food research article

‘Opportunity Crops’ Could Boost Nutrition across Africa

Cary Fowler, the U.S. State Department’s leading figure on global hunger, explains a new way to improve nutritious food supply

Richard Schiffman

Snake Steak Could Be a Climate-Friendly Source of Protein

Pythons turn their food into meat pretty efficiently, a study finds, making them an intriguing alternative to climate-unfriendly cows

Meghan Bartels

CRISPR Will Likely Not Solve Bird Flu

New research shows that CRISPR, the gene editing technique, could make chickens more resistant to bird flu. But its use raises many ethical and scientific issues

Carol Cardona, Michelle Kromm

Tubby Labradors May Be at the Mercy of Their Genes, Not Just Too Many Treats

One in four Labrador retrievers carries a gene that tricks their brain into thinking they’re starving

Is Raw-Milk Cheese Safe to Eat?

Recent bacterial outbreaks from consuming cheese made from unpasteurized milk, or “raw milk,” raise questions about the safety of eating these artisanal products

Riis Williams

People with Food Allergies Can Treat Symptoms with Asthma Medication, FDA Decides

New research demonstrates that Xolair, an injectable asthma medication, can reduce severe reactions to peanuts, milk and eggs by dulling an overactive immune response

Andrew Chapman

Why Does Fruitcake Last So Long?

The holiday fruitcake is a timeless dessert—literally

Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Morel Mushrooms Can Be Deadly, Food Poisoning Cases Show

A deadly food poisoning outbreak highlights how little we know about morel mushrooms

Keely Larson, KFF Health News

World Leaders Agree to a Climate Deal on Food for the First Time

The first global declaration on reducing emissions from food production is a start, researchers say — but it sidesteps contentious issues such as meat consumption

Carissa Wong, Nature magazine

Gluten’s Complex Chemistry Contributes to Delicious Baked Goods

Gluten’s unique chemistry gives foods like bread and rolls their airy, stretchy textures

Kristine Nolin, The Conversation US

How Long Do Thanksgiving Leftovers Last?

Food scientists break down what food is the first to go bad and simple ways of extending leftovers’ shelf life

Cranberries Are a Scientific Delicacy

From self-pollination to bogs, cranberries are a Thanksgiving classic with many fascinating botanical and genetic features

Serina DeSalvio, The Conversation US

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Food/Nutrition

Nutrition issues and food system safety and security to influence programs, systems, policies, and education

Food/Nutrition Planning Headlines

Explore the latest public health research and insights about Food/Nutrition.

To Protect Human Health, We Must Protect the Earth’s Health

The damage humans have done to the Earth is coming back to harm us.

Research Gaps Around Type 1 Diabetes

Recent research has highlighted disparities in research between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, with Type 1 long—and mistakenly—associated only with childhood onset. Elizabeth Selvin and Michael Fang challenge previously held assumptions about Type 1 diabetes.

A South African Soup Kitchen Is Bringing Relief to Caregivers

In a white shipping container converted into a community soup kitchen, Vusi Msomi provides meals for children in need in Alexandra, South Africa. It helps, but it’s not enough to address community hunger—which worsened after the pandemic started.

Wendy Bennett Empowers Women and Families Through Research 

Hidden Food Insecurity: The Adolescents Who Aren’t Getting Enough to Eat

Anti-hunger programs tend to focus on feeding parents and young children. The benefits often fail to reach adolescents, who need more calories than younger kids.

Sydney Santos Nurtures Health Equity

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Food/Nutrition Faculty Experts

Looking for prominent public health experts in the field of Food/Nutrition? They’re here at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Martin W. Bloem

Martin Bloem, MD, PhD, has devoted his career to improving the effectiveness of public health and nutrition programs through applied research, focusing particularly on low- and middle-income countries.

Parul Christian

Parul Christian, DrPH '96, MSc, studies how to improve maternal and child nutrition and prevent micronutrient deficiencies with effective solutions in low-income settings.

Roni A. Neff

Roni Neff, PhD '06, ScM, researches ways to cut food waste and address climate change through more resilient, equitable, and healthy food systems.

Keeve E. Nachman

Keeve Nachman, PhD ’06, MHS ’01, aims to generate the scientific evidence needed to support decisions that mitigate human exposures to chemical and microbial hazards associated with food production.

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• 25 Jan 2021
• Working Paper Summaries

India’s Food Supply Chain During the Pandemic

Policy makers in the developing world face important tradeoffs in reacting to a pandemic. The quick and complete recovery of India’s food supply chain suggests that strict lockdown measures at the onset of pandemics need not cause long-term economic damage.

