NPR

For A Healthier Planet, Eat These 50 Foods, Campaign Urges

Global reliance on just a handful of crops for calories is hurting the environment — and wildlife, a new report says. It urges the world to diversify its diet to save plant and animal species alike.
Just three crops — wheat, corn and rice — make up nearly 60 percent of the plant-based calories in most diets, according to a new report. Above, a farmer inspects a plant in her dry maize field on March 13 in Zimbabwe.

Why would a wildlife conservation organization be involved in a campaign to push people to diversify their diets? As it turns out, the way we humans eat is very much linked to preserving wildlife — and many other issues. This was the topic at a recent conference in Paris where the World Wildlife Fund and Knorr foods teamed up to launch their campaign and report, titled "Future 50 Foods: 50 Foods for Healthier People and a Healthier Planet."

The WWF's David Edwards says that there has been a 60 percent decline in wildlife populations since 1970 and that working to protect animals is no longer enough to save them.

"We have to address the drivers of

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