{"id":820,"date":"2019-05-29T12:29:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T12:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=820"},"modified":"2019-05-29T12:29:37","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T12:29:37","slug":"rare-crops-crucial-to-protect-europes-food-supply-boost-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/820\/rare-crops-crucial-to-protect-europes-food-supply-boost-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare crops crucial to protect Europe\u2019s food supply, boost health"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alex Whiting<\/p>\n

Rye bread or porridge oats may not be everyone\u2019s first choice of breakfast, but scientists say Europeans need to broaden their taste in cereals both to boost their own health and to protect the future of Europe\u2019s farming.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Wheat makes up nearly\u00a0half of all cereals<\/a> grown in the EU. The rest is mainly maize and barley.<\/p>\n

Although Europe\u2019s strategy to focus on a few high-yielding plants has produced bumper harvests, the lack of genetic variation means the crops are more susceptible to disease, pests and drought, scientists say.<\/p>\n

\u2018If we rely on only one crop we are very vulnerable,\u2019 said Dr Dagmar Janovsk\u00e1, curator of minor crops at the Prague-based Crop Research Institute in the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

\u2018We should learn from our history and grow a lot of different crops,\u2019 she added, referring to Ireland\u2019s potato famine in the mid-19th<\/sup>\u00a0century. At the time, most Irish farmers grew just potatoes. When disease wiped out the country\u2019s crop, it led to widespread starvation.<\/p>\n

Dr Janovsk\u00e1 coordinated a Europe-wide project to help boost the breeding and popularity of minor cereals rye, oat, spelt, emmer and einkorn.<\/p>\n

Researchers on the\u00a0HealthyMinorCereals project<\/a>\u00a0evaluated more than 1,700 genotypes \u2013 sets of genes in a plant\u2019s DNA \u2013 for specific traits including yield, nutritional quality and resistance to disease. They carried out field experiments in Estonia, the UK, the Czech Republic and Crete.<\/p>\n

\u2018We would like to improve breeding programmes in Europe (of minor cereals),\u2019 Dr Janovsk\u00e1 said.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s results should help breeders develop varieties of cereal \u2013 including common wheat \u2013 which are better suited to the changing climate and need fewer pesticides. For example, the researchers found one genotype of spelt that is resistant to a fungus called fusarium head blight.<\/p>\n

Globally, more than\u00a06,000 plant species<\/a>\u00a0have been cultivated for food, but just nine of these account for 66% of the world\u2019s crop production, according to the UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).<\/p>\n

Growing a diverse range of crops and cutting the amount of chemical inputs is better for the environment, and the health of the soil. \u2018If we harm (Europe\u2019s) ecosystems \u2026 we can assume we will have a very big problem in producing any food. Everything is interconnected,\u2019 Dr Janovsk\u00e1 said.<\/p>\n

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‘We should learn from our history and grow a lot of different crops.’<\/p>\n

Dr Dagmar Janovsk\u00e1, Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Health-boosting<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the minor cereals contain more health-boosting nutrients like iron, zinc and antioxidants compared to common wheat, the researchers found.<\/p>\n

\u2018The more diverse our food, the better. And spelt, rye and oat are very beneficial for our health, for example in lowering cholesterol,\u2019 said Dr Janovsk\u00e1.<\/p>\n

They also need fewer chemical inputs and can grow in relatively poor soil.<\/p>\n

Common wheat expanded with the mechanisation of farming in the last century. It is high yielding \u2013 it produces large quantities of grain per hectare of land \u2013 and easy to process into flour.<\/p>\n

It has expanded even in countries like the Czech Republic where people traditionally eat rye bread. Wheat makes up more than 60% of cereals grown there now, up from 18% in 1920. Over the same period, rye production has fallen to just 2%, from 35% in 1920, according to Dr Janovsk\u00e1.<\/p>\n

