd Agrobiodiversity Congress. Image source: Biodiversity International

Saladino: When I was writing this book, I knew very little about the international discussions on climate change and biodiversity. I simply loved these stories – in that respect, you could say I was naïve. I cared about these stories and wanted more people to read them. I imagine the scientists and people from international organisations who organise the conferences found me rather refreshing. Because the way I tell stories is completely different from the scientific mainstream.

All in all, I believe storytelling matters enormously. People love telling stories and hearing them, and the story of food is the greatest story we can tell.

How Can Government Policy Protect Food Diversity? Are There Good Examples to Share? In China, Such Policy Changes Seem Hard to Drive, Because People Always Say: Organic Food Is Too Expensive – the General Public Cannot Afford It.

Saladino: Governments can start with their own procurement, expanding demand and setting an example. The Vanishing Foods also discusses cases of public procurement. In Copenhagen, Denmark, public funding was used to require schools to source diverse local varieties of fruit. As early as 2009, the Brazilian government mandated that 30% of the National Fund for Education Development’s grants to public schools must be spent on ingredients from family farms.

I completely understand the arguments you mention. But I think we need to establish the concept of “True Cost Accounting”. We have already poured billions in public funds into the conventional food system, and the public health and environmental damage it causes places yet more strain on the public purse. In the long run, we need to understand the true cost of cheap food.

Chinese Readers Often Tease Britain’s Dodgy Cooking, Calling the Country a “Food Desert”. Meanwhile, We Have Heard That Britain’s Homegrown Food and Farming Movement Is in Full Swing. Are There Any Stories You Can Share with Us?

Saladino: It is hardly surprising people have that impression. After all, we were the first country to undergo industrialisation, which meant many farmers left the land for work in the cities. During the imperial era, Britain brought food back home from all over the world. Then came two world wars.

It is true that Britain’s native food culture has all but vanished – many orchards and apple varieties have disappeared, and cereal diversity has suffered a dramatic decline. We need to rebuild a new food culture.

In the book, I wrote about a farmhouse cheese from Nottinghamshire: Stilcheton. From the post-war period to the 1970s, most farmhouse cheese varieties in Britain disappeared. People could only buy factory-made cheese, and cheddar dominated the market entirely. Because sheep and goats were no longer milked for cheese, many breeds became endangered, and cheesemaking skills were lost.

◉ In the 1990s, the British government introduced food safety legislation stipulating that Stilton cheese could only be made with pasteurised milk. To avoid penalties, cheesemakers renamed their traditionally made Stilton to Stilcheton – a Blue cheese. Image source: Cheese Atlas

Saladino: The 1970s were the decade of diversity revival in Britain. The Rare Breed Survival Trust reintroduced endangered livestock breeds and began producing farmhouse cheese. From just a handful of varieties to over 1,000 farmhouse cheeses today, we have recovered the knowledge of making and storing cheese.

Another example is the Perry pear. Perry is like Britain’s champagne. These pears are not suited to eating fresh; once fermented, they can be made into cider. In the 18th century, Perry pear trees were widely grown across Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. In the 19th and 20th centuries, local farmers began switching to grain, and the orchard landscapes were transformed.

Some people travelled the length and breadth of rural Britain just to find surviving old-variety trees for brewing. And so the Perry pear was revived too. Fifteen years ago, hardly anyone had heard of it; now we are drinking Perry.

◉ Cider maker Tom Oliver with the old-variety Perry pears used to make the drink. Image source: internet

Saladino: Britain also has the Oxford Real Farming Movement, which brings together a group of passionate young people who want to get into organic farming and explore alternative food production. For them, the biggest barrier to returning to farming is access to land.

Britain is a small country, and land is concentrated in relatively few hands. Finding a plot on which to practise regenerative agriculture, agroecology, or diversified growing is no easy matter. Some people are exploring new co-operative models, leasing portions of large farms to these young growers.

◉ Held annually at the start of each year, the Oxford Real Farming Conference is one of the largest agroecology gatherings in the world. Farm management, food and farming policy, food justice, farmers’ rights, and land access are among its headline topics. Image source: ORFC website

Saladino: When it comes to staples, there is also the “Bread Revival”. Some people are making bread from Britain’s endangered cereal varieties, and a few particularly popular bakeries in London – such as E5 Bakehouse – work directly with farmers, while some even have their own farms. These stories of actively protecting diversity leave me feeling we ought to remain optimistic about the future.

It Has Been Four Years Since The Vanishing Foods Was Published. How Have These Vanishing Foods You Documented Changed?

Saladino: The book contains over 40 stories, and each one is rather different. Some foods have gained more attention – coffee, for instance.

In the chapter “Wild Forest Coffee”, I wrote about our dependence on Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Since the book was published, I have witnessed the revival of some varieties that were on the brink of disappearing. Last week I visited Kew Gardens in London and met many leading scientists researching coffee diversity. Through the combined efforts of scientists and farmers, the “Coffea stenophylla” I mentioned in the book has been brought back into cultivation.

I also got to taste Excelsa coffee at Kew Gardens (a rare variety discovered in Chad, West Africa, in the 20th century) – the same one I referenced in my talk at the 3rd Agrobiodiversity Congress.

◉ Plants of Coffea stenophylla and Excelsa coffee. Image source: Daily Coffee News & Perfect Daily Grind

Saladino: I think people are increasingly aware of the importance of agricultural biodiversity and endangered foods, and innovations in local food systems are multiplying. These innovations can both take root in the local economy and be integrated into larger markets and digital supply chains.

In addition, research into endangered foods such as tubers and cereals has grown. Because these crops are drought-tolerant and can withstand extreme temperatures, there is also growing interest in their nutritional value.

There are quite a few positive stories like these, but bad news comes too. Wild Atlantic salmon populations, for instance, have been in steady decline, and they do appear to be on the brink of extinction.

◉ In 2022, the Wild Atlantic salmon was listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Near Threatened (NT), meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. Image source: IUCN website

Saladino: I really wish I had more time to revisit these crop varieties. Recently, I was invited to north-east India to shoot a 20-minute documentary about Indian citrus.

My next book will look at forests, mountains, grasslands and other ecosystems to explore how humans interact with food landscapes. I believe these endangered species are our points of connection to ecosystems. They reveal how humans, as part of nature, either cooperate with it or dominate and reshape it.

One Final Personal Question. How Do You Eat Day to Day? Do You Cook at Home?

Saladino: Of course. When I am at home, I cook for my family. I often make Italian food, but I never follow recipes – I cook by instinct, blending all sorts of ingredients together.

My family orders an organic vegetable box (veg box) every week, and in future I might well subscribe to a fish box as well. I am a living example of someone who refuses to settle for the conventional choices on supermarket shelves and actively seeks out alternative supply chains.

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In your hometown or the city you currently live in, are there foods you used to be able to eat but can now hardly find? What do you think has caused their disappearance?

We welcome your comments below. We will select one outstanding entry to receive a copy of The Vanishing Foods.

Reporting and compilation: Zē’en, Tiānlè

Zhou Chen also contributed to this article