WHERE DOES OUR FOOD COME FROM?

EURO-SIBERIAN
CENTRE
CROPS: Many forage and grasses,
spelt wheat, horseradish, turnip, parsnip,
plum, pear, apple, cherry and apricot.
LIVESTOCK: Pig and reindeer.

NORTH AMERICAN
CENTRE

MEDITERRANEAN
CENTRE

CROPS: Jerusalem artichoke, sunflower,

plum, raspberry, strawberry, highbush blueberry,
cranberry and pecan.

FARMERS HAVE CREATED AND MAINTAINED

THE KNOWLEDGE AND DIVERSITY THAT IS THE
BASIS OF THE PLANETS FOOD SUPPLY FOR
THOUSANDS OF YEARS AND COUNTING. MOST
OF THIS DIVERSITY IS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
WHERE IT IS INCREASINGLY THREATENED. THE
WAY TO SAFEGUARD OUR FOOD SUPPLY IS BY
USING AND CONTINUING TO ADAPT THE PLANT
AND GENETIC DIVERSITY CAREFULLY BRED AND
NURTURED BY FARMERS.

CENTRAL ASIAN
CENTRE

CROPS: Oat, pea, fava bean, lettuce, beet,

turnip, radish, celery, rhubarb, olive,
grape, cumin, thyme and flax.

LIVESTOCK: Turkey and duck.

LIVESTOCK: Pig and rabbit.

CROPS: Wheat (common, club and shot),

rye, onion, garlic, pea, lentil, spinach,
beet, carrot and mustard.

MIDDLE EASTERN
CENTRE
LIVESTOCK: Goat, water buffalo,
cattle and camel.

CROPS: Maize, common bean,

Cucurbita (including squash), chili pepper,
amaranth, Chenopodium (a relative of quinoa),
cacao, tobacco, sisal hemp and upland cotton.

CROPS: Millet, buckwheat, soybean,

citrus fruits, cherry, leafy mustard and tea.
LIVESTOCK: Red jungle fowl,
chicken, pig, silkworm and yak.

LIVESTOCK: Sheep and pig.

CROPS: Wheat (einkorn, durum, poulard), barley,

rye, chickpea, grape, pistachio and almond.

MESO-AMERICAN
CENTRE

SINO-JAPANESE
CENTRE

HINDUSTANI
CENTRE

CROPS: Rice, pigeonpea, eggplant, okra,

cucumber, yam, banana, mango, ginger,
turmeric, cardamom, sugarcane and black pepper.
LIVESTOCK: Wild red jungle fowl,
water buffalo, cattle, sheep and goat.

AFRICAN/ETHOPIAN
CENTRE
CROPS: Sorghum, pearl millet, teff, sesame,
coffee, african rice, baobab, oil palm, cowpea,
guinea yam, okra, scarlett eggplant and shea.
LIVESTOCK: Donkey and cattle.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN
CENTRE
CROPS: Rice, yam, squash, mango,
banana, durian, lime, bamboo,
nutmeg, clove and coconut.
LIVESTOCK: Chicken,
cattle and pig.

SOUTH AMERICAN/
ANDEAN CENTRE
CROPS: Andean and common potatoes, sweet potatoes,
tomatoes, lima beans, cacao, aa, brazil nut, cassava,
cocona, malanga, guarana and pineapple.

GLOBAL CENTRES OF DIVERSITY

LIVESTOCK: Llama, alpaca

and guinea pig.

Virtually all of the foods we eat our major crops and most livestock species have
their origins in the tropics and subtropics of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

AUSTRALIAN
CENTRE
CROPS: Eucalyptus, acacia
and macadamia nut.

Scientists have identified at least twelve major geographic centres of diversity

regions, or hotspots, that harbor a disproportionately high percentage of all plant,
livestock, and cultural diversity. Centres of diversity refer to 1) regions where
crops and livestock were originally domesticated from their wild ancestors (regions
of true origin) and 2) regions of subsequent spread where they are continually
evolving a diversity of new varieties and traits through ongoing adaptation to their
environment and selection by farmers. Thats why a specific crop can be listed in
more than one centre of diversity. The hotspots on the map capture only a fraction
of the vast diversity farmers have been fostering.

OUR FOOD DIVERSITY IS UNDER THREAT.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SOLUTIONS.

FIND OUT MORE: WWW.SEEDMAP.ORG

SeedMap.org is an online portal on seeds,

biodiversity, and food that lets you visit
hundreds of case studies around the world.
To download a print version of this map:
www.seedmap.org