Food-medicine plants and forgotten foods

Forgotten foods are obligatory for today's well-being. Many of these foods like medicinal plants independently or in combination with a variety of foods are a family-run business with a shared passion to preserve heritage and promote sustainable living, and sometimes has been forgotten over time with the passing of elders. Medicinal plants are identified and used to improve the sensory properties of foods. A balanced diet consisting of a variety of foods is the key to good health and nutrition. There are many healthy foods that don't pay attention. Remembering forgotten foods reveals their importance for the development of fairer and more sustainable food systems. The significance of forgotten foods became more serious when the Global Declaration for Collective Action on it was launched and used as a valuable input for the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021 to highlight the importance of these products and the role of farmers in addressing them to be identified with the many crises that the world is facing. Forgotten foods are an untapped potential for sustainable food systems. Therefore, the present paper by citing examples of the status of medicinal-food plants as an important part of forgotten foods in Iran and other parts of the world addresses the information and results of collective actions regarding the promotion of awareness of the importance and value of different forgotten species and sustainable agricultural technologies, and the need to achieve research, innovation, education, sustainable production, processing, and consumption of forgotten foods throughout the value chain.