• 08 Jun 2020

Food Security and Human Mobility During the Covid-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 represents not only a health crisis but a crisis of food insecurity and starvation for migrants. Central governments should ensure that food security policies are implemented effectively and engage with local governments and local stakeholders to distribute food to migrants in the immediate term.

• 29 May 2020

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

The pandemic could almost double the number of people facing food crises in lower-income populations by the end of 2020. Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence show how organizations are responding. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 31 Jan 2019
• Cold Call Podcast

How Wegmans Became a Leader in Improving Food Safety

Ray Goldberg discusses how the CEO of the Wegmans grocery chain faced a food safety issue and then helped the industry become more proactive. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 15 Nov 2018

Can the Global Food Industry Overcome Public Distrust?

The public is losing trust in many institutions involved in putting food on our table, says Ray A. Goldberg, author of the new book Food Citizenship. Here's what needs to be done. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 15 Mar 2018

Targeted Price Controls on Supermarket Products

Governments sometimes consider targeted price controls when popular goods become less affordable. Looking at price controls in Argentina between 2007 and 2015, this study’s findings suggest that new technologies like mobile phones are allowing governments to better enforce targeted price control programs, but the impact of these policies on aggregate inflation is small and short-lived.

• 26 Jun 2017
• Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

Research by Ai Hisano exposes cellophane's key role in developing self-service merchandising in American grocery stores, and how its manufacturers tried to control the narrative of how women buy food. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 31 May 2017
• Sharpening Your Skills

10 Harvard Business School Research Stories That Will Make Your Mouth Water

The food industry is under intense study at Harvard Business School. This story sampler looks at issues including restaurant marketing, chefs as CEOs, and the business of food science. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 18 Nov 2016

Standardized Color in the Food Industry: The Co-Creation of the Food Coloring Business in the United States, 1870–1940

Beginning in the late 19th century, US food manufacturers tried to create the “right” color of foods that many consumers would recognize and in time take for granted. The United States became a leading country in the food coloring business with the rise of extensive mass marketing. By 1938, when Congress enacted the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the food coloring business had become a central and permanent component of food marketing strategies. This paper shows how food manufacturers, dye makers, and regulators co-created the food coloring business. Food-coloring practices became integrated into an entire strategy of manufacturing and marketing in the food industry.

• 16 May 2016

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

When restaurants source from local growers, it can be more difficult to assess product safety—just another wrinkle in high-stakes efforts to keep our food from harming us. Just ask Chipotle. John A. Quelch discusses a recent case study on food testing. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 15 May 2007

I’ll Have the Ice Cream Soon and the Vegetables Later: Decreasing Impatience over Time in Online Grocery Orders

How do people’s preferences differ when they make choices for the near term versus the more distant future? Providing evidence from a field study of an online grocer, this research shows that people act as if they will be increasingly virtuous the further into the future they project. Researchers examined how the length of delay between when an online grocery order is completed and when it is delivered affects what consumers order. They find that consumers purchase more "should" (healthy) groceries such as vegetables and less "want" (unhealthy) groceries such as ice cream the greater the delay between order completion and order delivery. The results have implications for public policy, supply chain managers, and models of time discounting. Key concepts include: Consumers spend less and order a higher percentage of "should" items and a lower percentage of "want" items the further in advance of delivery they place a grocery order. Encouraging people to order their groceries up to 5 days in advance of consumption could influence the healthfulness of the foods that people consume. Similarly, asking students in schools to select their lunches up to a week in advance could considerably increase the healthfulness of the foods they elect to eat. Online and catalog retailers that offer a range of goods as well as different delivery options might be able to improve their demand forecasting by understanding these findings. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Food Microbiology: The Past and the New Challenges for the Next 10 Years

Food microbiology papers published during the past decade have been characterized by multidisciplinary interests that have confirmed the increasing amount of evidence that has implicated microorganisms in different areas, including food technology, food safety and hygiene, food poisoning, food genomics, and, more generally, food omics, functional foods, and probiotics, besides emerging methodologies that have been applied to food analyses. Probiotics research and innovation in functional food production deserves particular attention. Many articles have focused on the survival of potential probiotic bacteria in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT), the microbial adhesive capacity and colonization of the gut, the safety status of probiotic strains, as well as gut microbiome homeostasis maintenance by competitively inhibiting the growth of pathogens or producing antimicrobial compounds. However, new probiotic strains are (or will be) screened for natural bioactive substances, immunomodulation capacity, as well as anticancer and other health benefits. Fifteen Research Topics (RTs) on these important subjects have been submitted to the Food Microbiology section. A new era within probiotics research has started with an increasing interest in the use of gut commensal bacteria as potential probiotics, such as strains belonging to the genera Bacteroides, Clostridium, Bifidobacterium , and Faecalibacterium , which predominate in the human gut microbiome (Langella et al., 2019 ).

