Improving nutritional value of staple foods

As an addition to the approach of distributing vitamin pills and providing injections and food supplements, WHO has funded a food-based solution to the problem of micronutrient deficiencies. Plant scientists in a 15-nation consortium is involving several international crop improvement centres to develop the food-based solution to micronutrient malnutrition. The aim is to help the National Agricultural Research Programmes in developing countries to breed new varieties with higher micronutrient content. The first stage is screening seeds of many of the world's wheat, barley, maize and rice varieties for types with a higher content of deficient micronutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine and Vitamin A.

1. Increasing basic staple foods
2. Improving
3. Growing food
4. Growing balanced diet

1. Supplying basic nutritional needs
2. Planting nutritious food crops
3. Correcting vitamin deficiencies in diet
4. Balancing local nutrition intakes

1. Training in plant nutrient assessment
2. Studying micronutrient deficiencies
3. Planning integrated food plant nutrient programmes
4. Monitoring genetic defects
5. Importing staple foods
6. Exposing nutritional quackery
7. Diversifying nutritious protein crops
8. Advancing cereal science

1. Depleting soils

1. Vitamin deficiencies in diet
2. Trace element imbalance in the human body
3. Soil infertility
4. Protein deficiency in cereals
5. Nutritionally-induced mental illness
6. Nutritional deficiencies
7. Iron deficiency anaemias
8. Iodine deficiency disorders
9. Inappropriate selection of crops for non-nutritional qualities
10. Deficiency diseases
11. Decline in nutritional quality of food

1. Value
2. High-spiritedness
3. High-mindedness