Temperatures are rising which makes farming in the tropics much more tough. Food systems in the island nations of the Caribbean and Pacific are particularly vulnerableseverely affected by a combination of heatwaves, droughts and unusual rainfall. And the impact of climate change on these areas is likely increase significantly over the next decade, especially for farmers growing staple crops like corn, wheat and soybeans.
But there is one crop that loves warmth and is not easily discouraged by weather fluctuations. It is called breadfruit, and it is enjoying a peaceful renaissance in the Pacific and Caribbean islands, where people hope the tree and its crops will thrive in a future where climates are more favorable.
“There’s no climate that’s too hot for breadfruit,” says Russell Fielding, a geographer at Coastal Carolina University. Breadfruit is one of the most productive food crops in the world, a large-leafed evergreen in the breadfruit family that produces a multitude of knobby fruits that can be used in a bewildering variety of different dishes.
The range in which these trees can grow is expanding as temperatures rise around the world, and with their widespread root system, breadfruit trees are virtually indestructible. They survive hurricanes, Fielding says, and they can also grow near salt or brackish water, a massive plus as ocean levels continue to rise. stabilize and enrich even the most degraded soils. A immense tree will be able to store 1.3 tons of carbon by the time it reaches maturity, according to calculations created by Trees That Feed Foundation, an Illinois-based nonprofit that provides breadfruit trees to support feed people and create jobs in the tropics.
“People are starting to see the incredible potential of breadfruit,” Fielding says. “It’s one of the most productive trees in terms of calories per year per unit area. One breadfruit tree could easily provide all the fruit that one family needs.”
If you have seen the movie Mutiny on the BountyYou’re probably familiar with breadfruit. These were fruit trees transported on a merchant ship’s fateful voyage. But unless you’ve recently been to a remote Pacific island or the Caribbean, you’ve probably never eaten the spiky, green, football-sized fruit with creamy flesh. Breadfruit has a tiny shelf life and is rarely exported outside the tropics.
Native to the Pacific and once a staple in Tahiti, Hawaii, and Jamaica, breadfruit has gradually fallen out of favor, replaced in those regions by the standard Western diet high in processed foods, saturated fats, and refined carbohydrates. The taste of breadfruit is dull, a cross between mashed potatoes and sourdough bread; its sticky consistency, when ripe, has been compared to wallpaper paste. Yet despite these uninspiring attributes, some believe it is the next massive superfood.
Diane Ragone has had a personal fascination with the humble fruit since the 1980s. She is the director emeritus of the Breadfruit Institute, a research and advocacy group based on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. For one thing, she says, breadfruit is far more nutritious than staples like rice and corn, because it is opulent in micronutrients and vitamins. It is also relatively high in protein, she says; a Samoan variety called Ma’afala even outshines soybeans in protein.