At the same time, several studies dealing with health-promoting benefits associated with the consumption of fermented foods and beverages have been proposed. Global fermented foods—classified into nine major groups on the basis of raw materials—can be represented by more than 5,000 varieties being consumed around the world by billions of people. In the last 20 years, culture-independent methods have emerged as a convenient complement for analyzing the microbiota of fermented foods. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) was employed for monitoring microorganisms during food production, storage, and distribution (RT: “Molecular methods in food quality and safety” by Ercolini, 2011–2013). In the last decade, the high-throughput DNA sequencing (HTS) technologies have made possible the evaluation of microbiota of complex matrices, having a major influence on food microbiology for the determination of the whole genome sequence (WGS) of a single cultured isolate and for generating sequences of multiple microorganisms in a sample (metagenomics). The application of metagenomics can give information on the presence of spoilage and pathogen microorganisms or characterize unknown microbiota, particularly in fermented foods (Ronholm, 2018 ). A very high number of studies have been published in the “Food Microbiology” section on different traditional fermented foods and beverages. Aspects concerning the role of microbial consortia involved in the transformation of animal and raw plant materials in edible fermented foods with high nutritional value and that are rich in bioactive compounds beneficial to consumers were discussed in detail. The history of ethnic fermented foods and beverages dates back to more than 3,500 years ago and has evolved to preserve crops and dairies as fermented foods, often using back-slopping to inoculate the new batch by transferring an aliquot from the previous food batch and allowing for microbial adaptation and natural selection of strains. For this reason, the traditional, indigenous, or ethnic food fermentations represent a cultural heritage at a global level, harboring a huge genetic potential for undiscovered strains; research on this topic has to be improved through better exploration in the next years. At present, a very interesting research topic on “Microbiology of Ethnic Fermented Foods and Alcoholic Beverages of the World” has been proposed (Tamang et al., 2017 ). In these studies, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) studies revealed new dimensions of microbial ecology.

The stress response in food microbes has been the focus of more than 400 articles published in the last 10 years, and more than 20 RTs have targeted microbial resistance. A wide range of food bacteria, pathogens or not, have been described to possess many adaptive mechanisms and specific stress responses that are useful to guarantee and improve fitness under specific environments. An important bacterial stress response is related to cross-protection, which plays a significant role in minimally processed foods. In fact, sub-lethal stress can induce multiple stress responses posing major public health concerns since many bacterial pathogens can become resistant to new preservation technology or processing. Many injured pathogens either retain or exhibit enhanced virulence in foods, thus making their detection crucial to safeguard the food supply chain. In addition, a cell fraction of the stressed bacterial population can remain metabolically active; they enter a non-culturable physiological state and represent a challenge for traditional food microbiology analytical methods. Future research should focus on the implementation of new methodologies for analytical methods able to detect and enumerate viable—but not culturable—cells as well as their stress responses and adaptation (Ruiz et al., 2017 ).

Bacterial pathogens associated with foodborne disease worldwide include Salmonella enterica, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Cronobacter sakazakii, Vibrio cholerae , and Vibrio parahaemolyticus . In these last 10 years, 12 RTs have presented 293 articles related to foodborne pathogens. The subjects have ranged from foodborne pathogenic bacteria resurgences to pathogenesis and control strategies, antibiotic resistance, enteric virus, bacterial toxin, stress responses, applications of protective cultures, and bacteriocins for foods preservation, and new methods for the study foodborne pathogens. In general, many papers have focused on enteropathogenic bacteria (336), with specific studies being conducted on Escherichia coli (227), Salmonella spp. (167), Listeria spp. (153), Campylobacter spp. (104), Vibrio spp. (89), and Yersinia spp. (13).

