2001 AACC Annual Meeting Charlotte, North Carolina October 14-18, 2001 Charlotte Convention Center

Can commonly-eaten food staple crops be developed which fortify their seeds with essential minerals and vitamins? Can farmers be induced to grow such varieties? If so, would this result in a significant improvement in human nutrition at a lower cost than existing nutrition interventions? An inter-disciplinary, international effort is underway to breed for mineral and vitamin dense varieties of rice, wheat, maize, beans and cassava for release to farmers in developing countries. Not only does plant breeding hold great promise for making a significant, low-cost, and sustainable contribution to reducing micronutrient (particularly mineral) deficiencies in humans, it may well have important spinoff effects for increasing farm productivity in developing countries in an environmentally beneficial way. After the onetime investment is made to develop seeds that fortify themselves, recurrent costs are low. No behavioral change on the part of consumers is required. Indeed the strategy seeks to take advantage of the consistent daily consumption of large amounts of food staples by all family members, including women and children who are most at risk for micronutrient malnutrition. A high-iron, high-zinc rice line, designated IR68-144, which is aromatic, high-yielding, and disease resistant, has been identified by the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. A feeding trial is being planned to test its potential for improving iron status in human subjects.