Tag: nutrition

Harnessing the power of science to reduce poverty and malnutrition

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on November 24, 2021. Posted in News.

Researchers at work at CGIAR’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture campus in Ibadan, Nigeria. (Credit: Chris de Bode/CGIAR)

A five-year partnership being launched by the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)—a non-profit founded by Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna—and CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership, will harness the power of science to help millions of people overcome poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

One in four people globally, and rising, are unable to afford a healthy diet. COVID-19 has exacerbated this trend by disrupting food production and distribution, driving up by 20 percent the number of people threatened by hunger in 2020. The pandemic is unfolding amidst an environmental and climate crisis which is undermining food production and our ability to nourish the world.

But global consensus is building for urgent action. At the COP26 meetings in November, 45 nations committed to shifting to more sustainable ways of farming and accelerate the deployment of green innovations. Similarly, in late September, many government representatives at the United Nations Food Systems Summit committed to accelerating the transformation of how we grow, transport, process, and consume food. Recognizing the centrality of science and innovation for driving that transformation, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the world to scale public and private investment in research for food.

According to Barbara Wells, Global Director for Genetic Innovation at CGIAR: “World-class science is vital for facilitating farmer adaptation and mitigating our food system’s contribution to climate change. Plant-breeding innovations can help ramp up food production while making farms more climate resilient, profitable and environmentally friendly”.

“Technologies such as gene editing, which enable scientists to make targeted changes to a crop’s DNA, can accelerate the development of more disease-resistant, water-efficient varieties that can improve food production and nutrition in areas that are especially vulnerable to climate change,” Dr. Wells explained.

CGIAR has produced and promoted innovations that are boosting the sustainable production of nutritious food in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Over the past five decades, CGIAR scientists and national partners have developed and disseminated robust and highly productive crop varieties and livestock breeds tailored to the needs of local men and women. Those innovations have helped hundreds of millions of people across the Global South overcome hunger and poverty.

The IGI is a collaboration of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco with a mission to develop revolutionary genome-editing tools that enable affordable and accessible solutions in human health, climate, and agriculture. The IGI’s Climate & Sustainable Agriculture program focuses on developing crops that are resistant to pests and diseases, resilient to a changing climate, and less dependent on farmer inputs. Whereas the IGI is a pioneer in applied genomic research, CGIAR focuses on translating discoveries into improved crop varieties and cropping systems. This partnership provides an accelerated pipeline from upstream innovation to real-world impact.

“The IGI is testing technologies with great potential to benefit people in the countries where CGIAR is active, such as a way of removing the cyanide found in cassava—a staple upon which nearly a billion people depend—and fighting diseases in economically important crops like wheat, rice and bananas,” said Brian Staskawicz, the IGI Director of Sustainable Agriculture.

“The IGI is also pioneering new ways to reduce methane emissions from rice farming, which accounts for 2.5 percent of humanity’s contribution to global warming, by using genomic approaches to reduce methane production by soil microbes,” he added.

“By partnering with CGIAR, the IGI can ensure that the products of its research will benefit farmers and consumers in some of the world’s poorest countries, where CGIAR has been working for 50 years and has extensive partner networks,” said Dr. Melinda Kliegman, Director of Public Impact at the IGI. “Together we can accelerate the development and delivery of more climate-resilient, productive and nutritious crops for resource-poor farmers and consumers.”

Over the next five years, the IGI and CGIAR will use the latest breakthroughs in genomic science to enhance the resilience and productivity of farmers in low- and middle-income countries and improve the wellbeing and livelihoods of women and men in some of the world’s poorest communities.

Authored by CGIAR and the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)

Cover photo: Researchers at work at CGIAR’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture campus in Ibadan, Nigeria. (Credit: Chris de Bode/CGIAR)

Cereals research for sustainable health and well-being

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on November 8, 2021. Posted in Publications.

The current focus in nutritional circles on micronutrient malnutrition and unhealthy eating habits has raised questions about continuing to invest in research on energy-rich cereal crops and related farming systems.

In this new paper in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, development scientists make the case that cereal foods are an important vehicle for enhanced nutrition – with additional improvement possible through plant breeding and interventions in processing, manufacturing and distribution. It also explains cereals are a rich source of both dietary fiber and a range of bioactive food components that are essential for good health and well-being.

The authors suggest a balanced, integrated research approach to support the sustainable production of both nutrient-rich crops and the basic cereals used in humanity’s most widely consumed and popular foods.

Read the full article: Continuing cereals research for sustainable health and well-being

Cover photo: Raw wheat grains in a wooden bowl and in a scoop, close-up. (Photo: Marco Verch/Flickr)

World Food Day 2021: The future of food is in our hands

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 15, 2021. Posted in Features.