Continuous monitoring of food contaminants and the identification of risk factors are crucial for assuring food safety. Many original research articles included in these RTs have addressed issues related to the genetic diversity, prevalence, resistance, and novel transmission vectors of pathogenic bacteria, but they have also reported new findings on bacterial pathogenesis, such as antimicrobial or desiccation resistance associated with diverse genotypes or the identification of virulence determinants produced and secreted by pathogenic bacteria. Among the future targets of food microbiology, it could be interesting to pursue new findings and studies on the expression of critical virulence factors, which allow for niche adaptation and successful colonization, such as the persistence in food processing facilities via growing predominantly as biofilms rather than in a planktonic mode (Jeanson and Thierry, 2015 ). New biological and non-biological innovation technologies, new compounds and treatment strategies, and advances in DNA sequencing technologies, with the characterization of bacterial genomes, have emerged for the control of foodborne pathogens; this must also be pursued further in the near future (Chen and Alali, 2018 ).

Several articles have focused on fermented foods, such as bread, cheese, wine, and others. Even if these foods have already been studied extensively in the past, the use of new technologies and omics approaches to implement the knowledge of how the microbiota affects quality and safety attributes of these foods and beverages has been encouraged, and this trend will be confirmed also in the future. For example, there are many fermented dairy products (in particular traditional ones) that have been poorly studied in terms of microbiological composition, microbial dynamics, and technological processes. These fermented foods represent a particular niche that could be rich with new positive and beneficial microbial strains influencing food quality and safety and that can also improve human health among other aspects.

Therefore, the microbiological integrity of the dairy food chain, the ecology of pathogenic and spoilage organisms, and the genomic analysis of these contaminants, such as novel strategies for their control, are important targets to be addressed. Nine RTs were proposed to discuss these objectives. However, other studies on different fermented foods following similar approaches have been published in the “Food Microbiology” section. For example, health and safety issues, particularly dealing with chemical and microbial potential hazards, have been related to fermented products of meat, vegetable, fish, rice, soybean, and corn origin. Among fermented beverages, seven RTs for a sustainable viticulture and winemaking, non-conventional yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in winemaking, and the production of toxic compounds by microorganisms, such as ochratoxin and biogenic amines, were proposed. In general, the main relevant topics in the next years, related to fermented foods, can be summarized: microbiota involved in product fermentation; a selection of technological, protective, and probiotic starters as well as safety concerns related with their use; the genomic and metabolomics characterization of microorganisms with a technological impact on fermented products; the control and inhibition of pathogens and spoilage organisms; the relationship between technological procedures and microbiota of fermented foods; and traditional and ethnic fermented foods and beverages. In contrast to other habitats, foods are generally characterized by a not relevant number of microbial species. Among these, LAB play an essential role in the development of probiotics and starter cultures. In fact, LAB are an industrially important group of microorganisms used throughout the world for a large variety of food fermentations, such as those of dairy, wine, bread, vegetables, and others, much discussed in the RT “Industrial and health applications of LAB and their metabolites.” More than 30 RTs have focused on LAB, and more than 340 articles have been published on this topic. LAB in particular constitute a diverse group of Gram-positive, catalase-negative bacteria producing lactic acid. Some food-associated LAB obtained the status of “Qualified Presumption of Safety” (QPS) by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) or the “General Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nowadays, the use of these microorganisms and their metabolites for food preservation has been extended to several additional bioactivities. The RT “Application of protective cultures and bacteriocins for food preservation” (Hammami et al., 2019 ) focused on antimicrobial substances produced by LAB inhibiting foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. These studies are in progress and will increase further in the near future, offering a promising alternative to chemical preservatives to ensure the quality and safety of ready-to-eat, extended-shelf-life, fresh-tasting, and minimally processed foods. Similar remarks can be made regarding Saccharomyces and non- Saccharomyces yeasts for alcoholic fermentation and Bacillus spp. for alkaline fermented foods. However, new starter cultures should be identified that involve natural adaptation and evolution, such as a direct selection of mutants with the desired properties, adaptative laboratory evolution, and genetic methods besides genome sequencing of wild type strains, for guiding safety assessments and strain-improvement activities (Johansen, 2018 ).

Looking forward, conventional food sources may be complemented by edible microbial biomass derived from bacteria, yeasts, filamentous fungi, or microalgae. Nowadays these groups of microorganisms are evaluated as an important and good source of proteins, vitamins, and beneficial bioactive compounds. It appears that the human population will increase up to about 9–12 billion people by the year 2100, and microorganisms could be an integral part of the sustainable production system. The “Food Microbiology” section of “Frontiers in Microbiology” could provide good guidance through its RTs on new advances in microbiology for the improved utilization, production, and supply of food in the food industry and related fields, which can help to ensure global food safety and security.

Author Contributions

GS and AC gave the same contribution to the drafting of the article.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to Prof. Martin G. Klotz, all the Associate Editors and reviewers and Frontiers in Microbiology Editorial Staff for their support and suggestions.

