There are many aspects of the Japanese diet that help explain the longevity of the country’s citizens, not least the dominance of vegetables and grains over saturated fats and processed foods. One less frequently discussed characteristic with broad benefits is its variety.

When a Japanese friend was a child, her family taught that a day’s meals should contain 25 ingredients, colours and textures. Not only was her diet interesting and healthy; it also reflected and supported a more balanced food production system for the country.

Around the world, food habits are heading in the opposite direction. Over-consumption is matched by narrower, standardised, industrialised and inappropriate choices. While 1bn people go hungry around the globe, twice that number eat too much of the wrong food.