As the calendar turns to October 16, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) celebrates World Food Day. This year’s theme is “Our actions are our future.”

Our lives depend on agri-food systems.

They cover the journey of food (for example, cereals, vegetables, fish, fruits and livestock) from farm to table — including when it is grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten and disposed of. It also encompasses non-food products (for example forestry, animal rearing, use of feedstock, biomass to produce biofuels, and fibers) that constitute livelihoods, and all the people, as well as the activities, investments and choices that play a part in getting us these food and agricultural products.

The food we choose and the way we produce, prepare, cook and store it make us an integral and active part of the way in which an agri-food system works.

A sustainable agri-food system is one in which a variety of sufficient, nutritious and safe foods is available at an affordable price to everyone, and nobody is hungry or suffers from any form of malnutrition. The shelves are stocked at the local market or food store, but less food is wasted and the food supply chain is more resilient to shocks such as extreme weather, price spikes or pandemics, all while limiting, rather than worsening, environmental degradation or climate change. In fact, sustainable agri-food systems deliver food security and nutrition for all, without compromising the economic, social and environmental bases, for generations to come. They lead to better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.

Let’s fix the system

The contradictions could not be starker — millions of people are hungry or undernourished, while large numbers are chronically overweight due to a poor diet. Smallholder farmers produce more than one-third of the world’s food, yet are some of the worst affected by poverty, as agriculture continues to be an unpredictable sector. Agri-food systems are major contributors to climate change, which in turn threatens food production in some of the world’s poorest areas. Rampant food loss and waste, side by side with people relying on food banks or emergency food aid.

The evidence is there for all to see — there has never been a more urgent need to transform the way the world produces and consumes food.

This year, for World Food Day, we bring you four stories about CIMMYT’s work to support sustainable agri-food systems.

Better production

CGIAR centers present methodology for transforming resource-constrained, polluting and vulnerable farming into inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems that deliver healthy and affordable diets for all within planetary boundaries.

New integrated methodology supports inclusive and resilient global food systems transformation

Better nutrition

CIMMYT scientists expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets. Newly-developed high-zinc wheat is expected to make up at least 80% of varieties distributed worldwide over the next ten years, up from about 9% currently.

New zinc-fortified wheat set for global expansion to combat malnutrition

A woman makes roti, an unleavened flatbread made with wheat flour and eaten as a staple food, at her home in the Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. (Photo: S. Mojumder/Drik/CIMMYT)

Better environment

Understanding the relationship between climate change and plant health is key to conserving biodiversity and boosting food production today and for future generations.

Protecting plants will protect people and the planet

Durum wheat field landscape at CIMMYT's experimental station in Toluca, Mexico. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT) — Durum wheat field landscape at CIMMYT’s experimental station in Toluca, Mexico. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Better life

Assessing value chain development’s potential and limitations for strengthening the livelihoods of the rural poor, a new book draws conclusions applicable across the development field.

Taking stock of value chain development

A researcher from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) demonstrates the use of a farming app in the field. (Photo: C. De Bode/CGIAR)

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Beneficial bioactives

Written by Emma Orchardson on May 27, 2021. Posted in Publications.

Popular starchy staples maize and wheat provide more than simple dietary energy, but they are often found at the center of debates around the excessive consumption of carbohydrates.

While the nutrient contribution of whole grains is commonly emphasized in dietary guidelines, the milling and subsequent processing of cereal products tends to reduce or remove much of the important protein, fat, vitamin and mineral content, and in recent years there has been increasing concern about the ultra-processing of cereal-based food products containing noxious dietary components that exacerbate the occurrence of non-communicable diseases.

For these reasons — and because of the focus on energy content — maize and wheat are not often considered to be among the categories of “nutrient-rich” foods that can contribute to reducing micronutrient malnutrition. Consequently, it is unsurprising that a popular perception that cereals make a limited contribution to nutritious diets persists. This view has not been successfully challenged by a necessarily nuanced understanding of the complex role of cereals, and particularly the carbohydrate fractions, in human nutrition.

“In addition to the hidden micronutrients, there is sound scientific and popular awareness of the importance of some dietary components such as dietary fiber,” says Nigel Poole, Emeritus Professor of International Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

“Though there is as yet imperfect scientific understanding and public awareness of the carbohydrates which make up dietary fiber,” he explains, “biomedical research continues to highlight the importance of carbohydrates in health and well-being. Moreover, there is a need for further knowledge on the nature and roles of many other bioactive food components that are not usually considered to be nutrients.”

These bioactives are substances such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols. Most of the beneficial effects of the consumption of whole grain cereals on non-communicable diseases are currently attributed to the bioactive components of dietary fiber and the wide variety of phytochemicals.