• Chen L., Alali W. (2018). Editorial: recent discoveries in human serious foodborne pathogenic bacteria: resurgence, pathogenesis, and control strategies . Front. Microbiol . 9 :2412. 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02412 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hammami R., Fliss I., Corsetti A. (2019). Editorial: application of protective cultures and bacteriocins for food biopreservation . Front. Microbiol. 10 :1561. 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01561 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Jeanson S., Thierry A. (2015). Editorial: exploring bacterial colonies in solid foods or model foods using non-destructive techniques . Front. Microbiol. 6 :1440. 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01440 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Johansen E. (2018). Use of natural selection and evolution to develop new starter cultures for fermented foods . Annu. Rev. Food Sci. Technol. 9 :411–428. 10.1146/annurev-food-030117-012450 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Langella P., Guarner F., Martín R. (2019). Editorial: next-generation probiotics: from commensal bacteria to novel drugs and food supplements . Front. Microbiol. 10 :1973. 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01973 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ronholm J. (2018). Editorial: game changer - next generation sequencing and its impact on food microbiology . Front. Microbiol. 9 :363. 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00363 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ruiz L., Aertsen A., Nguyen-The C., Gänzle M. G., Alvarez-Ordóñez A. (2017). Editorial: industrial and host associated stress responses in food microbes. implications for food technology and food safety . Front. Microbiol. 8 :1522. 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01522 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tamang J. P., Holzapfel W. H., Shin D. H., Felis G. E. (2017). Editorial: microbiology of ethnic fermented foods and alcoholic beverages of the world . Front. Microbiol. 8 :1377. 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01377 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

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• UB team receives funding to demonstrate effectiveness of ‘food-is-medicine’ in health care

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UB team receives funding to demonstrate effectiveness of ‘food-is-medicine’ in health care

UB faculty members Lucia Leone (left) and Jill Tirabassi are co-principal investigators on a food-is-medicine project funded by the American Heart Association. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

By DAVID J. HILL

Published April 18, 2024

A team of UB researchers has received funding from the American Heart Association (AHA) for research that will focus on the implementation of innovative food-prescription programs for older adults.

The AHA has awarded UB $400,000 for the 18-month project as part of the organization’s Health Care by Food initiative, which is leveraging research to build the evidence needed to show the clinical and cost-effectiveness of so-called “food-is-medicine” programs.

The AHA funding comes at a key time. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this year approved an amendment to New York State’s Medicaid 1115 waiver that enables the state to modify its Medicaid program to address the health disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The waiver paves the way for, among other things, investments in supporting strategies for improved access to food and nutrition, such as food-is-medicine programs.

The field of food-is-medicine is going to develop rapidly as other states, not just New York, have submitted Medicaid 1115 waivers, says Lucia Leone, associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions.

Leone is co-principal investigator on the AHA project with Jill Tirabassi, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

“With the state’s Medicaid waiver approval, we know these programs are going to be coming down the pipeline in the next few years. Our aim is to look at three different types of food programs for adults over 65 in Western New York and develop ways to make them as user-friendly as possible,” Leone says.

“It is essential that we are able to quickly develop best practices for ensuring food prescription programs are successful at reaching the people who need them,” she adds. “This research will help practitioners who are looking to design food-prescription programs for their communities understand what works and what doesn’t.”

Food-is-medicine may be defined as providing healthy food resources to treat, manage and prevent specific chronic conditions in coordination with the health care sector.

Food-is-medicine programs often feature:

• Medically tailored meals, which are often delivered to patients with diet-related health conditions or among those at high risk.
• Produce prescription programs that integrate healthy food into a patient’s health care plan, enabling patients to better follow their health care team’s dietary advice.
• And medically tailored groceries, which may include a selection of grocery items prescribed by a registered dietitian or nutritionist for patients with diet-related acute and chronic health conditions who can prepare food at home.

A total of 75 participants will be recruited for the study from primary care clinics at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC). Participants will be split into three groups of 25, each of which will receive a different food-related program over 12 weeks.

One group will receive a weekly credit redeemable at Massachusetts Avenue Project’s mobile produce market. Another group will have fresh produce boxes delivered to their homes via FreshFix, a local food-delivery company co-founded by Leone. And the third group will have medically tailored meal kits, with recipes to make several meals, delivered to their homes each week. The food-delivery partners will curate the items that are sent in each box, tailoring the contents to meet dietary restrictions, such as diabetes or food allergies.

