Underutilised crops in Europe: an interdisciplinary approach towards sustainable practices
McClatchie, Meriel / Matterne, Véronique / Rovira Buendia, Núria / ... / Banerjee, Aparajita et al.External Publications (2025)
in: Archaeometry, first published 17.03.2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13073
Open access
In the context of a rapidly growing global population and significant climatic and environmental change, there is an urgent need to produce nutritious food in a sustainable manner. Some crops are underutilised in Europe, despite their suitability to local environments, viability for sustainable production and potential to improve diets. Rye (Secale cereale) has a long history of cultivation in Europe, yet is underutilised owing to complex historical, socio-cultural, socio-political, socio-economic and agronomic factors. This paper explores an innovative, cross-sectoral approach that harmonises existing datasets from archaeology, plant science, nutrition and policy, and establishes an interdisciplinary dialogue to tackle this challenge.