\u2018That change is mainly because wheat is easier to grow,\u2019 said Dr Janovsk\u00e1.<\/p>\n

Fears about\u00a0the lack of diversity on farms are widespread, even affecting traditional farmers working on small farms high up in the Andes mountains in South America. Some of them are ditching a wide variety of crops in favour of\u00a0quinoa<\/a>, a lucrative \u2018superfood\u2019 which has become popular in Europe and North America.<\/p>\n

Taste<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some scientists hope that Europeans \u2013 as well as Americans \u2013 will expand their taste for other foods from the mountains in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Many of them, like quinoa, are high in protein and good for vegetarians, diabetics and people with gluten allergies.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think Europe is a great market \u2026 because (these kinds of foods are) what people are looking for and what the European market can pay for,\u2019 said Dr Gabriela Alandia Robles, a researcher in high-protein crops at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.<\/p>\n

Europe is the second largest market for quinoa after the United States. Other comparable foods from the Andes could follow a similar trend, she said.<\/p>\n

Dr Alandia Robles worked on a project called\u00a0Latincrop<\/a>\u00a0which aimed to increase Andean crops\u2019 production and consumption both locally and in Europe.<\/p>\n

Hot on the heels of quinoa is\u00a0amaranth<\/a>. The tiny grain has a nutty flavour and can be cooked like risotto rice or made into popcorn.<\/p>\n

\u2018It has the whole range of amino acids that your body needs,\u2019 said Dr Alandia Robles. It also is good for diabetics and people allergic to gluten, and has important amounts of folic acid, calcium, phosphorous and iron, she added.<\/p>\n

The Andean lupin also has potential. \u2018Europe is looking for a high protein crop, and Andean lupin has as much protein as soya bean \u2013 51%,\u2019 said Dr Alandia Robles. Its beans can be made into a kind of hummus.<\/p>\n

One chef promoting these foods in Europe is Simon Brammer who, together with his wife Janice Pelayo Hansen, cook Peruvian food for weddings and corporate events in Denmark. They are passionate about sharing the nutritious foods with as many people as possible.<\/p>\n

\u2018When we started\u00a0Panca<\/a>\u00a0(a food truck) in 2016, it was a totally new thing. Some people hadn\u2019t even heard of Peru \u2026 They were surprised by the flavours,\u2019 Pelayo Hansen said.<\/p>\n

Their dishes include a spicy chicken dish served with biscuits made from\u00a0arracacha<\/a>\u00a0roots grown around Titicaca lake, and a quinoa salad popular with their vegetarian customers.<\/p>\n

Cookbook<\/strong><\/p>\n

If European demand is to grow for both Andean foods and locally grown cereals, people need to know how to cook them. To help with this, the Latincrop project produced a cookbook, and the HealthyMinorCereals project is planning one too.<\/p>\n

Dr Janovsk\u00e1\u2019s favourite cereal from the project is spelt. \u2018At Christmas we make cookies out of spelt flour, because the taste is better,\u2019 she said, adding that its fibre content makes it healthier.<\/p>\n

\u2018We need to improve demand, and then we can ask our farmers to grow it \u2026 If you want to improve anything on the field, you have start with the fork,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alex Whiting Rye bread or porridge oats may not be everyone\u2019s first choice of breakfast, but scientists say Europeans need to broaden their taste in cereals both to boost their own health and to protect the future of Europe\u2019s farming. Wheat makes up nearly\u00a0half of all cereals grown in the EU. The rest is … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment"],"yoast_head":"\nRare crops crucial to protect Europe\u2019s food supply, boost health - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/820\/rare-crops-crucial-to-protect-europes-food-supply-boost-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rare crops crucial to protect Europe\u2019s food supply, boost health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Alex Whiting Rye bread or porridge oats may not be everyone\u2019s first choice of breakfast, but scientists say Europeans need to broaden their taste in cereals both to boost their own health and to protect the future of Europe\u2019s farming. 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