We have the early global explorers like Christopher Columbus to thank for the diversity of our crops today, and how we are able to grow these foodstuffs outside of their native lands. But to give us some context, a team of researchers have looked into the different origins of today's 151 staple food crops and plotted them on the map above.
Many of the crops listed overlap in different regions so, for example, wheat originally came from both Central and West Asia as well as the South and East Mediterranean. Apples, on the other hand, were grown natively in Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia.
There are also certain crops which are quite rare like tomatoes and potatoes, which, according to the map, were only native to the Andes. The same is true for watermelons, which were just grown in Southern Africa.
North America alone had sunflowers until some Spanish sailors discovered them in 1510 and brought boatloads back to Europe. Finally, Central America and Mexico brought corn to the rest of the world.
In terms of trade, according to the paper, most of the regions that have the least diversity of crops were the most dependent on foreign crops. That's why many European explorers had to venture out into the world to find these foodstuffs. North America and Australia are two other regions that need to introduce a lot of foreign crops, since they only have a limited range of native crops.
On the other hand, regions like Asia and Africa that have a higher crop diversity are less dependent on foreign crops. The highest growth of adoption of foreign crops include soy bean which is experiencing a boom in production in Brazil, and palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Research on crop origins, however, began almost 100 years ago with Nikolai Vavilov's centers of origin of cultivated plants. With the aim of improving crop yields to combat famines, Vavilov traveled around the world collecting food samples. He was able to amass 250,000 samples of seeds, roots, and fruits, and identified seven centers of origin.
Despite this, he drew the ire of Stalin and he was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to 20 years in prison. He died in prison in 1943, and many other scientists who were there with him, gave up their lives, dying of starvation, to protect the seeds that he collected. Later on, Vavilov was posthumously pardoned and received honors for his scientific contribution.
Agriculture and farming are truly one of the most game-changing innovations in history. Without it, civilizations might have struggled to build their societies and culture. Even today, with advances in genetics and bioengineering, we are making strides toward improving these crops.
(Image credit: International Center for Tropical Agriculture)