People around the world eat fewer kinds of vegetables as their diets become more alike. In India, some traditional vegetables have almost disappeared from markets. Stores mostly sell vegetables from plants made by crossing different types.
Prabhakar Rao is a farmer in Bengaluru, India. He saves hundreds of traditional kinds of seeds to stop them from disappearing. A study in the science journal PNAS listed 1,482 vegetable species, or different kinds of vegetable plants. The researchers say the real number is much higher.
The study also looked at wild plants related to 79 major vegetable species. About 24% of these wild relatives are at risk of disappearing completely. Changes in land use, markets, and farming help explain the loss. Chef and food researcher Elizabeth Yorke says buyers connect good taste and quality with certain colors and shapes.
Groups are working to protect these plants and use them as food. In Meghalaya, India, a group has added less common local and wild vegetables to meals at 26 schools. Worldwide, the WorldVeg seed bank keeps more than 65,000 plant samples. Colin Khoury of the Crop Trust says small farmers need support, and less common vegetables need better ways to reach buyers.
