How to improve nutrition

Bob Ziegler, DG of IRRI, explains why the world needs biofortified staples:

Take the example of rice, the staple food for more than half of the world’s population – including more than half a billion of the world’s poorest in Asia. These people often eat rice and little else. While rice is an excellent food, it does not have all the vitamins and minerals a person needs – so many of these people don‘t get enough essential nutrients like iron, zinc, and vitamin A.

A diverse and nutritious diet is the best option, sadly however, this is often too expensive or simply unavailable.

Simple, eh?

One Reply to “How to improve nutrition”

  1. Yes, it is simple. Why would biofortified rice be a bad idea, if indeed there are people who “eat rice and little else” and have no access to diverse diets? I have seen such people, and we cannot always wait for the diet diversity gospel to reach them. Diversity of approaches is what is needed, not orthodoxy.

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