| Staple foods: What do people eat? |
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The world has over 50 000 edible plants. Just three of them, rice, maize and wheat, provide 60 percent of the world's food energy intake. | The main staple foods in the average African diet are (in terms of energy) cereals (46 percent), roots and tubers (20 percent) and animal products (7 percent). | In Western Europe the main staple foods in the average diet are (in terms of energy) animal products (33 percent), cereals (26 percent) and roots and tubers (4 percent). |
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Selected food crops: | |||
| 1. Chinese-Japanese region bamboo, millet, mustard, orange, peach, rice, soybean, tea 2. Indochinese-Indonesian region 3. Australian region | 4. Hindustani region banana, bean, chick-pea, citrus, cucumber, eggplant, mango, mustard, rice, sugar cane 5. Central Asian region 6. Near Eastern region | 7. Mediterranean region beetroot, cabbage, celery, fava bean, grape, lettuce, oats, olive, radish, wheat 8. African region 9. European-Siberian region | 10. South American region cacao, cassava, groundout, lima bean, papaya, pineapple, potato, squash, sweet potato, tomato 11. Central American and Mexican region 12. North American region Staple crops are shown in bold type |
A staple food is onethat is eaten regularly and in such quantities as to constitutethe dominant part of the diet and supply a major proportion ofenergy and nutrient needs.
A staple food does not meet a population's total nutritionalneeds: a variety of foods is required. This is particularly thecase for children and other nutritionally vulnerable groups.
Typically, staple foods are well adapted to the growthconditions in their source areas. For example, they may betolerant of drought, pests or soils low in nutrients. Farmersoften rely on staple crops to reduce risk and increase theresilience of their agricultural systems.
Most people live on a diet based on one or more of thefollowing staples: rice, wheat, maize (corn), millet, sorghum,roots and tubers (potatoes, cassava, yams and taro), and animalproducts such as meat, milk, eggs, cheese and fish.
Of more than 50 000 edible plant species in the world, only afew hundred contribute significantly to food supplies. Just 15crop plants provide 90 percent of the world's food energy intake,with three rice, maize and wheat - making up two-thirds of this.These three are the staples of over 4 000 million people.
Although there are over 10 000 species in the Gramineae(cereal) family, few have been widely introduced into cultivationover the past 2 000 years. Rice feeds almost half of humanity.Per caput rice consumption has generally remained stable, orrisen slightly since the 1960s. It has declined in recent yearsin many of the wealthier rice-consuming countries, such as Japan,the Republic of Korea and Thailand, because rising incomes haveenabled people to eat a more varied diet.
Roots and tubers are important staples for over 1 000 millionpeople in the developing world. They account for roughly 40percent of the food eaten by half the population of sub-SaharanAfrica. They are high in carbohydrates, calcium and vitamin C,but low in protein.
Per caput consumption of roots and tubers has been falling inmany countries since the beginning of the l 970s, mainly becauseurban populations have found it cheaper and easier to buyimported cereals. Since 1970, consumption of roots and tubers inthe Pacific Islands has fallen by 8 percent, while cerealconsumption jumped by 40 percent, from 61 to 85 kilograms perperson.
Many countries are experiencing a similar shift away fromtraditional foods, but there is growing recognition of theimportance of traditional food crops in nutrition. After years ofbeing considered "poor people's foods" some of thesecrops are now enjoying a comeback. Cassava, considered a minorcrop at the turn of the century, has now become one of thedeveloping world's most important staples providing a basic dietfor around 500 million people. Plantings are increasing fasterthan for any other crop. Quinoa, a grain grown in the high Andes,is also gaining wider acceptance even outside of Latin Americawith the introduction of new varieties and improved processing.
Proportionsof food in average diets
World diets
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Each coloured segment indicates acontribution of 10 percent or more to the average dietary energysupply (DES). Other foods and any food group providing less than10 percent to the DES is coloured grey. Because thefigures are shown as ranges and not precise numbers, segmentsshowing similar percentages do not always appear the same size.
Boundaries of newly formed nations (in former USSR, in formerYugoslavia in former Czechoslovakia, Eritrea) are shown in grey.Data for these countries not available.
Statistics for next zones (these are connected to theprevious map):
North America, Central America and Caribbean (48 KB)
Europe and area of the former USSR (69 KB)
Asia (90 KB)
South America (37 KB)
Africa (139 KB)
Southwest Pacific (20 KB)
World average diet
Percentages, 1988-90
Otherimportant nutritional sources - complementary foods
Throughout the world,complementary foods play an essential role in meeting nutrientrequirements. They include protein sources - meat, poultry, fish,legumes and milk products; energy sources - fats, oils andsugars; and vitamin and mineral sources - fruits, vegetables andanimal products.
In addition to conventional crops and agricultural products,the following are valuable sources of nutrition. Their importanceis particularly obvious during seasonal and emergency shortages.
Wild plants are essential for many rural subsistencehouseholds; at least 1 000 million people are thought to usethem. In Ghana, for instance, the leaves of over 100 species ofwild plants and the fruits of another 200 - are consumed. Inrural Swaziland, more than 220 species of wild plants provide agreater share of the diet than domesticated cultivars. In India,Malaysia and Thailand, about 150 wild plant species have beenidentified as sources of emergency food.
Wild animals including insects, birds, fish, rodentsand larger mammals are often the only source of animal proteinfor rural people. In parts of the Peruvian Amazon, for example,over 85 percent of dietary animal protein is from the wild. Some62 developing countries rely on wildlife for at least one-fifthof their animal protein.
Fish supplements the rice diet of many north-easternThai and Lao farming families. Both fish and frogs are caught instreams, irrigation canals, ditches, water reservoirs and floodedpaddy fields.
Tree foods and home gardens contribute significantly torural diets. In West Java, Indonesia, coconut trees and homegardens produce 32 percent of total dietary protein and 44percent of total calorie needs. In Puerto Rico, the produce fromhome gardens has increased vitamin A and C intake, especially inchildren.
Forest foods can provide varied food year round,supplying essential minerals and vitamins. They include: wildleaves, seeds and nuts, fruits, roots and tubers, mushrooms,honey and animal products.
THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN FOODS
Some traditional food plants could become foods of the future- a convenient source of income, improved nutrition and increasedfood supply.
Amaranth and quinoa -grains that originally came from theAndes and were holy to the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico- are being reevaluated. Both are versatile and nutritious. Theyare also hardy: amaranth thrives in hot climates; quinoa is frostresistant and can be grown as high as 4 000 metres.
Many more traditional foods await development and wider use.
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