The Role of Biodiversity in Food Security and Nutrition: A Potato Cultivar Case Study

Biodiversity is considered a critical measure of the agricultural health of the world. Not only does increased biodiversity contribute to nutrient production and consumption, but it acts as a safeguard against food shortages due to pests and diseases by spreading the risk. Biodiversity can improve dietary diversity in such a way to ultimately contribute to improved food and nutrition security. As a result biodiversity is often highlighted in global discussions related to food and nutrition security. Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are highly biodiverse food crops, with more than 4000 different cultivars grown globally. The crop is sometimes considered as part of the vegetable component of food baskets, but it is mainly added to meals as a starch because potatoes have a high starch content and are thus high in energy. However, significant differences in the nutritional content (including micronutrient composition) of different potato cultivars have been reported in many countries. It is therefore proposed that specific cultivars could potentially contribute more to critical nutrients required in the diet of countries at risk of malnutrition. The nutritional profile (macronutrients and minerals) of 11 potato cultivars cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa was determined and the contribution which these different potatoes could make to the diet, and consequently to food and nutrition security, is discussed. The results showed that significant differences are found in the nutritional content between the different cultivars. Significant differences (p < 0.001) were found in macronutrients such as protein and fat as well as micronutrients such as copper, phosphorus and potassium. These results indicate the potentially beneficial role which a biodiverse range of crops such as potatoes, could play in the food and nutrition security of developing countries.

Certain Aspects of Nutritional Security of People with Gluten-Related Disorders

As a consequence of the production of high-yielding cereal varieties per hectare and the considerable increase in gluten consumption, today, consequently, we face a rising epidemic of disorders related to gluten consumption: celiac disease, gluten allergy gluten sensitivity. Nutritional therapy is the only treatment for celiac disease unanimously accepted by the medical community. The aim of the study is to analyze the food and nutritional security of people with disorders related to gluten consumption from the perspective of assessing the nutritional deficiencies of people diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, but also assessing the nutritional deficiencies of gluten-free products. The study on the assessment of nutritional deficiencies of people with disorders related to gluten consumption, but also the nutritional deficiencies of gluten-free products/diets were conducted on the PubMed search engine. 154 free full text papers published in the period 2010-2020 were analyzed, according to the keywords (gluten free, diet, deficiencies). Specialists in the field are unanimous in the opinion that increasing nutritional security and ensuring sustainability can be achieved by: diversifying gluten-free products;extension of legislation to strengthen gluten-free products;developing educational strategies focused on the relationship between nutrients, food and human health;informing the population and optimizing services in order to increase the quality of life and health. However, the design of GF products, both technologically and nutritionally, especially bakery/pastry, pasta is still a challenge, and research in this area, is current and required.

Seaweed farming for food and nutritional security,climate change mitigation and adaptation,and women empowerment:A review

Seaweed is a promising marine macroalgae of the millennium,providing various ecological,social,and economic benefits.At present,seaweed production reached 35.8 million t from farming,accounting for 97%of global seaweed output,with a world market of US$11.8 billion.Seaweeds are an excellent source of nutritious human food because of their low lipid content,high minerals,fibers,polyunsaturated fatty acids,polysaccharides,vitamins,and bioactive compounds.Many seaweed sub-products offer unique properties to develop various functional foods for the food processing industries.In the perspective of climate change mitigation,seaweed farms absorb carbon,serve as a CO_(2)sink and reduce agricultural emissions by providing raw materials for biofuel production and livestock feed.Seaweed farming system also helps in climate change adaptation by absorbing wave energy,safeguarding shorelines,raising the pH of the surrounding water,and oxygenating the waters to minimize the impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia on a localized scale.Moreover,it contributes substantially to the sustainable development of the economic condition of coastal women by providing livelihood opportunities and ensuring financial solvency.This review paper highlights the significance of seaweed farming in global food and nutritional security,mitigation and adaptation to global climate change,and women empowerment within a single frame.This review paper also outlined the major issues and challenges of seaweed farming for obtaining maximum benefits in these aspects.The main challenges of making seaweed as a staple diet to millions of people include producing suitable species of seaweeds,making seaweed products accessible,affordable,nutritionally balanced,and attractive to the consumers.Various food products must be developed from seaweeds that may be considered equivalent to the foods consumed by humans today.Lack of effective marine spatial planning to avoid user conflicts is vital for expanding the seaweed farming systems to provide aquatic foods and contribute globally for mitigation and adaptation of climate change impacts.Hence,women’s empowerment through seaweed farming is primarily constrained by the lack of technical knowledge and financial resources to establish the coastal farming system.All the information discussed in this paper will help to understand the critical needs for large-scale seaweed farming for climate resilience mariculture,potentials for global food security,and future research on various aspects of seaweed farming and their diverse utilization.

