What did the mushroom say on his first date? “Hi, I’m a fun guy.”

What the mushroom should have said was, “I’m an undercover superhero”, because mushrooms are leading the way in improving human and environmental health and solving not-so-small global issues such as world hunger, ecological degradation, rehabilitation after natural disasters, and disease and pest outbreaks.

Food and agriculture writer Michael Pollan has dedicated his latest book – How to Change Your Mind – to ’shrooms, so it’s no surprise where the next functional food frontier lies. Fix yourself a cup of superfood mushroom coffee while you read on.

Pollan is researching the potential for psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in ‘magic mushrooms’, to treat various mental disorders. But disruptors globally are unlocking the applications of fungi beyond food and medicine for sustainable textiles, biofuel, building materials and packaging.

There are 1.5 million species of fungi on the planet, and it’s this untapped resource that US mycologists Tradd Cotter and Paul Stamets are exploring. Stamets is considered the Obi-Wan of mycology, and is working with the US Government to develop mushroom-based defences for biological warfare, while Cotter is in the field of microremediation, using fungi to clean polluted water and soil. Ikea is replacing all Styrofoam with Ecocradle, a biodegradable mushroombased material, while in Zimbabwe, activist entrepreneur Chido Govera is teaching women how to grow mushrooms from cornstalk and coffee waste as a means of food security and financial independence.

Such alchemic ability makes mushrooms so important for our future.