Friday March 29th, 2024
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Future 50: The ‘Superfoods’ That Could Fix Egypt’s Food System

Knorr and the World Wildlife Fund have teamed up to address the pressing matter of food sustainability in Egypt and the world.

Staff Writer

The term ‘superfood’ has been floating around for almost twenty years now, unattached to a fixed meaning or significance. Many have dismissed it as a marketing term; a way to sell to an increasingly discerning and health-conscious world. It is, and will continue to be, a disputed word, but with the recently launched ‘Future 50’ list, a forward-thinking initiative championed by food brand, Knorr, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the conversation has taken a turn. We’re no longer just talking about what foods are good for us, but also about what foods are good for the planet. Bear with us and it’ll make sense.

When you consider that around 75% of the world's food supply comes from 12 plant and five animal-based species, that conversation takes on a much wider scope. How can this possibly be sustainable when it’s predicted that, by 2050, the global population will have reached 9 billion?

This has rung alarm bells for a number of people and organisations, specifically Knorr, as well as WWF. With the expertise of Director of the Centre of Public Health Nutrition on the University of Washington, Adam Drewnowski, the Future 50 is a collaborative report that offers alternatives that kill two birds with one stone; they’re foods that, if used more readily, will benefit both the planet and those that inhabit it (read: ravage it).

Granted, much of these foods are, at least for now, not exactly accessible to Egyptians (think wakame, saffron milk cap mushrooms and pumpkin flower), but Knorr has emerged as something of a thought leader in sustainable food solutions by championing what it’s calling ‘dietary diversity’, through a simple but effective way: crafting recipes based on this new focus on variety. On the website, you’ll find localised recipes that put the focus on everything from the common foods such as fava beans and lentils, to lesser-used (but readily available) foods such as flaxseed and quinoa.

This project was announced this month at a special event in Paris, which was even attended by Omar Shabrawy, of @OmarsFood fame, and TV chef, Alaa El Sherbini. The event was attended by experts and thought leaders in food and nutrition, with a special panel of guests wrestling with this most urgent of topics. There was even a spectacular lunch served using many of the foods on the Future 50 list – a demonstration, so to speak, of the endless possibilities that await if we just look beyond what we’ve become accustomed too.

But, what now? Well, it’s on us. Knorr and WWF are leading the way in championing sustainability, now we need to follow. You can find out more here.

The content of the article is sponsored.