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| Forests Feed Over 5 Billion People |
More than five billion people around the world depend on forests in some way for their daily survival and livelihoods, according to a new global report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The report, titled “Forests for Food: Nourishing People, Sustaining the Planet,” was developed together with the Landscape Alliance and released this week. It warns that the vital role forests play in feeding people and fighting hunger is still largely ignored in official statistics and government policies.
In simple terms, forests are not just trees. They act like giant natural markets and pharmacies for billions of people. They supply fruits, nuts, tubers, mushrooms, edible insects, and wild meat. The report notes that more than 50,000 wild species from forests are used for food, medicine, and other needs. At least 10,000 of these species are eaten directly as food. For many rural families, forest products can make up a large part of their diet and income, sometimes providing up to 20 percent of household earnings.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu stressed that countries must bring forests into their food and agriculture plans. He said working together to include forests in national, regional, and global strategies will help create stronger, fairer, and more sustainable food systems. The report comes at a critical time. About 645 million people still suffered from chronic hunger in 2025, while the world continued to lose an average of 10.9 million hectares of forest every year over the past decade.
Destroying forests does more than cut down trees. It reduces biodiversity, weakens the natural services that support farming — such as clean water, healthy soil, and pollination — and eventually makes it harder to grow food. Forests also provide wood fuel for cooking to around 1.8 billion people and medicinal plants that more than one billion people rely on for basic healthcare. Forested watersheds supply freshwater to over 85 percent of the world’s major cities.
Despite these clear benefits, the contribution of forests to food security remains missing from many national plans. The FAO is calling on governments to change this by protecting forests, managing them sustainably, and fully recognizing their value in the fight against hunger and poverty. Protecting forests is not only about saving nature — it is about feeding people and securing the future of agriculture and rural communities worldwide.