Calories alone are not enough
Climate change is not only affecting how much food we can produce, but also how nutritious that food is. In a review published in the leading scientific journal Nature, researchers from Ghent University and international partners explore how genetic technologies can help develop crops that are both more nutritious and better able to cope with climate-related stress.
More than two billion people worldwide do not get enough essential vitamins and minerals. This problem, known as hidden hunger, means that people consume enough calories but still lack the nutrients needed for a healthy life.
For billions of people, staple crops such as rice, wheat, maize, potatoes and cassava form the basis of their daily diet. While these crops provide energy, they often contain too few vitamins and minerals to prevent nutritional deficiencies. At the same time, a growing body of research shows that climate change is reducing the nutritional value of several major food crops.
Meeting three challenges at once
In the Nature review, Professor Dominique Van Der Straeten (Ghent University) and international experts examine how science can help develop crops that are richer in essential nutrients while also becoming more resilient to drought, heat, salinity and other climate-related stresses. Emeritus Professor Marc Van Montagu, a pioneer in plant biotechnology, is a co-author of the study.
The researchers argue that the agriculture of the future must address three major challenges simultaneously: producing enough food, improving its nutritional quality and increasing crops’ resilience to a changing climate.
“Future crops must combine higher yields with better nutritional quality and greater resilience to drought, heat and other consequences of climate change,” says Professor Dominique Van Der Straeten.
Combining technologies for greater impact
The review discusses how new genetic technologies, including CRISPR-based genome editing, can contribute to crops with higher levels of vitamins and minerals. These technologies allow researchers to make precise changes to plant characteristics that are important for nutritional quality.
The authors stress, however, that there is no single solution. While these technologies can play an important role in tackling malnutrition, conventional breeding and other biotechnological approaches will remain equally important.
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According to the researchers, the greatest progress will come from combining different scientific approaches, tailored to individual crops and local growing conditions.
Decades of Ghent University expertise
The publication builds on many years of research at Ghent University into improving the nutritional quality of crops. Ghent University has long been recognised internationally as a pioneer in research on vitamin enrichment of food crops.
The authors hope their review will draw attention to an often-overlooked aspect of food security. As the world’s population continues to grow and the climate changes, ensuring that food provides not only enough calories but also the nutrients needed for good health is becoming increasingly important.
A version of this article was originally posted at Ghent University. Any reposting should credit the original author and provide links to both the GLP and the original article. Find Ghent University on X @ugent
