WHAT ARE THE FOODS DRUGS OR ENERGY CROPS OF THE FUTURE?

Underutilized or neglected plant species may have tremendous nutritional value and have agroecological niches so that they survive drought, unfertilized, saline or waterlogged soils better than current commercial species.  FOR WEBSITES SEE ASSIGNMENTS/CH 1 &2/Future Food.  A list of species are in the table below.  Answer the questions  below for your species.  (you can create a table with a column for each question, bullets for the answers with IN-TEXT citations.)  At the end, include a REFERENCE LIST with 10 complete citations in APA format.

1) What is this food? (tree, fruit, vegetable, pulse, grain or something else)

2) Where is it from?

3) What is it's unique nutritional value (protein, carbohydrates, fiber, fat, Vitamins)?

4) Current commercial production? 

5) What risks (side effects, allergies, erosion, pollution) does it have?,

6) If we start to harvest it on a large scale in the wild or grow it commercially on farms, what impact do you think this will have on biodiversity? 

The purpose of this question is for you to analyze the crop in question and how it is grown.  Think about and analyze what impacts on biodiversity these agricultural methods would have if we increased production (or harvesting in the wild) of this crop.   Where in the world is it grown?  What biodiversity threats are present in that country (ies)?  Would increased production make these worse or better?  Would it harm native plants and animals, soil, air, water or human health?   If it is harvested from the wild, can it regrow on its own or is the harvesting destructive?  It may help you to read the textbook and cite it as well as sources about the crop and cite those too to answer this question about the connections between agricultural production and biodiversity.

 Food, Fiber and Bioenergy of the Future: Some Examples