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Biofortification is the practice of Plant breeding crops to increase their nutritional value. This can be done either through conventional selective breeding, or through genetic engineering.
Biofortification differs from Nutrification because it focuses on making plant foods more nutritious as the plants are growing, rather than having nutrients added to the foods when they are being processed. This is an important improvement on ordinary fortification when it comes to providing nutrients for the rural poor, who rarely have access to commercially fortified foods.
Biofortification is seen as an upcoming strategy for dealing with deficiencies of micronutrients in low and middle-income countries. In the case of iron deficiency, the WHO estimated that biofortification could help cure the 2 billion people with anemia.
This method is prevalent at present, as it is less controversial than genetically engineering crops. HarvestPlus, a major NGO in the development of biofortified crops, primarily use conventional breeding techniques, and have not yet spent more than 15% of their research budget on genetically modified crops when conventional methods fail to meet nutritional requirements.Bonnie McClafferty & Yassir Islam, ‘Fighting the Hidden Hunger’, in TCE, (February 2008), p. 27.Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, ‘Mission Man’, in Gourmet, (November 2007), p. 197.
Golden rice is an example of a GM crop developed for its nutritional value. The latest version of golden rice contains genes from a common soil bacterium Erwinia and maize, and contains increased levels of beta-carotene which can be converted by the body into vitamin A.International Rice Research Institute: About Golden Rice Golden rice is being developed as a potential new way to address vitamin A deficiency.International Rice Research Institute: Golden Rice at IRRI
This approach may have advantages over other health interventions such as providing foods Nutrification, or providing supplements. Although these approaches have proven successful when dealing with the urban poor, they tend to require access to effective markets and healthcare systems which often just do not exist in rural areas. Biofortification is also fairly cost effective after an initial large research investment – where seeds can be distributed, the "implementation costs of are nil or negligible",Penelope Nestel, Howarth E. Bouis, J. V. Meenakshi, & Wolfgang Pfeiffer, ‘Biofortification of Staple Food Crops’, in The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 136, no. 4, (2006), p. 1066. as opposed to supplementation which is comparatively expensive and requires continued financing over time, which may be jeopardized by fluctuating political interest.
Research on this approach is being undertaken internationally, with major efforts ongoing in Brazil, China HarvestPlus China website and India. ‘HarvestPlus aid for boosting nutrition levels’, in The Hindu Business Line, Retrieved on July 22, 2008
There may occasionally be difficulties in getting biofortified foods to be accepted if they have different characteristics to their unfortified counterparts. For example, vitamin A enhanced foods are often dark yellow or orange in color – this for example is problematic for many in Africa, where white maize is eaten by humans and yellow maize is negatively associated with animal feed or food aid,Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, ‘Mission Man’, in Gourmet, (November 2007), p. 104. or where white-fleshed sweet potato is preferred to its moister, orange-fleshed counterpart. Some qualities may be relatively simple to mitigate or breed out of biofortified crops according to consumer demand, such as the moistness of the sweet potato, whereas others cannot be.
Where this is the case, care must be taken to convince the local farmers and consumers that the crop in question is worth growing and consuming. This can be done through improving the cultivation qualities of the plant, for example making the orange sweet-potato mature earlier than its white-fleshed cousin so it can be taken to market earlier. It can also be done through public health education, making the benefits of eating biofortified foods apparent to consumers. Trials suggest that the rural poor "will consume biofortified versions of food staples even if the color of the food has been changed...if they are educated as to the benefit".Carl Pray, Robert Paarlberg, & Laurian Unnevehr, ‘Patterns of Political Response to Biofortified Varieties of Crops Produced with Different Breeding Techniques and Agronomic Traits’ , in AgBioForum, vol. 10, no. 3, (2007), p. 138. While other micronutrients such as zinc or iron can be added to crops without noticeably changing their taste or appearance, some researchers emphasize the importance of ensuring that consumers do not think that their food has been altered without their authorization or knowledge.
Some have criticized biofortification programs because they may encourage "further simplification of human diets and food systems",Timothy Johns & Pablo B. Eyzaguirre, ‘Biofortification, biodiversity and diet: A search for complementary applications against poverty and malnutrition’, in Food Policy, vol. 32, issue 1, (February 2007), p. 11. because "biofortification a strategy that aims to concentrate more nutrients in few staple foods which may contribute to further simplifying diets already overly dependent on a few carbohydrate staples."Timothy Johns & Pablo B. Eyzaguirre, ‘Biofortification, biodiversity and diet: A search for complementary applications against poverty and malnutrition’, in Food Policy, vol. 32, issue 1, (February 2007), p. 3. This may seem irresponsible, as lack of access to a diverse and balanced diet is the major cause of malnutrition. As a result these critics urge caution, and the use of biofortification as part of a larger strategy involving diversification of foods in low and middle-income countries.Timothy Johns & Pablo B. Eyzaguirre, ‘Biofortification, biodiversity and diet: A search for complementary applications against poverty and malnutrition’, in Food Policy, vol. 32, issue 1, (February 2007), pp. 2-3. Advocates of biofortification accept this as a long term strategy, but state that substantially increasing diet diversity will take "many decades and untold billions of dollars", Biofortification: Harnessing Agricultural Technology to Improve the Health of the Poor, IFPRI and CIAT pamphlet, (2002). and that biofortification could be an effective strategy to help reduce micronutrient malnutrition.
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