Viewpoint: Native crops extinction: Why our food future depends on biodiversity

Viewpoint: Native crops extinction: Why our food future depends on biodiversity

The diversity of native crops is in decline. Photo credit: Reuters/Henry Romero. By Dipali Khandelwal and Hemlata Chauhan Last winter, as seasonal produce returned to markets in Jaipur, India, I noticed an unsettling absence. Despite visiting countless vendors, desi bhutta, the local Indian corn I grew up eating, was nowhere to be found. In its place stood rows of shiny, sweet and standardised American corn. But what seemed like a small, local l…