Iron and Protein Content of Priority African Indigenous Vegetables in the Lake Victoria Basin

African indigenous vegetables have many nutritional and health benefits that have not been well researched and fully exploited. The objective of this study was to determine iron and protein contents of seven priority African indigenous vegetables found in Eastern Africa. The vegetables were planted at two sites, Maseno University, Maseno in western Kenya and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology （JKUAT）, Juja in Central Kenya between 2006 and 2008. These vegetables were organically grown and edible parts of each of the vegetable harvested during vegetative growth stages just before onset of flowering and analysed for iron and protein contents. Nightshade and cowpea had high levels of both iron and protein. Pumpkin leaves and amaranths had high iron content while spiderplant and slenderleaf had high protein levels. Both iron and protein levels differed significantly between the seven vegetables at both sites. Nightshade and cowpea contained iron and protein levels that would provide 100% of the recommended daily allowance （RDA） iron and 50% of recommended daily allowance protein for optimal human growth and health. These results help to demonstrate the nutritional value of African indigenous vegetables and their potential use in nutrition intervention programs.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Flour Enriched with Date Palm Fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Powder and Bean Milk for Cookies Production

This study emphasizes the formulation of three types of cookies viz potato flour with date powder and bean milk (PDBM), potato flour with sugar and bean milk (PSBM), and potato flour, sugar, and eggs as control. After the substitution, the highest protein content was observed in PDBM (1.78 ± 0.12)% followed by PSBM, (1.35 ± 0.01)% and the lowest was in the control (0.91 ± 0.55)%. Moreover, cookies fortified with date palm powder increased the carbohydrate and fat contents compared to the control and significantly increased the calorific value of PDBM. The formulated cookies were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in iron (39.95 ± 3.00) mg/100 g and zinc (13.65 ± 1.61) mg/100 g in PDBM compared to other cookies. The date palm powder incorporated in cookies significantly increases the darkening of biscuits during cooking. The organoleptic characteristics of PDBM and PSBM were rated overall best when specific parameters were tested. With the shortage of wheat and importation constraints, an alternative provides a great market opportunity for local products like potatoes and beans. In addition, fortifying food products as cookies eaten by all will contribute to a more food and nutrition-secured world.

China’s new problems of food security revealed by the Food Equivalent Unit

China's food security has a great influence on the world,and has always been the top priority in China.In recent years,as the concept of food security is evolving into one of nutrition security and the importance of food diversity is increasing,research based on nutrition security and broad food systems are increasingly needed in today’s China.Thus,not only grain for human consumption,but also animal foods have been integrated into the Food Equivalent,which is used to analyze China’s current agriculture system and reveal the water resource distribution.The results indicated that the average animal food consumption has risen by 78.6%,and now China’s daily supply of animal food per capita has reached about 50%of that in the USA and 80%of that in the South Korea.So there exist an obvious disparity in animal food supply between China and these two countries.It is impossible for the China’s current agricultural system to achieve the level in the USA.Under China’s current agricultural system,the consumption proportion of feed grain had surpassed the consumption of food grain,increased sharply from 33%in 1992 to 67%in 2011.However,the growth potential of total grain output is approaching an upper limit,so the continued growth of feed grain demand exerts great pressure on the China’s food supply.The discordance of the spatial distribution of water resource and virtual water revealed that China’s current agriculture system had a low efficiency in being able to achieve food and nutrition security.China’s current“grain farming”cannot meet the demand of increasing nutrition and appropriate resource utilization.The implementation of grassland agriculture appears feasible and necessary for saving feed grain,providing a large number of high-quality animal foods and appropriate water resource utilization.

Current progress and prospects of enzyme technologies in future foods

Enzyme technologies are widely used in the food industry due to their advantages of high efficiency,specificity,and safety.Recently,“future foods”is emerging as a new research hotspot with healthier foods that are more nutritious,delicious,and sustainable;however,these foods still have problems with texture,nutrition,and flavor.Advances in enzyme technology have enabled the development of new tools and approaches to better manipulate food textures and nutritional aspects.In this review,we summarize enzyme technology applications in future food production,focusing on food texture,safety,and flavors.Furthermore,we discuss the prospects of enzyme-based technologies for future food production,including the modification of enzyme activities,the development of suitable food-grade hosts for enzyme production,and the optimiza-tion synergistic multi-enzyme systems.

Managing soil quality for humanity and the planet

Rather than a human-centric, the basic strategy of achieving Sustainable Development Goals mustbe focused on restoring and sustaining planetary processes. The urgency of meeting the demands of thehumanity must be reconciled with the necessity of enhancing the environment. Increasing and restoring soilorganic matter content of the degraded and depleted soils is critical to strengthening planetary processes.