A growing body of evidence from cereal chemistry, food science and metabolic studies shows that the bioactives in cereals are important for nutrition, health and well-being. In a new working paper authored in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Poole demonstrates that there is considerable potential for plant breeding strategies to improve these elements of grain composition. This could be done through exploiting natural variation, genetic and genomic selection methods, and mutagenesis and transgenesis in order to modify cell wall polysaccharides, and specifically to improve the starch composition and structure in breeding material through natural and induced mutations.

Rebalancing the agri-nutrition research agenda, Poole argues, is necessary in order to explore, explain and exploit the contribution to diets of hitherto less-researched nutrient-dense crops and other foods. Nevertheless, because of the quantities in which cereals are consumed, the nutritional contribution of cereals in addition to energy complements the consumption of micronutrient-rich fruits, vegetables, nuts and pulses in diverse diets.

To leverage the bioactive content of cereals — including dietary fiber — as well as the macro- and micronutrient content, a comprehensive approach to food and nutrition systems from farm to metabolism is needed, spanning research disciplines and food systems’ stakeholders throughout the agri-food industries, and embracing policy makers, nutrition advocacy, and consumer education and behavior change.

Read the full working paper: Food security, nutrition and health: Implications for maize and wheat research and development

Nigel Poole conducted research for this paper during a year-long Visiting Fellowship at CIMMYT, with support from scientists at the institution.

Breaking Ground: Natalia Palacios gets the most out of maize

Written by Steven M on April 14, 2021. Posted in Features.

It’s often joked that specialists learn more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing, while for generalists it’s just the opposite.

In the case of Natalia Palacios, neither applies. She may have the word specialist in her title — she is a maize quality specialist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) — but throughout her career she has had to learn more and more about a growing range of topics.

As leader of the Nutrition Chapter of the Integrated Development Program and head of the Maize Quality Laboratory, Palacios’ job is to coordinate CIMMYT’s efforts to ensure that maize-based agri-food systems in low- and middle-income countries are as healthy and nutritious as possible. The scope of this work spans the breadth of maize-based agri-food systems — from seed to supper.

“What ultimately matters for human health and nutrition is the nutritional quality of the final product,” says Palacios. “High quality, nutritious grain is an important part of the puzzle, but so are the nutritional effects of various post-harvest storage, processing, and cooking techniques.”

Natalia Palacios (front, center) with colleagues on CIMMYT’s Quality Maize team during an Open House event at CIMMYT HQ. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Seeing the forest and the trees

Originally from Bogota, Colombia, Palacios studied microbiology at the Universidad de los Andes before pursuing a PhD in plant biology at the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom.

“I had the opportunity to work as research assistant at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia,” she explains. “The exposure to interdisciplinary and international teams working for agricultural development and the leadership of my boss at that time, Joe Tohme, not only helped convince me to pursue post graduate studies in plant biology, they fostered an excitement around the real-world applications of scientific research.”

When she joined CIMMYT in 2005, Palacios worked on maize biofortification, supporting efforts to breed maize varieties rich in provitamin A and zinc. With time, she found her attention shifting towards the effect of food processing on the nutritional quality of maize-based food products, as well as to the importance of maize safety. For example, for a recent project, Palacios and her team have been analyzing the effect of a traditional thermal alkaline maize treatment known as nixtamalization on the physical composition of the grain and the nutritional quality of end products. Because of its important benefits, they are promoting this ancient technique in other geographies.

For Palacios, shifts such at this are completely in keeping with the overall goal of her work. “The main challenge we face as agricultural researchers is contributing to a nutritious, affordable diet produced within planetary boundaries,” she says. “Tackling any part of this challenge requires us to communicate between disciplines, to look at agri-food systems as a whole, and to link production and consumption.”

At the same time, for Palacios, the beauty of her work lies in going deep into a specific research question before bringing her focus back to the big picture. This movement between the specific and the general keeps her motivated, generates new questions and avenues of research, and keeps her from falling into silver-bullet thinking.

For example, her work on provitamin A biofortified maize led her to ask questions about how much of the vitamin reached consumers depending on how the grain was stored and handled. The vitamin is prone to degradation through oxidation. This led to storage and processing recommendations meant to maximize the crop’s nutritional value, including storing provitamin A maize as grain and milling it as late as possible before consumption. Researchers also worked to identify germplasm with more stable provitamin A carotenoids to be used in the breeding program.

In one study, Palacios and her coauthors found that feeding biofortified maize to hens increased the provitamin A value of their eggs, suggesting that for rural households the nutritional benefits of the improved grain could be spread out across different foodstuffs.

