Advolly Richmond is exploring how food production methods and climate change today are exacerbating issues of biodiversity loss. As conditions change and human activity intervenes with environments, entire ecosystems are thrown out of balance, and the consequences for species are dire.

We could be losing plants and species science hasn’t even named, all due to harmful agricultural practises and accelerating climate change.

But Kew scientists and partners around the world are working to conserve species before it’s too late, by seeking out their wild relatives that have properties that can withstand the conditions of the future.

We travel from the mountains of Sierra Leone to track down a rare but resilient wild coffee variety, to deep underground in rural Sussex, where Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank is conserving the world’s seeds for future science at Wakehurst. Dr Elinor Breman gives us a tour of this biodiverse bunker, and her colleague Dr Aisyah Faruk explains her work tracking down wild relatives of fruit and nut species in Georgia and Armenia.

But it’s not just about finding alternative crops, as food journalist Dan Saladino explains: crop monocultures are leaving foods and ecosystems vulnerable to pests and disease.

Meanwhile Dr Caspar Chater is in Edible Science: Kew’s Kitchen Garden, ready to explain how a more diverse approach to what we eat can help save the world, and Professor Phil Stevenson tells us about his work with pollinators, the critical species that make so much of food production possible.

Advolly Richmond is exploring how food production methods and climate change today are exacerbating issues of biodiversity loss. As conditions change and human activity intervenes with environments, entire ecosystems are thrown out of balance, and the consequences for species are dire.
We could be losing plants and species science hasn’t even named, all due to harmful agricultural practises and accelerating climate change.
But Kew scientists and partners around the world are working to conserve species before it’s too late, by seeking out their wild relatives that have properties that can withstand the conditions of the future.
We travel from the mountains of Sierra Leone to track down a rare but resilient wild coffee variety, to deep underground in rural Sussex, where Kew’s <a href="https://www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-at-wakehurst/millennium-seed-bank">Millennium Seed Bank</a> is conserving the world’s seeds for future science at <a href="https://twitter.com/wakehurst_kew">Wakehurst.</a> Dr Elinor Breman gives us a tour of this biodiverse bunker, and her colleague Dr Aisyah Faruk explains her work tracking down wild relatives of fruit and nut species in Georgia and Armenia.
But it’s not just about finding alternative crops, as food journalist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dan.saladino/?hl=en">Dan Saladino</a> explains: crop monocultures are leaving foods and ecosystems vulnerable to pests and disease.
Meanwhile Dr Caspar Chater is in Edible Science: Kew’s Kitchen Garden, ready to explain how a more diverse approach to what we eat can help save the world, and Professor Phil Stevenson tells us about his work with pollinators, the critical species that make so much of food production possible.

The way we produce and consume food is having a devastating impact on our natural world.

How can we avoid disaster, and feed the world well?

Unearthed: Journeys into the future of food, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, explores our contemporary relationship with food: what are we eating? What is it doing to our health and the health of the planet? And how are livelihoods and agriculture changing before our eyes?

Take a journey around the world: from farming practises and biodiversity loss, to finding crops that can thrive in the face of climate change, all the way to our own shopping baskets and kitchens.

James Wong, Advolly Richmond and Poppy Okocha bring you insights, ideas and inspirational actions from artists, thinkers, chefs and  plant scientists who are all helping to make sure food and nature are secure and healthy for future generations.

Episodes 1 and 2 of this series will be released on Thursday 6th October 2022. You can catch up on the previous series of Unearthed - Mysteries From an Unseen World - right now on this podcast channel.

You can find out more about how Kew Science is helping to protect global food security by visiting kew.org.

Inspired by this series? Get involved online with #KewUnearthed

@kewgardens on Twitter

@kewgardens on Instagram

The way we produce and consume food is having a devastating impact on our natural world.
How can we avoid disaster, and feed the world well?
Unearthed: Journeys into the future of food, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, explores our contemporary relationship with food: what are we eating? What is it doing to our health and the health of the planet? And how are livelihoods and agriculture changing before our eyes?
Take a journey around the world: from farming practises and biodiversity loss, to finding crops that can thrive in the face of climate change, all the way to our own shopping baskets and kitchens.
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/botanygeek/?hl=en-gb">James Wong</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AdvollyR">Advolly Richmond</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/poppyokocha/?hl=en-gb">Poppy Okocha</a> bring you insights, ideas and inspirational actions from artists, thinkers, chefs and  plant scientists who are all helping to make sure food and nature are secure and healthy for future generations.
Episodes 1 and 2 of this series will be released on Thursday 6th October 2022. You can catch up on the previous series of Unearthed - Mysteries From an Unseen World - right now on this podcast channel.
You can find out more about how Kew Science is helping to protect global food security by visiting <a href="https://www.kew.org/">kew.org.</a>
Inspired by this series? Get involved online with #KewUnearthed
<a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/kewgardens">@kewgardens</a> on Twitter
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/kewgardens/?hl=en">@kewgardens</a> on Instagram

Unearthed - Journeys into the Future of Food

The way we produce and consume food is having a devastating impact on our natural world.
How can we avoid disaster, and feed the world well?
Unearthed: Journeys into the future of food, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, explores our contemporary relationship with food: what are we eating? What is it doing to our health and the health of the planet? And how are livelihoods and agriculture changing before our eyes?
Take a journey around the world: from farming practises and biodiversity loss, to finding crops that can thrive in the face of climate change, all the way to our own shopping baskets and kitchens.
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/botanygeek/?hl=en-gb">James Wong</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AdvollyR">Advolly Richmond</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/poppyokocha/?hl=en-gb">Poppy Okocha</a> bring you insights, ideas and inspirational actions from artists, thinkers, chefs and  plant scientists who are all helping to make sure food and nature are secure and healthy for future generations.
Episodes 1 and 2 of this series will be released on Thursday 6th October 2022. You can catch up on the previous series of Unearthed - Mysteries From an Unseen World - right now on this podcast channel.
You can find out more about how Kew Science is helping to protect global food security by visiting <a href="https://www.kew.org/">kew.org.</a>
Inspired by this series? Get involved online with #KewUnearthed
<a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/kewgardens">@kewgardens</a> on Twitter
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/kewgardens/?hl=en">@kewgardens</a> on Instagram

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