This morning, while listening to one of my favorite KCRW shows, Good Food, I learned about breadfruit and it’s potential to provide a nutritious, sustainable food source, particularly to those in need.   The funky-looking fruit not only serve as an excellent source of starch, protein, vitamins and minerals, but the trees offer construction materials, medicine, glue, fabric, animal feed, insect repellent and the list goes on.   Originating from the Pacific Islands, and often associated with The Mutiny on the Bounty, breadfruit has become a staple crop throughout the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia.   A productive, fast-growing and resilient crop, breadfruit offers sustenance in the face of food shortages, self-sufficiency for aide-dependant nations, and watershed and wildlife protection as an alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture.

As useful as breadfruit could be, the crop is threatened by climate change and human negligence.   The Breadfruit Institute warns:

The cultivation and use of breadfruit has decreased in many areas and numerous trees have been lost due to drought, storm damage, and neglect. Global warming is a special concern to the low-lying coral atolls due to the increase in number and severity of devastating storms and salt water intrusion into the water table. A number of varieties of breadfruit have already disappeared or are becoming rare.

The Institute seeks to protect threatened varieties, encourage the cultivation of this remarkable, sustainable crop, and teach people it’s multitude of uses.

takepart by supporting the breadfruit conservation efforts of  The National Tropical Botanical Garden, home of the Breadfruit Institute, and learn more about this sustainable staple.