Biodiversity is not an easy concept. It takes a lot of explaining, and feels so distant for most of us. Do you really care that your local grocery store sells only one type of corn? Just put it in the cart and move on.
But when we look at the statistics and the stories behind the numbers, biodiversity becomes something we can understand and care about.
{{ image(4482, {“class”: “flor round”, “width”: “300”, “height”: “300”}) }} This chart, based on United Nations FAO data, takes a minute to absorb. Look closely at that red line on the right — the dramatic drop of species is staggering. Throughout human history, 7,000 crops have been cultivated for human consumption; but today, 30 crops provide 95% of the food we consume, and 50% of our plant calories come from just rice, wheat and maize. Did you get that? That’s insane.
So how do we make the next century to be years of plenty, not years of loss? Let’s listen to the stories of some of our Slow Food champions, working with Ark of Taste seeds:
 
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{{ image(4293, {“class”: “flor round”, “width”: “200”, “height”: “200”}) }}The #100YearsofPlenty campaign in June 2016 exceeded our goal of $40,000. THANK YOU for your support. This money means that school kids will plant Ark of Taste seeds in school gardens across the country, the Ark of Taste will continue to accept nominations for new items, and seed by seed, we will promote biodiversity across the nation.
