Media: Food Unfolded

Title: A Hidden Citrus Garden That Holds a Powerful Message About Nature

Author & Host: Inés Oort Alonso

Directo, Product & Camera: Arturo Vicario

Graphics: Cait Mack y Eloise Adler

Programme Managers: Marieke Van Schoonhoven and Penny Kidd

Programme Director: Sofia Kuhn

Date: 9th of January 2025

Biodiversity is the foundation of sustainable food production, helping our food systems to remain resilient in the face of climate change, pests and diseases. But over the last fifty years, the world’s food supply has become increasingly uniform.

In 2022, Spain exported €3.3450 billion worth of citrus fruit, mainly to northern Europe, making it the world’s largest citrus exporter. This thriving industry, especially in Valencia, is based on vast monocultures: rows of green trees dotted with bright orange and yellow fruit. Yet within this uniform landscape, there is an unexpected paradise of diversity: the Todolí Citrus Foundation.

In this new FoodUnfolded mini-documentary, reporter Inés Oort Alonso takes us inside the Todolí Citrus Foundation, a special place where botany, genetics, gastronomy and art come together to demonstrate why genetic diversity matters. This work not only protects food security, but also brings richness to our cultural and culinary traditions.

FoodUnfolded is funded by the EIT, an EU body.

More information on the Todolí Citrus Foundation at FoodUnfolded

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