Thinking beyond crops such as wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, and soybeans could help bolster global food and nutrition security, a white paper by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has found.
The paper, Food Science and Technology Solutions to Improve Food and Nutrition Security: Advancing the Use of Underutilized and Biofortified Crops, suggests that by focusing on underutilised crops and ‘biofortified’ crops, food security can be improved, climate change can be mitigated, and nutrition levels can be boosted even in impoverished societies.
Underutilised crops suggested by the paper include sorghum (pictured), taro, and pawpaw, while biofortified crops are staple foods that have increased levels of key micronutrients.
A ‘transformative’ effect
Increasing the cultivation of these crops could have a ‘transformative’ effect on the global food system, the paper suggests – with just 170 out of an estimated 30,000 edible species currently being cultivated on a commercial scale.
“Underutilised and biofortified crops provide a myriad of nutritional, economic, and global benefits, from promoting diet diversity to elevating indigenous knowledge to ensuring climate resilience. Unfortunately, despite these benefits, there are consumer acceptance, technological, and supply chain challenges in scaling the adoption of these important crops,” said IFT chief science and technology officer Bryan Hitchcock.
“This white paper identifies concrete steps that can be taken to increase the usage of underutilised and biofortified crops and reap the benefits of these highly nutritious crops throughout our global food system.”
Case studies
Case studies highlighted in the paper include the use of African orange flesh sweet potato in baked goods to add nutrition, the development of ‘ready to eat’ products from millet and lentils to appeal to Indian consumers, and the development of processing equipment for grinding sorghum and millet in Tanzania by using indigenous knowledge.
The report follows on from a virtual roundtable discussion organised by IFT’s Food & Nutrition Security Steering Committee (FNSSC).
