ILLUSTRATIONS Flavio Ba
10. CASSAVA
World consumption – 95 million tons per year
Biggest consumer – Congo (261.4 kg per person per year)
Native to the south of the Amazon, cassava was domesticated by the Tupi 5,000 years ago and spread throughout South America. The Portuguese who colonized Brazil took it to Africa. In 1575, cassava was already the main food in the Angola trading post. Today, it is the basis of the diet of several countries. In Congo, its flour is mixed with other tubers to create a dough called fufu.
9. PORK
World consumption – 105 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Austria (65.6 kg per person per year)
It is impressive that this food managed to enter the ranking, since 23.4% of the world’s population cannot eat it. They are the followers of Islam and Judaism, religions that prohibit its consumption. Adherents of other faiths make up for it: in Austria, for example, even the animal’s snout becomes a delicacy
8. CORN
World consumption – 113 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Lesotho (149.3 kg per person per year)
Domesticated in southern Mexico, corn was already cultivated throughout America when Europeans arrived here. It became a joker in the cuisine of several countries, since it is cheap and can be used in many ways – even like popcorn. In Lesotho, a small country located within South Africa, it becomes a kind of angu called pap-pap, which can be accompanied by a vegetable stew.
7. TOMATO
World consumption – 136 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Libya (150.3 kg per person per year)
A new type of eggplant. That’s how an Italian botanist in 1544 classified the tomato, brought to Europe not long ago by Columbus. (He came pretty close: tomatoes and eggplant are in the same family.) The name comes from the Aztec term “xitomatl” (“fruit with a navel”), but it originated in South America, in the Andes.
6. SUGAR
World consumption – 154 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Malta (64.6 kg per person per year)
Here in Brazil, we are used to sugar cane, but it can be obtained from many plants. Beetroot, for example, was “invented” in the 16th century and began to be methodically produced from 1747 in Germany. Today, this component is one of the great villains of world health, causing problems such as obesity and diabetes. The US is just behind Malta in the consumption ranking
5. BEER
World consumption – 166 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Netherlands (177.8 kg per person per year)
Belgians produce the best “blondes” in the world. But it’s your neighbors who spill the mug. The Dutch drink about half a liter a day! In Egypt, beer was considered medicine. Traces of the antibiotic tetracycline, probably coming from the drink, were found in bones in the south of the country, dating from 500 AD
4. POTATO
World consumption –217 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Belarus (182.8 kg per person per year)
It originates from Peru and, when it was taken by Spanish colonizers to Europe, it scared the peasants, because its fruits can cause stomach ache and even death by poisoning. But, as it easily adapts to various climates, has excellent nutritional value and is tasty, it ended up becoming popular. In Belarus alone, potatoes appear in more than 300 typical dishes!
3. RICE
World consumption –354 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Bangladesh (173.3 kg per person per year)
It appeared in China over 9,000 years ago and since then it has been closely linked to eastern culture. In Bangladesh, the words “food” and “rice” are synonymous! The country is great for the cereal, as its plantation requires large flooded areas and Bangladesh has three large rivers and a lot of rain during the monsoons (between June and October).
2. WHEAT
World consumption –439 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Azerbaijan (207.5 kg per person per year)
Some historians claim that, without wheat, civilizations based on cities, such as Babylonian and Assyrian, would never have arisen. This is because this cereal adapts to different climates, can be grown on a large scale and stored for long periods (up to 30 years, in environments free of humidity and heat!). In Azerbaijan, 56% of calories consumed by the population come from wheat
1. MILK AND DERIVATIVES
World consumption –589 million tons per year
Biggest consumer –Finland (379.2 kg per person per year)
All mammals drink milk, if only during our first few years of life. When we grow up, in theory, we don’t need it anymore. But our love story with this drink is intense and ancient – artifacts used in cheese production that are over 8,000 years old were found in Poland! Finns consume a lot of milk to compensate for the lack of fresh vegetables in this cold and humid region. Fortunately, a genetic mutation has made Nordics more lactose tolerant. While in Thailand 90% of adults cannot digest milk, in Finland that number drops to 17%
SOURCES Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website, and books 1001 Foods to Try Before You Dieby Frances Case, and Delights of the Discovery: Brazilian Gastronomy in the 16th Centuryby Sheila Moura Hue
CONSULTANCY João Batista, botanist, and Anamar de Aguiar, chef