Can Mushrooms Change the World? The Answer Might Be Yes

forager leans down to gather a chanterelle mushroom from a wooded landscape — Illustration by Joules García

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As sustainability and human health become top of mind, the world seems to be wildly intrigued by mushrooms. These seemingly innocuous little fungi contain the powerful potential for healing people and the planet.

Their broad uses range from supporting mental health treatment and cancer recovery to cleaning up environmentally devastating oil spills and replacing unsustainable protein sources.

Is there anything these little toadstools can’t do?

Want to learn the amazing ways mushrooms can help you in your health journey while providing some much-needed love to the planet?

Read on to get the full picture of why mushrooms might just change the world.

Mushrooms have long been a valued food and medicine in cultures worldwide.

A 2017 review noted that mushrooms have been used medicinally for millennia due to qualities, like:

cardiovascular benefits
protection of the liver from damage
anticancer properties
antiviral properties
anti-inflammatory properties
antimicrobial properties
antidiabetic properties

Mushrooms have been found to contain beneficial agents, like:

Not only do they pack a nutritional punch, but mushrooms also offer a host of benefits for the planet.

As you may have heard, sustainable protein is becoming an increasingly important topic as we look to the future of food.

Many plant-based alternatives have been proposed as an antidote to methane-heavy cattle feedlots, from pea to cricket protein.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, global livestock represented 14.5 percent of all human-caused carbon emissions as far back as 2006. Of all livestock, cattle represented 65 percent of all emissions.

According to a 2019 research article, foods associated with improved human health often have low environmental impacts. This implies that dietary changes with the potential to lower noncommunicable disease rates can also lead to sustainability.

A 2020 study noted that replacing beef with beans in the United States could free up 42 percent of U.S. cropland. On the other hand, consumption of red and processed meat could cost the global economy roughly $292 billion in health-related costs annually.

Enter: mushrooms.

These high protein, nutritionally dense little guys are already widely available to many consumers and require little to no processing before they’re eaten.

Check out the nutrient profile of eight popular types of shrooms below.

Mushroom ‘meat’

If you don’t like the taste of mushrooms cooked up in a stir fry or sprinkled on a salad, there are more and more options emerging for even the faint of fungi.

Take Meati, a mushroom-based meat alternative that’s grown indoors in stainless steel tanks. Meati is made of mycelium: essentially mushroom roots.