Americas Most Endangered Foods

• from Forbes.com
  Heartland aka Bison Foodshed
  
  Historically, the Bison Foodshed was home to fertile soil, dozens of wild, edible seeds and roots, herds of game and crops such as beans. While conservationists are still concerned about the Hutterite soup bean, which yields a thick, creamy soup base in less than an hour, it is now available in nearly a dozen outlets for purchase in small quantities.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  Shelly Perry/iStockphoto

• from Forbes.com
  Southern Appalachian Mountains aka Chestnut Foodshed
  
  At least 74 of this region's traditional foods are currently threatened or endangered, including the American chestnuts of Pine Mountain, Ga. It's estimated that as many as 4 billion of the trees may have been wiped out by diseases from Asia that were introduced to eastern forests in the early 1900s. But the recent discovery of a stand of healthy chestnut trees in Pine Mountain, Ga., and the Talladega National Forest are generating optimism that trees may be able to withstand blight and possibly begin to recover.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  AP Photo/Michael Conroy

• from Forbes.com
  Southwest aka Chile Pepper Foodshed
  
  Sweet winter melons with juicy flesh, Santo Domingo casaba melons made their way to Mexico, and later New Mexico, in the 1500s, according to Nabhan. While the Santo Domingo Pueblo, an ethnic community near Santa Fe, N.M., has preserved the fruit's seeds, they are endangered by the threat of flooding by reservoirs in agricultural lands and invasive weeds.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  Gary Allard

• from Forbes.com
  Atlantic Seaboard aka Clambake Foodshed
  
  As a result of the ecological restoration of rivers, bays, beaches and coastal waters, many foods native to the Clambake Foodshed are being recovered. Among them are the quahogs of Great South Bay, a large hardshell clam species with a distinctive blue inner shell. The clam of choice for clambakes in the region for years, its yield began to decline in the 1950s due to pollution and damage to its beds caused by metal-toothed dredges.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  AP Photo/Victoria Arocho

• from Forbes.com
  Mississippi River Watershed aka Cornbread Foodshed
  
  The Nickajack apple is said to have originated where Cherokees lived along Nickajack Creek in Macon County, N.C. A large fruit, it has a crisp white flesh that changes flavor as it ripens, becoming aromatic. It's currently only commercially available in a handful of nurseries in the region.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  Susan Fox/Shutterstock

• from Forbes.com
  Chesapeake Bay aka Crabcake Foodshed
  
  The unusually named fish pepper is a two-inch long vegetable that, as it ripens, changes from white with green stripes to bright red. An African-American heirloom, it may have been the product of an experiment or a mutation of a common Serrano pepper. It was traditionally used in shellfish and fish recipes, but as contamination and over-harvesting hurt the Bay's fish and shellfish populations, the fish pepper fell out of favor. Today there are about a dozen suppliers of the chile seeds.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  Kenny Point/ http://veggiegardeningtips.com

• from Forbes.com
  Gulf South aka Gumbo Foodshed
  
  A kin of the habanero chile, the datil chile pepper packs a little less heat and lots of flavor. A key ingredient in a dish called the Minorcan pilau, the chile pepper was cultivated in gardens by Minorcans, who were brought to Florida in the 1700s as indentured laborers. Its inability to store or ship well has kept the pepper restricted to the region, but three seed catalogs currently supply datil seeds to chile lovers across the country.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  Christine Balderas/iStockphoto

• from Forbes.com
  Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada aka Maple Syrup Foodshed
  
  While the sugar maple still grows in six Canadian provinces and 34 U.S. states, there's been a rapid decline of sugar maple populations and maple-syrup production quantities. This is particularly true in the Maple Syrup Foodshed, which includes the Appalachian plateau of northern Pennsylvania and New York, according to Nabhan. Changes in forest soil, drought, overtapping, heavy grazing and heavy farm machinery traffic, as well as global warming, are all to blame.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  Christine Balderas/iStockphoto

• from Forbes.com
  Upper Midwest aka Moose Foodshed
  
  While moose are not endangered as a species, populations at the southern limits of their range are falling as temperatures rise. Northwestern Minnesota moose can't bear the heat, causing greater die-offs during midsummer heat surges. Those that survive are also often plagued by parasites.
  
  In Depth: America's Most Endangered Foods
  
  
  

  David T Gomez/iStockphoto