Natalia Palacios extracts carotenoids from maize kernels in a CIMMYT lab in Mexico. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Bringing it all together

In a paper published last spring, Palacios and her co-authors bring together the insights of these various avenues of research into one comprehensive review. The point, Palacios explains “was to identify opportunities to exploit the nutritional benefits of maize — a grain largely consumed in Africa, Latin America and some parts of Asia as important part of a diet — from understanding how to leverage the its genetic diversity for the development of more nutritious varieties to mapping all the different parts of the food system where nutritional gains can be made.”

The paper encompasses sections on the biochemistry of maize, maize breeding, maize-based foodways and culture, and traditional agronomic practices like milpa intercropping. It exemplifies Palacios’ interdisciplinary approach and her commitment to exploring multiple, interconnected pathways towards more nutritious maize agri-food systems.

As CGIAR’s 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy makes clear with its emphasis on the need for a systems-level transformation of food, land and water systems, this approach is timely and much needed.

In Palacios’ words: “Food security, nutrition and food safety are inextricably linked, and we must address them from the field to the plate and in a sustainable way.”

World Health Day 2021

Written by Emma Orchardson on April 7, 2021. Posted in Features.

Health has certainly been in the spotlight over the past year. And how could it not be?

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the fact that many groups across the world struggle to make ends meet with little daily income, have poorer housing conditions and education, fewer employment opportunities, and have little or no access to safe environments, clean water and air, food security and health services.

In light of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on leaders worldwide to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. For many the focus will, understandably, be on access to quality health care services. But there are myriad other factors that influence our ability to lead healthy lives — from how we care for our soil, to what we eat and the air we breathe.

Joining this year’s World Health Day campaign, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is highlighting five areas where it pays to think about health, and the solutions we can use to help build a healthier world for everyone.

It starts with soil

Crop yields fall dramatically when soil conditions aren’t right, but digital nutrient management tools providing tailored fertilizer recommendations can boost farmers’ profits and productivity while reducing emissions.

Douglas Mungai holds up soil on his farm in Murang’a county, Kenya. (Photo: Robert Neptune/TNC)

Robust germplasm

How do we ensure that germplasm reserves are not potential vectors of pest and disease transmission? The second instalment in the CGIAR International Year of Plant Health Webinar Series tackles the often-overlooked issue of germplasm health.

A CIMMYT gene bank worker photographs maize accessions for the database for future reference. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Quality feed

By growing maize simultaneously for both human consumption and quality animal feed, farmers can get the most out of their crops and conserve natural resources like land and water.

A Bangladeshi farmer scoops up maize flour, produced from his own maize crop, as he prepares feed for his livestock. (Photo: S. Mojumder/CIMMYT)

Feeding communities

The traditional milpa intercrop — in which maize is grown together with beans, squash or other vegetable crops — can furnish a vital supply of food and nutrients for marginalized, resource-poor communities in the Americas.

A farmer holds a maize ear. (Photo: Cristian Reyna)

A healthy planet

Compared to conventional tillage practices, sowing wheat directly into just-harvested rice fields without burning or removing straw or other residues can reduce severe air pollution while lessening irrigation needs.

Air pollution related to crop residue burning imposes enormous public health and economic burdens in northwestern India. (Photo: CIMMYT) — Burning crop residue pollutes the air in northeastern India. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Interested in learning more about CIMMYT’s health-related work? Check out our archive of health and nutrition content.

Featured image: A farmer inspects a drought-tolerant bean plant on a trial site in Malawi. (Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT)

Global malnutrition: Why cereal grains could provide an answer

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on March 15, 2021. Posted in In the media.

Nigel Poole, Professor of International Development at SOAS, University of London, writes on The Conversation about the role of cereals in fighting malnutrition. Poole was a Visiting Fellow at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico for a year.

Women mill nixtamalized maize in Michoacan, Mexico. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Nixtamalization: An ingenious solution for healthier maize-based diets

Written by Steven M on December 21, 2020. Posted in Videos.

Some 500 years ago — in the wake of the cataclysmic encounter between European powers and the indigenous cultures of the Americas — people, ideas, goods and enormous amounts of biological material were sucked into an unprecedented planetary network of commercial circuits and flung around the globe. But the process was chaotic and often violent. People, ideas and other living things that had long commingled and coevolved were torn apart, and often sent hurtling down very different trajectories.

Among the many forms of plant life caught up in this global dispersion event was a curious grain developed over thousands of years in Mesoamerica: maize. Today it is the world’s most widely planted cereal crop — a cornerstone of the global industrial food system on the one hand and many local and regional agri-food systems on the other.

The thing is that to truly understand a crop you arguably must look beyond the plant itself and see it in relation to a variety of human agricultural, culinary and socioeconomic practices. But maize moved around the globe shorn of its complement of indigenous knowledge and practices. As a food archeologist Bill Schindler argues in a new video for Wired, this rupture has had enormous consequences for the health and well-being of maize-consuming communities up to the present.

