Edible mushrooms: growing food security

2025-07-31

Food security is a top national priority, and to ensure a stable and sustainable food supply, it is essential to develop food resources through diversified and integrated approaches. Meeting the population’s evolving nutritional and dietary needs with higher-quality options is central to achieving this goal. Edible mushrooms, a rich source of protein, vitamins, dietary fiber and essential micronutrients, play a significant role in this endeavor. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization have both adopted the “One Meat, One Vegetable, One Mushroom” dietary concept, proposed by Chinese mycologist Mao Xiaolan, as part of a balanced and healthy eating model.

Edible mushrooms occupy a distinctive place in food systems, requiring neither grain inputs, cultivable land, staple-crop fertilizers, nor synchronization with seasonal farming cycles. Moreover, their cultivation minimizes pressure on industrial resources, making industay advancement a triple-value proposition: enhanced land use efficiency, stable food supply, and a strategic reinforcement of national food security. This positions mushroom producton as a crucial solution to China’s intensifying arable land scarcity and growing food demand.

While the edible mushroom industry holds significant promise for strengthening food security, increasing farmers’ incomes and revitalizing rural industries, it still faces pressing challenges:

1. Product homogeneity:

The rapid expansion of factory-based mushroom cultivation has led to serious product homogeneity, with a few dominant varieties saturating the market and driving prices downward. Consumer interest in common mushroom varieties is waning, while demand for high-quality, specialty mushrooms is surging. There is an urgent need to diversify product offerings and develop strategies that reflect evolving market preferences.

2. Weak risk management capacity:

Traditional cultivation models are highly sensitive to factors such as seed quality and market volatility. Many mushroom growers lack the tools and knowledge to effectively respond to these risks. In addition, extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall, can severely disrupt mushroom production, leading to reduced yields or even total crop failure.

3. Shortage of cultivation substrates:

The wood chips used in large-scale mushroom farming are in increasingly short supply. Meanwhile, agricultural by-products such as crop straw and livestock manure remain underutilized. Addressing the structural shortage of cultivation substrates is essential for sustainable industry growth.

4. Lack of regulation for wild mushrooms:

Wild mushroom harvesting goes unregulated in many regions, resulting in the destruction and waste of valuable natural resources. Conservation and sustainable harvesting practices need to be strengthened. Moreover, the collection, procurement and processing of wild mushrooms often lack adequate safety oversight. Public awareness of food safety risks remains insufficient.

To advance the edible mushroom industry, China must accelerate the development of a modern production and management system. Key strategies include:

1. Diversify mushroom product offerings and promote deep processing:

Accelerate R&D on mushroom bioactives to diversify applications across nutritional, pharmaceutical, and functional product segments. Encourage the production of high-value-added mushroom goods. Support the establishment of dedicated processing parks to drive industrial clustering and scale economies. Strengthen market research and foster integration with other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and cultural tourism. By introducing personalized and scenario-based marketing strategies, the industry can better meet diverse consumer demands.

2. Build a robust mushroom insurance system:

Develop tailored insurance coverage for mushroom production, drawing on the strengths of policy-based, commercial and mutual insurance schemes. Improved coverage will enhance growers’ ability to manage production risks.

3. Develop and employ new cultivation substrates:

Promote localized and efficient use of agricultural waste, such as corn and rice straw, as well as livestock manure, to substitute for scarce materials like wood chips. Expanding the use of renewable resources will reduce environmental impact and lower production costs.

4. Strengthen regulation of wild mushroom harvesting and circulation:

Implement conservation efforts to protect wild mushroom resources and reduce waste. Mandate comprehensive regulatory standards for the entire product lifecycle — from harvesting and procurement to processing and cooking. Provide technical training for foragers to improve the quality and safety of harvested products. Increase public awareness of food safety, establish traceability systems, and introduce registration and random inspection mechanisms to ensure effective oversight.

Li Wenjing, Huazhong Agricultural University