The earth ’s secret miracle worker is not a plant or an animal. It’s fungi | Giuliana Furci

Without fungi we don ’t have bread, chocolate, cheese, soy sauce, beer or wine. They are also crucial to protecting our climateLet ’s picture a dinner with family or friends that began by enjoying beer, wine, fruit juice or maybe a fizzy kombucha beverage. You’re contemplating a glorious basket of bread, wrapped in awe of its perfect crumb and fantasizing about the moment you slather it in butter or olive oil. Then come the fresh vegetables sauteed with soy sauce, maybe tofu or free-range beef with potatoes or rice, followed by cheese, or a chocolate dessert – and to top it off, a lovely cup of coffee or tea with some chocolates or maybe some sake? We need to stop for a moment and thank fungi for all of this. Honest ly, none of it would be possible without them, and your dinner would certainly not be so tasty!Fungi are responsible for almost all our food production, and most of our processed materials. They are also to be thanked for many of the important medical breakthroughs in human history that treat both physical and mental ailments, for naturally sequestering and slowly releasing carbon, for optimizing industrial processes, and so much more.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Fungi Environment Science Climate crisis Biology Source Type: news