The video, which borrows from an explainer produced by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), notes that for centuries maize producers and consumers in the Americas have processed maize using a technique called nixtamalization. This treatment — cooking and steeping dried maize kernels in an alkaline solution made with water and lime or wood ash — provides several nutritional and sanitary benefits, including: increased niacin and iron bioavailability, increased calcium and resistant starch content, and decreased mycotoxin contamination.

Maize-dependent diets that do not incorporate nixtamalization have historically contributed to outbreaks of pellagra and other nutrient deficiency-driven health problems. Today un-nixtamalized maize is used as the nutritionally-poor but chemically malleable basis for many hyper-processed foodstuffs thought to have contributed to the meteoric rise of diet-related disease since the 1980s.

Faced with this, Schindler asks: what if more of the world finally reunited maize with it’s indigenous processing techniques. Heat, water and lime — it might just be a solution to some pretty big problems.

Climate change adds to woes of lentil farmers in Nepal

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 27, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Once a world leading lentil producer, Nepal is now having to import them as farmers struggle with low productivity and warmer, wetter weather.

This could have serious implications in a country where lentils provide an important source of protein, especially for poor families.

World Food Day 2020: Nourishing food systems

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 14, 2020. Posted in Features.

As the calendar turns to October 16, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) celebrates World Food Day. This year’s theme is “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together.”

The COVID-19 global health crisis has been a time to reflect on things we truly cherish and our most basic needs. These uncertain times have made many of us rekindle our appreciation for a thing that some take for granted and many go without: food.

Food is the essence of life and the bedrock of our cultures and communities. Preserving access to safe and nutritious food is and will continue to be an essential part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for poor and vulnerable communities, who are hit hardest by the pandemic and resulting economic shocks.

In a moment like this, it is more important than ever to recognize the need to support farmers and workers throughout the food system, who make sure that food makes its way from farm to fork.

Sustainable food systems

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 2 billion people do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. The global population is expected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050.

Our future food systems need to provide affordable and healthy diets for all, and decent livelihoods for food system workers, while preserving natural resources and biodiversity and tackling challenges such as climate change.

Countries, the private sector and civil society need to make sure that our food systems grow a variety of food to nourish a growing population and sustain the planet, together.

This year, for World Food Day, we bring you three stories about CIMMYT’s work to produce nutritious food in a sustainable way.

Explainer: What is sustainable intensification?

Farming method can boost yields, increase farmers’ profits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Read more.

Against the grain: New paper reveals the overlooked health benefits of maize and wheat

Cereals offer greater health and nutrition benefits than commonly acknowledged, despite often being considered ‘nutrient-poor’, say scientists. Read more.

Breaking Ground: Isaiah Nyagumbo advances climate-smart technologies to improve smallholder farming systems

Systems agronomist transforms farmers’ livelihoods through improved crop performance and soil health, promoting sustainable techniques that mitigate climate change effects. Read more.

Subscribe to our email updates to stay in the loop about the latest research and news related to maize and wheat agriculture.

Hands hold wheat grain from harvest near Belbur, Nakuru, Kenya. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Against the grain: New paper reveals the overlooked health benefits of maize and wheat

Written by Mary Donovan on October 12, 2020. Posted in Press releases.

Cereal crops like maize and wheat deserve greater consideration as part of a healthy, nutritious diet, according to the authors of a new paper.

A review of agri-nutrition research and dietary guidance found that the potential health benefits provided by cereals were often overlooked or undervalued as part of nutritious diets, including their role in reducing non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

The study identified two key explanations for the oversight. The first is that many cereal crops with varying nutritional qualities are indiscriminately grouped under the broad category of “staples.”

A second problem lies in the fact that cereals are usually considered to be a major source of dietary energy alone. However, reducing nutritional attributes to macro- and micro-nutrients misses other beneficial elements of cereals known as “bioactive food components.” These include carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols, and compounds that comprise dietary fiber.

“Most whole grain cereals provide differing amounts of proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins, in addition to being important sources of dietary energy,” said Jason Donovan, a senior economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and co-author of the paper published in Food Policy.

“Only relative to other ‘nutrient-rich’ foodstuffs can cereals be described as ‘nutrient-poor’.”

In the paper, entitled Agri-nutrition research: Revisiting the contribution of maize and wheat to human nutrition and health, the authors called on researchers and policymakers to embrace the multiple dietary components of cereals in addressing under- and over-nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and the growing global problem of non-communicable diseases.

“Through increasing the availability of, and access to, healthy foods derived from cereals, we can better address the growing triple burden of malnutrition that many countries are facing,” said Olaf Erenstein, co-author and director of CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics program.

