Guidance Document and Considerations for the Marketing of Biodiverse Food Products

Abstract

The prevailing food supply chains are characterised by a highly standardised food offer produced in an impoverished agricultural system. The loss of diversity in food production is not only a loss of crop species and varieties but also a loss of taste, culture and knowledge and adaptability to a changing environment. This booklet is intended to contribute to a transformation of this system by supporting the use of the biological diversity of cultures. It aims at supporting practitioners that want to enhance crop genetic diversity in agricultural systems and increase the link between consumers and producers. Moreover, the booklet contains a compilation of all the lessons learned from the valorisation of crop genetic diversity during the European research project DIVERSIFOOD - Embedding crop di-versity and networking for local, high-quality food systems. Based on a comprehensive, multi-actor and systemic approach developed by Rossi et al. (2016), supply chains built around bio-diverse products were analysed (Padel et al., 2018). In addition, information was gathered about strategies to communicate the added value of a product to consumers (Holzherr et al., 2018), and in four European countries, an online consumer survey was conducted (Meier & Oehen 2018). The main result of the project is that the valorisation of biodiverse products requires the in-volvement of all actors along the supply chain from breeder to consumer, their appreciation of the value of plant genetic diversity and their willingness and engagement to adapt their practices. The most important lesson from DIVERSIFOOD is therefore that the development of food diversity consists of different people with complementary skills gathering together and striving for more diversity in the food system