It’s a lot easier to grow mushrooms today than it ever has been. For decades, most of the mushrooms we ate came from giant farms using lab-based cultivation practices that required expensive equipment and demanding degrees of precision. In recent years, however, small farmers and home growers have had access to more accessible and efficient practices—and they’re helping to spread those practices by sharing them online. But what most people don’t know is that mushrooms are more than a popular food. They can also be grown in ways that improve the overall health and efficiency of plant and animal systems. Here are six ways in which mushrooms are more than just a superfood. 1. Creating Food from Waste Most farms produce tons of agricultural waste that is often burned or composted. But as nature’s great recyclers, fungi are able to break down nearly any carbon-based material, from woody trees to industrial pollutants . Multiple commercial mushroom species have been shown to grow