“To feed the world within planetary boundaries, current intakes of whole grain foods should more than double and address tricky issues like the current over-processing, to make the most of the nutrition potential of maize and wheat.”

While some carbohydrates can create a glycemic response that has negative effects on diabetes and obesity, dietary fiber in cereals comprises carbohydrates that are fermented in the large intestine with largely positive metabolic and health effects.

In addition, the naturally-occurring compounds found in maize and wheat can be enhanced through conventional breeding, genomic selection and bio- and industrial-fortification to offer enriched levels of beneficial components.

For example, scientists at CIMMYT have worked on new maize and wheat varieties with additional levels of vitamin A and zinc to help address some of the nutritional deficiencies found worldwide. Researchers are also improving how cereals are produced, processed, and stored to increase productivity and improve food safety while maintaining their nutritional benefits.

One of challenges in maximizing the nutritional benefit of cereal-based foods in diets is that the processing of grains often causes substantial losses of essential vitamins and minerals. Meanwhile, manufacturing industries create ultra-processed foods that often contain noxious qualities and components, which contribute directly to the significant and increasing global health and economic costs of non-communicable diseases.

“If we are to end hunger by delivering healthy, diverse and nutritional diets in the next decade, we need a broader and more nuanced understanding of the nutritional and health-promoting value of diverse foods, including cereals,” added Nigel Poole, co-author and Professor of International Development at SOAS University, London.

“Cereals and so-called ‘nutrient-rich’ foods are complementary in agri-nutrition, both of which require additional research, resources and attention so that one does not replace the other.”

RELATED PUBLICATIONS:

Agri-nutrition research: Revisiting the contribution of maize and wheat to human nutrition and health

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR INTERVIEW REQUESTS:

Donna Bowater, Marchmont Communications, donna@marchmontcomms.com, +44 7929 212 534

ABOUT CIMMYT:

The International Maize and What Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information visit staging.cimmyt.org

See our coverage of World Food Day 2020.

Combating COVID-19 with better nutrition: What an Iowa organization is doing in Central America

Written by Mary Donovan on July 17, 2020. Posted in In the media.

The COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying the impact of the twin scourges of disease and malnutrition in the world, but there is hope that new bio-fortified crops being introduced by organizations like Iowa-based Self-Help International can help combat the new coronavirus.

The Rendidor bio-fortified beans represent the first new crop introduced by Self-Help Nicaragua since 1999, when Self-Help began working in Nicaragua with the planting of Quality Protein Maize, or QPM, a high-protein corn variety that was developed at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico.

An assortment of whole, unprocessed maize and wheat kernels is displayed in a basket. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Whole grains

Written by Emma Orchardson on March 25, 2020. Posted in Explainers. 1 Comment on Whole grains

The most recent dietary guidelines provided by the World Health Organization and other international food and nutrition authorities recommend that half our daily intake of grains should come from whole grains. But what are whole grains, what are their health benefits, and where can they be found?

What are whole grains?

The grain or kernel of any cereal is made up of three edible parts: the bran, the germ and the endosperm.

Each part of the grain contains different types of nutrients.

The bran is the multi-layered outer skin of the edible kernel. It is fiber-rich and also supplies antioxidants, B vitamins, minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium, and phytochemicals — natural chemical compounds found in plants that have been linked to disease prevention.
The germ is the core of the seed where growth occurs. It is rich in lipids and contains vitamin E, as well as B vitamins, phytochemicals and antioxidants.
The largest portion of the kernel is the endosperm, an interior layer that holds carbohydrates, protein and smaller amounts of vitamins and minerals.

The grain or kernel of maize and wheat is made up of three edible parts: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. (Graphic: Nancy Valtierra/CIMMYT)

A whole grain is not necessarily an entire grain.

The concept is mainly associated with food products — which are not often made using intact grains — but there is no single, accepted definition of what constitutes a whole grain once parts of it have been removed.

Generally speaking, however, a processed grain is considered “whole” when each of the three original parts — the bran, germ and endosperm — are still present in the same proportions as when the original one. This definition applies to all cereals in the Poaceae family such as maize, wheat, barley and rice, and some pseudocereals including amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa.

Wholegrain vs. refined and enriched grain products

Refined grain products differ from whole grains in that some or all of the outer bran layers are removed by milling, pearling, polishing, or degerming processes and are missing one or more of their three key parts.

For example, white wheat flour is prepared with refined grains that have had their bran and germ removed, leaving only the endosperm. Similarly, if a maize kernel is degermed or decorticated — where both the bran and germ are removed — it becomes a refined grain.

The main purpose of removing the bran and germ is technological, to ensure finer textures in final food products and to improve their shelf life. The refining process removes the variety of nutrients that are found in the bran and germ, so many refined flours end up being enriched — or fortified — with additional, mostly synthetic, nutrients. However, some components such as phytochemicals cannot be replaced.

