The Food Plants International database as a global resource, freely available

The Food Plants International database documenting over 28,000 edible plant species aims to collate referenced information on all edible plants of the world with the aim of empowering the rural poor and undernourished, especially in the tropics, with appropriate information in illustrated format and accessible English to enable them to feed themselves well. An ancillary benefit is that it highlights for research workers potentially underutilised species worthy of additional research. Hidden hunger usually relates to iron, vitamin A, zinc, selenium, and iodine, as well as ensuring appropriate energy/protein balance. Wherever feasible these are being documented and increasingly attempts are made to match plants to biomes to enable stable and sustainable production. Being a global system, it enables awareness, comparisons and appropriate adaptations across comparative regions and related species. The aim would be to introduce this information system, highlight its virtues and its potential to issues under discussion at the conference and make digital copies available freely for all participants.