Slow Food is an international organization devoted to the pleasures of a table where everyone has access to food that is "clean, fair and safe." One of its primary projects is the Ark of Taste, a virtual Noah's Ark to which endangered foods are nominated because of their scarcity, their historical and cultural significance, and -- most of all -- because they taste good. To date, 1,000 foods have been recognized by Slow Food's international Ark.

Who'd have thought that all we have to do to preserve these dwindling foods is eat them? Through the "Eat It To Save It" revolution, these vanishing seeds, breeds and food ways are getting a new lease on life.

Eater-based conservation
The idea of eater-based conservation, which holds that to save something, one must eat it, has been a boon for traditional cooking and production methods, agricultural products, and even wild foods that benefit from regular harvesting.

From Blenheim apricots to Orleans vinegar, the foods and food ways that are worth saving stand for cultural, regional and environmental diversity, not production quotas or monoculture. They are about giving back, not taking from -- what we now call sustainability. But most importantly, they are about taste. Interesting, delicious, sustainable and rare heritage foods belong on the dinner tables of today and tomorrow, not only to save, but to savor. And not only are they good, but they're good for you. In so many ways!

Why is biodiversity so important?
How do you bring this revolution into your life? First, begin to think seasonally as well as locally. Anyone can help support their health -- as well as the planet's -- by eating what's freshly grown in close proximity to their home. Farmers markets are often thought of as more expensive than supermarkets, but not only is buying direct from the farmer a better value, you'll find that the shorter distance food travels from the farm to your kitchen the longer it stays fresh.

Why is biodiversity so important? As government-supported industrial farming has given rise to mono cropping (huge acreage devoted to a single cash crop, like corn or soybeans), it has also brought about depleted soils and a greater dependence on chemical fertilization -- and who wants chemicals in their food? Ninety-seven percent of American vegetable varieties have disappeared since 1903. Not to sound like an alarmist, but it was a similar absence of diversity in potatoes that resulted in the Irish potato famine of the late 1800s.

Animal breeds also face similar losses, as varieties such as Black Angus beef are increasingly promoted by name in both fine steak houses and countless chain restaurants. Delicious, local varieties like the Pineywoods cattle of the South have been brought to the brink of extinction, despite the fact that they are easier to raise and require less chemical intervention due to their natural resistance to regional pests. If we don't eat them, how else can we save them? I hope I never see the day when such fine, edible animals are so scarce they must be relegated to the zoo.

The dazzling diversity of beautiful, fresh produce at local markets provides a tantalizing bounty. Supporting and encouraging your farmers by purchasing the heirloom varieties they're reviving will be good for your body as well as for the soul of your community. A delicious good deed: eating it to save it!

Poppy Tooker is a culinary activist who has worked tirelessly to promote and preserve the historic food ways of New Orleans. With her motto, "Eat It To Save It," she has helped revive endangered foods across the U.S. and abroad in collaboration with Slow Food's Ark of Taste. Author of the forthcoming book, "The Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook", she is also a contributing editor for Hallmark Magazine, regular columnist for LA Cookin' and has also written for Fine Cooking. Poppy's on-camera flair has made her a sought-after guest on the Food Network, the History Channel and in multiple PBS documentaries. To learn more about Poppy and her latest projects visit http://www.poppytooker.com.