10.7910/DVN/HYOWICKhoury, Colin KColin KKhoury0000-0001-7893-5744International Center for Tropical Agriculture - CIATBjorkman, Anne DAnne DBjorkmanWageningen University & Research - WURDempewolf, HannesHannesDempewolfThe Biodiversity Research CentreRamirez Villegas, JulianJulianRamirez Villegas0000-0002-8044-583XInternational Center for Tropical Agriculture - CIATGuarino, LuigiLuigiGuarinoGlobal Crop DiversityJarvis, AndyAndyJarvis0000-0001-6543-0798International Center for Tropical Agriculture - CIATRieseberg, Loren HLoren HRiesebergThe Biodiversity Research CentreStruik, Paul CPaul CStruik0000-0003-2196-547XWageningen University & Research - WURHarvard Dataverse2015Earth and Environmental SciencesCrop diversityPlant genetic resourcesAgricultural developmentGlobal analysisLatin America and the CaribbeanDecision and Policy Analysis - DAPACrop diversityCIAT Data and Research MethodsInternational Center for Tropical Agriculture - CIAT2015-07-202019-06-07Quantitative Data10.1073/pnas.131349011111435491application/vnd.ms-excel1.9The narrowing of diversity in crop species contributing to the world’s food supplies has been considered a potential threat to food security. However, changes in this diversity have not been quantified globally. We assess trends over the past 50 y in the richness, abundance, and composition of crop species in national food supplies worldwide. Over this period, national per capita food supplies expanded in total quantities of food calories, protein, fat, and weight, with increased proportions of those quantities sourcing from energy-dense foods. At the same time the number of measured crop commodities contributing to national food supplies increased, the relative contribution of these commodities within these supplies became more even, and the dominance of the most significant commodities decreased. As a consequence, national food supplies worldwide became more similar in composition, correlated particularly with an increased supply of a number of globally important cereal and oil crops, and a decline of other cereal, oil, and starchy root species. The increase in homogeneity worldwide portends the establishment of a global standard food supply, which is relatively species-rich in regard to measured crops at the national level, but species-poor globally. These changes in food supplies heighten interdependence among countries in regard to availability and access to these food sources and the genetic resources supporting their production, and give further urgency to nutrition development priorities aimed at bolstering food security. <br/><br/> This dataset is based on FAO national per capita data. For information on the value addition of the data please see the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/11/4001.full#sec-3">Materials and Methods</a> section of the publication.