The Wild Frontier of Food

Concerns about potato losses to pests are behind newspaper headlines like "Mash Panic", but what is the truth about these threats to our food supply?

Wild plants related to food crops are arguably the most important on the planet. They hold the genetic key to tackling the growing number of threats to our food supply and can do so in a much more environmentally friendly way.

“The ability to feed people in a changing world will rely on genes present in naturally resilient wild relatives of crop plants” said Professor Peter Hollingsworth, RBGE’s Director of Science.

This Wild Frontier of food is bringing botanists and crop scientists together in pursuit of sustainable farming solutions based on biology rather than chemistry.

Join botanist Dr Tiina Sarkinen this Thursday for a talk about her work on the wild relatives of familiar crops such as tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants to find out how these wild plants could help us create crops equipped to survive in a changing world. Book your tickets here.