As climate instability threatens the production of many staple crops throughout the world, the need for resilient food sources grows more urgent. One solution may have been right under our noses all along: Jackfruit.
Widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia, Jackfruit is the largest tree-born fruit in the world and packed with protein, potassium, and vitamin C. Just 10 or 12 of the fruit’s small bulbs would sustain the average person for half a day. It is also an exceptionally sustainable crop that it requires very little maintenance to grow and is naturally resistant to both pests and high temperatures.
Despite the huge nutritive potential of Jackfruit, it remains largely unheralded – even in its country of origin, India, where it is often derided as a “poor man’s fruit”.