A hand holds grains of wheat. (Photo: Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT)

Are wholegrain products healthier than refined ones?

There is a growing body of research indicating that whole grains offer a number of health benefits which refined grains do not.

Bran and fiber slow the breakdown of starch into glucose, allowing the body to maintain a steady blood sugar level instead of causing sharp spikes. Fibers positively affect bowel movement and also help to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, the incidence of type 2 diabetes, the risk of stroke, and to maintain an overall better colorectal and digestive health. There is also some evidence to suggest that phytochemicals and essential minerals — such as copper and magnesium — found in the bran and germ may also help protect against some cancers.

Despite the purported benefits, consumption of some wholegrain foods may be limited by consumer perception of tastes and textures. The bran in particular contains intensely flavored compounds that reduce the softness of the final product and may be perceived to negatively affect overall taste and texture. However, these preferences vary greatly between regions. For example, while wheat noodles in China are made from refined flour, in South Asia most wheat is consumed wholegrain in the form of chapatis.

Popcorn is another example of a highly popular wholegrain food. It is a high-quality carbohydrate source that, consumed naturally, is not only low in calories and cholesterol, but also a good source of fiber and essential vitamins including folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, pantothenic acid and vitamins B6, A, E and K. One serving of popcorn contains about 8% of the daily iron requirement, with lesser amounts of calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Boiled and roasted maize commonly consumed in Africa, Asia and Latin America are other sources of wholegrain maize, as is maize which has been soaked in lime solution, or “nixtamalized.” Depending on the steeping time and method of washing the nixtamalized kernels, a portion of the grains used for milling could still be classed as whole.

Identifying wholegrain products

Whole grains are relatively easy to identify when dealing with unprocessed foods such as brown rice or oats. It becomes more complicated, however, when a product is made up of both whole and refined or enriched grains, especially as color is not an indicator. Whole wheat bread made using whole grains can appear white in color, for example, while multi-grain brown bread can be made primarily using refined flour.

In a bid to address this issue, US-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group the Whole Grains Council created a stamp designed to help consumers identify and select wholegrain products more easily. As of 2019, this stamp is used on over 13,000 products in 61 diﬀerent countries.

However, whether a product is considered wholegrain or not varies widely between countries and individual agencies, with a lack of industry standardization meaning that products are labelled inconsistently. Words such as “fiber,” “multigrain” and even “wholegrain” are often used on packaging for products which are not 100% wholegrain. The easiest way to check a product’s wholegrain content is to look at the list of ingredients and see if the flours used are explicitly designated as wholegrain. These are ordered by weight, so the first items listed are those contained more heavily in the product.

As a next step, an ad-hoc committee led by the Whole Grain Initiative is due to propose specific whole grain quantity thresholds to help establish a set of common criteria for food labelling. These are likely to be applied worldwide in the event that national definitions and regulations are not standardized.

‘Sharing’ or ‘sparing’ land?

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on February 14, 2020. Posted in Blogs. 4 Comments on ‘Sharing’ or ‘sparing’ land?

Any fifth grader is familiar with the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction, which saw dinosaurs — and three quarters of all species alive at that time — disappear from Earth, probably after it was struck by a very large asteroid. However, few people are aware the planet is currently going through a similar event of an equally large magnitude: a recent report from the World Wide Fund for Nature highlighted a 60% decline in the populations of over 4,000 vertebrate species monitored globally since 1970. This time, the culprit is not an asteroid, but human beings. The biggest threat we represent to other species is also the way we meet one of our most fundamental needs: food production.

As a response, scientists, particularly ecologists, have looked for strategies to minimize trade-offs between agriculture and biodiversity. One such strategy is “land sparing,” also known as the “Borlaug effect.” It seeks to segregate production and conservation and to maximize yield on areas as small as possible, sparing land for nature. Another strategy is “land sharing” or “wildlife-friendly farming,” which seeks to integrate production and conservation in the same land units and make farming as benign as possible to biodiversity. It minimizes the use of external inputs and retains unfarmed patches on farmland.

A heated debate between proponents of land sparing and proponents of land sharing has taken place over the past 15 years. Most studies, however, have found land sparing to lead to better outcomes than land sharing, in a range of contexts. With collaborators from CIFOR, UBC and other organizations, I hypothesized that this belief was biased because researchers assessed farming through a narrow lens, only looking at calories or crop yield.

Many more people today suffer from hidden hunger, or lack of vitamins and minerals in their diets, than lack of calories. Several studies have found more diverse and nutritious diets consumed by people living in or near areas with greater tree cover as trees are a key component of biodiversity. However, most of these studies have not looked at mechanisms explaining this positive association.

