# Roots beneath the plate

## 83–90 out of 100 crop calories available in Romania were tied to crops whose primary regions of diversity lay outside the country's regions.

An ordinary plate carries a worldwide botanical history. Lift it, choose a country, and trace its dominant crops to the regions where their diversity formed.

For Romania, the average 2009–2011 range is 83.3–90.3%.

The interval midpoint, 86.8%, is 21.0 percentage points above the 177-country mean of 65.8%.

## Crops supplying the most calories

- Wheat — 38.2% of crop calories; Central Asia; West Asia; Southern and eastern Mediterranean
- Maize — 12.3% of crop calories; Central America and Mexico
- Sunflower — 11.3% of crop calories; North America
- Sugar — 8.6% of crop calories; South Asia; Southeast Asia; Northeastern Europe; Southeastern Europe; Northwestern Europe; Southwestern Europe; Southern and eastern Mediterranean
- Potatoes — 7.0% of crop calories; Andean South America
- Barley — 4.5% of crop calories; Central Asia; West Asia; Southern and eastern Mediterranean
- All other crops — 18.1% of crop calories

The roots trace the six crops supplying the most calories. The grey wedge combines the other 47 crop groups.

## What the roots measure

A primary region of diversity combines evidence about initial domestication, variation accumulated over time, and the richness of a crop's wild relatives. A crop can have several such regions, so every connection has the same width and remains categorical.

The roots show the biological history of crops. Present-day farms, sellers, and trade routes sit outside this measure.

## The world depends on crops from other regions more than it may seem

Across the 177 countries in the study, the average share tied to crops with primary regions of diversity outside the country's regions was:

- Calories: 65.8%
- Protein: 66.6%
- Fat: 73.7%
- Food weight: 68.7%

Mean across the four measures: 68.7%.

Crop genetic diversity works as a shared inheritance: a country's food supply often rests on plants shaped biologically in other parts of the world.

## How to read the measure

The study covered 177 countries representing 98.5% of the world's population and used 2009–2011 averages from FAO food balance sheets. National food supply estimates the amount available for consumption after accounting for production, imports, exports, stock changes, and non-food uses. Individual meals can look different.

Each country's interval reflects the 11 crop groups left without an assigned primary region of diversity. The upper bound treats them as wholly foreign; the lower bound assumes that their regions include the country's regions. The drawing sizes wedges by crop calories, while roots show categorical links.

