As the global population grows, World Food Day reminds us how access to nutritious food remains a significant challenge, with millions facing diets that are deficient in essential nutrients, leading to widespread malnutrition.
Standing as a beacon of hope for these communities, genome-edited foods can offer a breakthrough solution by enhancing the nutritional value of crops that sustain these populations.
Chantel Arendse, the lead for plant biotechnology at CropLife SA, explains that malnutrition is defined as deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances related to an individual’s intake of energy and nutrients.
Too many people go hungry
While agricultural production has increased globally, she explains that large parts of the population still suffer from chronic food insecurity, increasing the risk of malnutrition due to poor intake of essential micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals, with severe health implications.
“Genome-editing has emerged as a promising tool to combat malnutrition, offering a solution beyond just increasing food supply.”
“It offers the potential for enhancing the nutritional content of horticultural and staple food crops by precisely optimising processes involved in nutrient uptake, synthesis, and metabolism,” Arendse explains.
“The eventual outcome will result in crops with elevated levels of essential vitamins, minerals, and beneficial compounds, addressing both malnutrition concerns and overall human health outcomes through healthy diets.”
Better food, better future
Linking this to World Food Day, Arendse points out that the theme this year is “Right to food for a better life and a better future”. This global initiative calls for not only combating hunger but also promoting healthy diets for all, recognising that innovative technologies have an important role to play in achieving these ambitious goals.
Genome-editing technologies are one of the innovations being harnessed in laboratories across the globe to transform our agrifood systems to sustainably produce a greater diversity of nutritious foods that are affordable, accessible, and safe.
“Vitamin A deficiency is a serious public health concern, especially across Asia, placing millions of children at risk of losing their sight. To combat this, biofortification efforts using genome-editing tools like CRISPR Cas are being used to increase the levels of pro-vitamin A in rice, bananas, and other fruits. These ‘golden’ crops will help to reduce the occurrence of diseases related to vitamin A deficiency on a global scale,” she explains.
According to Kenyan-based biomedical scientist and biotechnologist Hussein Abkallo, who researched how to make genome-editing a success story in Africa, genome-editing involves the precise alteration of an organism’s genome to enhance specific traits such as nutritional content, yield, disease resistance, or resilience to harsh environmental conditions.
Closing nutritional gaps
“Crops with enhanced nutritional content achieved through genome-editing underscore the significance of this technology in addressing global food security and nutritional deficiencies,” he says.
“Tailoring genome-editing to meet the specific nutritional needs of different communities should ideally begin with identifying the communities’ nutritional gaps. This can be achieved by assessing the dietary deficiencies prevalent in a specific region, e.g., shortages in essential vitamins, minerals, or amino acids.”
Abkallo says once these gaps are understood, scientists can target key genes by modifying or introducing those that are vital for synthesising or increasing the bioavailability of the necessary nutrients in staple crops.
“To enhance acceptability, this process can further be refined by ensuring that the enhanced nutrients are incorporated into crops that are culturally accepted and commonly consumed.
“Additionally, genome-edited crops are adapted to thrive in the local environmental conditions, making them more accessible and sustainable for the communities they are designed to support.”
CropLife’s Chantel Arendse
Dietitian Colleen Mokoka from Limpopo believes that technological innovations, such as genome editing, could play a crucial role in combating malnutrition and hunger.
“With the current economic state and global change, it’s very advantageous and could be of great importance for these types of technological innovations to be implemented, as they could benefit society by enhancing the nutritional composition of plants and help eradicate hunger for optimal growth,” she explains.
Tackling nutrient deficiencies
Reflecting on the health risks associated with inadequate nutrition, Mokoka explains the severe consequences for communities with limited access to diverse foods.
“The health risks include obesity, underweight, nutrient deficiencies, morbidity and mortality, poor mental health, decreased energy levels, reduced immunity, disrupted sleep quality, mood disturbances, and increased risk of memory problems.”
She also identifies several common nutritional deficiencies prevalent in South Africa, including protein-energy malnutrition, iron deficiency anaemia, iodine deficiency, vitamin A deficiency, zinc deficiency, and hypocalcemia. She believes genome editing could offer a solution to these issues.
“With genetic editing and healthy food technology innovations, these deficiencies could be beaten.”
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