Transforming food systems through tools, data, training and global collaboration to improve understanding of edible biodiversity

From
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Published on
26.11.24
Impact Area
Big data, Nutrition, health & food security

The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) is advancing food science by decoding the complex molecular composition of foods to address critical global issues in health, sustainability, and food security. At COP16 on biodiversity, PTFI leaders and partners emphasized the initiative’s transformative role in mapping nutrients and exploring edible biodiversity. The event highlighted the need for biodiversity not only in diets but also across agricultural landscapes to improve nutrition, resilience and livelihoods worldwide.

Understanding the intricate world within our food is crucial to addressing today’s most pressing global challenges, the health of people and planet, climate change, and food security. The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) seeks to bridge these topics by delivering a comprehensive understanding of the elements that make up our food and the interconnected factors shaping their quality. The PTFI is a science-to-action initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation that is co-managed by the American Heart Association and the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT with technology led by Verso Biosciences and an ecosystem of global partners and funders. This initiative connects agriculture and health to unlock knowledge about what is in our food, the drivers of changes in food quality, and the ways we can use these insights to benefit people and the planet.

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