## See the ranges for all 177 countries

| Country | Range | Interval midpoint |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Afghanistan | 19.4–22.2% | 20.8% |
| Albania | 76.0–86.8% | 81.4% |
| Algeria | 23.1–28.5% | 25.8% |
| Angola | 86.6–91.6% | 89.1% |
| Antigua & Barbuda | 79.0–99.6% | 89.3% |
| Argentina | 94.0–99.7% | 96.8% |
| Armenia | 18.6–32.0% | 25.3% |
| Australia | 91.8–100.0% | 95.9% |
| Austria | 69.7–81.6% | 75.7% |
| Azerbaijan | 21.5–31.5% | 26.5% |
| Bahamas | 68.7–99.9% | 84.3% |
| Bangladesh | 18.7–21.2% | 19.9% |
| Barbados | 90.2–99.8% | 95.0% |
| Belarus | 70.5–83.5% | 77.0% |
| Belgium | 71.5–81.2% | 76.3% |
| Belize | 73.8–85.2% | 79.5% |
| Benin | 50.5–53.9% | 52.2% |
| Bermuda | 74.3–98.8% | 86.6% |
| Bolivia | 81.7–87.1% | 84.4% |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 79.2–93.3% | 86.3% |
| Botswana | 76.0–87.2% | 81.6% |
| Brazil | 88.6–92.1% | 90.3% |
| Brunei | 40.8–54.2% | 47.5% |
| Bulgaria | 80.2–87.3% | 83.7% |
| Burkina Faso | 39.0–47.8% | 43.4% |
| Cambodia | 17.6–20.4% | 19.0% |
| Cameroon | 66.2–72.4% | 69.3% |
| Canada | 87.6–98.0% | 92.8% |
| Cape Verde | 65.5–74.5% | 70.0% |
| Central African Republic | 80.7–86.4% | 83.6% |
| Chad | 38.9–54.0% | 46.4% |
| Chile | 87.9–94.1% | 91.0% |
| China | 47.2–59.8% | 53.5% |
| Colombia | 74.0–78.0% | 76.0% |
| Congo - Brazzaville | 76.2–81.1% | 78.7% |
| Costa Rica | 76.4–83.3% | 79.8% |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 42.6–48.1% | 45.4% |
| Croatia | 69.3–80.6% | 74.9% |
| Cuba | 93.9–98.9% | 96.4% |
| Cyprus | 29.8–42.8% | 36.3% |
| Czechia | 78.0–85.1% | 81.5% |
| Denmark | 65.8–77.3% | 71.6% |
| Djibouti | 88.7–94.6% | 91.6% |
| Dominica | 83.0–94.3% | 88.6% |
| Dominican Republic | 92.4–99.6% | 96.0% |
| Ecuador | 78.1–82.5% | 80.3% |
| Egypt | 44.7–48.5% | 46.6% |
| El Salvador | 53.4–59.7% | 56.6% |
| Estonia | 65.7–83.3% | 74.5% |
| Eswatini | 87.6–98.7% | 93.2% |
| Ethiopia | 63.3–78.8% | 71.0% |
| Fiji | 80.2–84.4% | 82.3% |
| Finland | 74.2–83.5% | 78.8% |
| France | 69.4–79.3% | 74.3% |
| French Polynesia | 81.6–93.2% | 87.4% |
| Gabon | 77.5–82.5% | 80.0% |
| Gambia | 38.1–43.3% | 40.7% |
| Georgia | 26.6–33.8% | 30.2% |
| Germany | 70.2–83.1% | 76.7% |
| Ghana | 65.8–68.3% | 67.0% |
| Greece | 64.6–75.0% | 69.8% |
| Grenada | 77.4–98.5% | 87.9% |
| Guatemala | 50.1–55.3% | 52.7% |
| Guinea | 41.7–50.3% | 46.0% |
| Guinea-Bissau | 36.6–41.7% | 39.2% |
| Guyana | 88.0–96.3% | 92.1% |
| Haiti | 91.5–99.5% | 95.5% |
| Honduras | 45.8–51.1% | 48.4% |
| Hong Kong SAR China | 47.8–67.1% | 57.5% |
| Hungary | 76.3–91.8% | 84.0% |
| Iceland | 66.0–77.0% | 71.5% |
| India | 42.5–46.9% | 44.7% |
| Indonesia | 34.2–37.7% | 35.9% |
| Iran | 39.4–48.5% | 43.9% |
| Iraq | 42.1–45.3% | 43.7% |
| Ireland | 77.1–87.7% | 82.4% |
| Israel | 32.2–42.0% | 37.1% |
| Italy | 69.8–77.5% | 73.6% |
| Jamaica | 88.5–97.7% | 93.1% |
| Japan | 49.2–62.2% | 55.7% |
| Jordan | 29.6–32.6% | 31.1% |
| Kazakhstan | 48.4–56.9% | 52.6% |
| Kenya | 91.3–96.3% | 93.8% |
| Kiribati | 58.2–61.5% | 59.8% |
| Kuwait | 58.6–65.4% | 62.0% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 41.5–49.0% | 45.3% |
| Laos | 19.2–26.6% | 22.9% |
| Latvia | 70.8–82.5% | 76.6% |
| Lebanon | 27.8–39.5% | 33.7% |
| Lesotho | 92.8–96.7% | 94.8% |
| Liberia | 35.0–38.8% | 36.9% |