Forests for food

Studying seven tropical landscapes in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Zambia, we found evidence that tree cover directly supports diets in four landscapes out of seven. This may be through the harvest of bushmeat, wild fruits, wild vegetables and other forest-sourced foods. The study further found evidence of an agroecological pathway — that forests and trees support diverse crop and livestock production through an array of ecosystem services, ultimately leading to improved diets — in five landscapes out of seven. These results clearly demonstrate that although land sparing may have the best outcomes for biodiversity, it would cut off rural households from forest products such as forest food, firewood and livestock feed. It would also cut off smallholder farms from ecosystem services provided by biodiversity, and smallholders in the tropics tend to depend more on ecosystem services than on external inputs.

In Ethiopia, previous research conducted by some of the same authors has demonstrated that multifunctional landscapes that do not qualify as land sparing nor as land sharing may host high biodiversity whilst being more productive than simpler landscapes. They are more sustainable and resilient, provide more diverse diets and produce cereals with higher nutritional content.

The debate on land sparing vs. sharing has largely remained confined to the circles of conservation ecologists and has seldom involved agricultural scientists. As a result, most studies on land sparing vs. sharing have focused on minimizing the negative impact of farming on biodiversity, instead of looking for the best compromises between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation.

To design landscapes that truly balance the needs of people and nature, it is urgent for agronomists, agricultural economists, rural sociologists and crop breeders to participate in the land sparing vs. sharing debate.

This study was made possible by funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the project Agrarian Change in Tropical Landscapes, and by the CGIAR Research Programs on MAIZE and WHEAT.

Freshly baked rye bread is displayed next to wheat spikes and grains. (Photo: Marco Verch/Flickr)

Healthy diets feature both whole- and refined-grain foods, new study shows

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on November 20, 2019. Posted in Press releases. 1 Comment on Healthy diets feature both whole- and refined-grain foods, new study shows

Grain-based foods — both whole-grain and refined, from which the bran has been removed — are a key part of healthy diets, according to a study published in the science journal Advances in Nutrition.

The study, co-authored by Julie Miller Jones of St. Catherine University, Carlos Guzman of the Universidad de Córdoba and Hans-Joachim Braun of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), reviewed findings of more than 100 research papers from nutrition and medical journals as well as national health recommendations. It presents evidence for positive health impacts from diverse diets that include not more than 50% carbohydrates and the right mix of grain-based foods.

“Epidemiological studies consistently show that eating three 30-gram portions of whole-grain foods — say, half a cup of oats — per day is associated with reduced chronic disease risk,” said Miller Jones, Professor Emerita at St. Catherine University and first author of the study. “But refined-grain foods — especially staple, enriched or fortified ones of the ‘non-indulgent’ type — also provide key vitamins and minerals that are otherwise lacking in people’s diets.”

“Cereal grains help feed the world by providing millions of calories per hectare and large amounts of plant-based protein,” said Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat. “They are affordable, shelf stable, portable, versatile, and popular, and will play a key role as the world transitions to plant-based diets to meet future food needs.”

Folate fortification of refined grains has helped reduce the incidence of spina bifida, anencephaly, and other birth defects, according to Miller Jones. “And despite contributing to high sugar intake, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are typically consumed with nutritious foods such as milk, yogurt, and fruit,” she added.

All grain-based foods, refined and whole, are good sources of dietary fiber, which is essential for sound health but critically lacking in modern diets. “Only 4 percent of the U.S. population, for example, eats recommended levels of dietary fiber,” she said.

Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other illnesses from unbalanced diets and unhealthy habits are on the rise in countries such as the U.S., driving up health care expenditures. The annual medical costs of obesity alone there have been estimated at nearly $150 billion.

“Dietary choices are determined partly by lifestyle but also co-vary with daily habits and personal traits,” Miller Jones explained. “People who eat more whole-grain foods are more likely to exercise, not smoke, and have normal body weights, as well as attaining higher levels of education and socioeconomic status.”

According to the study, recommendations for grain-based foods need to encourage a healthy number of servings and replacing half of refined-grain foods with whole-grain products, as well as providing clearer and unbiased definitions of both types of grain-based foods.

RELATED RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS:

Perspective: Whole and Refined Grains and Health — Evidence Supporting “Make Half Your Grains Whole”

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

Hans Braun – Director of the Global Wheat Program, CIMMYT

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT THE MEDIA TEAM:

Marcia MacNeil, Communications Officer, CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, CIMMYT.
m.macneil@cgiar.org, +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 2070.

Rodrigo Ordóñez, Communications Manager, CIMMYT.
r.ordonez@cgiar.org, +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 1167.

ABOUT CIMMYT:

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information, visit staging.cimmyt.org.

This research is supported by CGIAR Fund Donors.