Do you know that most of your food staples, such as flour, rice, cassava, soy and milk are fortified? It used to be that many people were anemic, but thanks to iron added to flour, cereals and baked goods, many people are not. However in the world, iron deficiency, B12, along with Vitamin A and Zinc are the most common nutrient deficiencies. Along with doctors telling us we need more Vit. D, foods are being produced and grown to be higher in these micronutrients. Farmers and plant breeders can selectively grow and produce a crop higher in a micronutrient or genetically modify the plant so that it contains more vitamin A, as in the controversial “golden rice”. Here basic white rice is genetically modified to contain Vit. A and thus changes the color of the rice from white to yellow. It has the potential to treat blindness in children due to the deficiency in the vitamin.
Thanks to my professor this summer, for bringing the following youtube video to the class. Iron fortified beans in Rwanda. When you put music to a message, it sticks with you! Enjoy listening!
The video is on the Harvest Plus website. https://www.harvestplus.org/ and below.
“Ibishyimbo / Better Nutrition from High-Iron Beans”
Here is more information on what biofortification is. “Food Fortification -Basics”, youtube.
Date Palms & Camels 