| Libya | 27.0–33.1% | 30.1% |
| Lithuania | 74.0–85.9% | 80.0% |
| Luxembourg | 71.7–92.8% | 82.2% |
| Macao SAR China | 54.8–71.5% | 63.1% |
| Madagascar | 97.1–100.0% | 98.5% |
| Malawi | 91.3–93.9% | 92.6% |
| Malaysia | 40.3–47.5% | 43.9% |
| Maldives | 36.0–47.6% | 41.8% |
| Mali | 29.7–35.5% | 32.6% |
| Malta | 20.2–33.9% | 27.0% |
| Mauritania | 63.7–65.2% | 64.4% |
| Mauritius | 95.3–100.0% | 97.6% |
| Mexico | 44.2–51.5% | 47.9% |
| Moldova | 82.1–89.5% | 85.8% |
| Mongolia | 83.2–91.4% | 87.3% |
| Montenegro | 72.7–89.4% | 81.1% |
| Morocco | 22.6–27.2% | 24.9% |
| Mozambique | 89.2–91.2% | 90.2% |
| Myanmar (Burma) | 28.7–33.7% | 31.2% |
| Namibia | 78.9–83.9% | 81.4% |
| Nepal | 45.1–55.0% | 50.0% |
| Netherlands | 69.2–77.7% | 73.5% |
| New Caledonia | 81.9–96.0% | 89.0% |
| New Zealand | 87.2–100.0% | 93.6% |
| Nicaragua | 55.4–59.0% | 57.2% |
| Niger | 18.3–21.9% | 20.1% |
| Nigeria | 40.5–49.3% | 44.9% |
| North Korea | 45.7–54.4% | 50.1% |
| North Macedonia | 75.4–83.5% | 79.4% |
| Norway | 74.6–84.1% | 79.4% |
| Pakistan | 45.8–48.9% | 47.4% |
| Palestinian Territories | 21.2–32.4% | 26.8% |
| Panama | 83.8–89.4% | 86.6% |
| Paraguay | 76.8–80.8% | 78.8% |
| Peru | 71.5–77.2% | 74.3% |
| Philippines | 21.4–28.6% | 25.0% |
| Poland | 75.1–82.0% | 78.6% |
| Portugal | 71.4–81.9% | 76.6% |
| Romania | 83.3–90.3% | 86.8% |
| Russia | 74.5–82.1% | 78.3% |
| Rwanda | 84.5–93.3% | 88.9% |
| Samoa | 52.2–58.6% | 55.4% |
| São Tomé & Príncipe | 80.0–85.6% | 82.8% |
| Saudi Arabia | 54.1–60.8% | 57.5% |
| Senegal | 50.5–53.2% | 51.9% |
| Serbia | 73.5–85.4% | 79.4% |
| Sierra Leone | 30.7–37.3% | 34.0% |
| Slovakia | 71.5–82.3% | 76.9% |
| Slovenia | 80.4–88.6% | 84.5% |
| Solomon Islands | 76.2–80.9% | 78.5% |
| Somalia | 74.6–77.0% | 75.8% |
| South Africa | 95.1–99.2% | 97.2% |
| South Korea | 38.4–54.7% | 46.6% |
| Spain | 65.3–71.1% | 68.2% |
| Sri Lanka | 18.9–21.4% | 20.2% |
| St Kitts & Nevis | 81.2–98.6% | 89.9% |
| St Lucia | 89.3–99.1% | 94.2% |
| St Vincent & the Grenadines | 80.1–97.4% | 88.8% |
| Sudan | 45.9–52.0% | 48.9% |
| Suriname | 91.9–97.9% | 94.9% |
| Sweden | 71.7–81.3% | 76.5% |
| Switzerland | 64.1–75.5% | 69.8% |
| Syria | 23.9–29.7% | 26.8% |
| Taiwan | 42.9–56.0% | 49.5% |
| Tajikistan | 36.1–41.4% | 38.7% |
| Tanzania | 86.0–91.7% | 88.8% |
| Thailand | 21.9–31.1% | 26.5% |
| Timor-Leste | 53.7–57.2% | 55.5% |
| Togo | 59.1–62.1% | 60.6% |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 90.7–98.9% | 94.8% |
| Tunisia | 18.3–25.5% | 21.9% |
| Türkiye | 30.5–36.8% | 33.6% |
| Turkmenistan | 25.2–30.5% | 27.9% |
| Uganda | 83.8–90.7% | 87.2% |
| Ukraine | 73.3–82.0% | 77.7% |
| United Arab Emirates | 49.9–58.2% | 54.0% |
| United Kingdom | 76.1–82.4% | 79.3% |
| United States | 82.6–98.5% | 90.5% |
| Uruguay | 91.5–99.5% | 95.5% |
| Uzbekistan | 27.7–35.7% | 31.7% |
| Vanuatu | 54.7–59.9% | 57.3% |
| Venezuela | 89.8–93.5% | 91.6% |
| Vietnam | 18.3–26.0% | 22.1% |
| Yemen | 46.5–50.2% | 48.3% |
| Zambia | 93.0–97.0% | 95.0% |
| Zimbabwe | 89.7–94.0% | 91.8% |

## Sources

- [Khoury et al., Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide, 2016](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0792)
- [Supplementary tables S1, S3 and S6, published in Dryad](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.s08t2)