Household availability of foods from Brazilian biodiversity

Food biodiversity is characterized by the diversity of foods that compose a local, regional, or national ecosystem. Brazil has 20% of all the planet's biodiversity and the richest biomes in the world. Therefore, describing the participation of these foods in the Brazilian diet is relevant. Using a complex sample with data from 57,920 households collected by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics from 2017 to 2018, this study showed that, except for yerba mate, the availability of foods from Brazilian biodiversity is low, representing an average of 7.09g/per capita/day. Regarding biomes, the Caatinga had the highest availability of fruits (4.20g/per capita/day) while the Amazon had the highest availability of vegetables (1.52g/per capita/day). The results are unsatisfactory and lower than what is expected from a territory rich in biodiversity and a world-leading food system. A greater commitment is essential to promote actions that strengthen the consumption of these foods among Brazilians.

Automated summary

Food biodiversity in Brazil is characterized by its low availability, despite having 20% of the planet's biodiversity. The study found that on average, only 7.09g of foods from Brazilian biodiversity are consumed per capita per day. The Caatinga biome has the highest availability of fruits (4.20g per capita per day), while the Amazon biome has the highest availability of vegetables (1.52g per capita per day). These results are unsatisfactory and highlight the need for greater commitment to promote the consumption of these foods among Brazilians.