The researchers will focus particularly on the successes and challenges of the implementation of the food-is-medicine programs. Toward that end, participants will receive surveys each week, which will help Leone and Tirabassi gauge whether people used the voucher or food they received. A community advisory board will also be set up to help oversee the project and provide insight into participants’ lived experiences and how those affect their ability to participate in these programs. For example, do they struggle with using smart phone apps and websites to customize the food they receive?

“Older adults face unique barriers with food and nutrition access,” Tirabassi says, explaining the focus on adults over 65. “They often have multiple chronic health conditions, have experienced life course changes — becoming a widower, for example — and are on a fixed income. Many people in this age also have mobility and transportation challenges.”

The AHA project is focused on food-prescription program usage and not health outcomes for a very simple reason, Tirabassi says. “We already know that diet-related changes can affect health outcomes.” But, she adds, “Food-prescription programs have not had very high utilization rates, and that is what we need to change.”  

The Primary Care Research Institute in the Department of Family Medicine at the Jacobs School, which has expertise in healthy aging research, is also a partner on the project.

Students use study abroad trip to focus on food security in South Africa

Virginia Tech students worked in communities across Cape Town.

22 Apr 2024

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The two greenhouses Isaac Turpin helped install at an elementary school outside Cape Town, South Africa, as part of a winter break study abroad were the culmination of everything he'd learned through his Pathways minor, global food security and health. 

For 900 students at Encotsheni Primary in the Khayelitsha township, the improved garden will provide fresh food in the cafeteria, an extended growing season, and a hands-on curriculum in life sciences. 

“Not only was this the greatest experience I’ve ever had as a student,” said Turpin, a senior majoring in international trade and development, “I think this was the greatest day of my life.” 

A dozen of the 14 students who traveled to South Africa were part of the global food security and health minor housed in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences . Ozzie Abaye, professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences , led the trip along with Mark Reiter, professor of soils and nutrient management at the Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center , and Peter Ziegler, research assistant professor in the college.

“I think it’s very important for students to understand that what they’ve learned in the classroom can be applied globally and that their work has value,” Abaye said. “These students now understand that they’re part of a global community and have built relationships during this program that will be part of their lives moving forward.” 

The students worked in Cape Town, a city of contrasts where microclimates are measured in feet of elevation and huge disparities in wealth and poverty are separated by just a few kilometers. Their work, which focused on community service and food security, resulted from months of planning and dialogue with their South African partners and hosts.  

Working in small teams, the students also designed projects for an orchard and garden for a school for deaf and hearing-impaired children, created interpretive materials for a community garden and after-school program, and led a lecture on soil health at a demonstration farm for regenerative land management.  

Designed to increase access and affordability

“We know study abroad can be a great experience for students, but we also know there are a lot of barriers to participating,” said Stephen Biscotte, assistant provost for undergraduate education and a faculty member on the trip. “So part of this trip was to rethink how we design international programs, so more students can take advantage while getting credit for a Pathways General Education minor .” 

Unlike semester-long study abroad programs, this trip took place for 14 days during winter break so it wouldn’t interfere with course planning for students with demanding schedules. The shorter winter trip was also more affordable. Experiences like these are also part of Virginia Tech Advantage , a university commitment to offer broad educational opportunities to undergraduate students from Virginia who have financial need.

“I always knew I wanted to study abroad but I was never able to make it happen financially,” said Evan Stanfield, a senior horticulture major with minors in global food security and health and agribusiness management and entrepreneurship. “I work three jobs - two on campus and one off campus - so having this trip happen over winter break meant those jobs would be there for me when I got back to Blacksburg and didn’t create a situation where I’d have to pay for housing in addition to my lease for the semester.” 

Career development

The trip also allowed students to see different models of urban agriculture, mixing entrepreneurism and social activism, adding depth to their undergraduate experience.

During a visit to the Observatory neighborhood, the students helped upgrade a small citrus and apple orchard in the garden of the Mary Kihn school for deaf and hearing-impaired children. The garden provides fresh produce for school meals and serves students who come from under-resourced communities in the city’s surrounding townships. 

The school grounds are headquarters for Urban Harvest, a company that has installed over 500 gardens, many of which grow fresh produce for school cafeterias. 

“We don’t sell any produce. We’re an edible garden service, helping people grow their own food in many contexts,” said Ben Getz, the company’s founder and a local partner for the program. “Our community gardens not only teach learners about growing food, which they do mostly through osmosis, they provide important meals with nutrition they may not get elsewhere.”

Urban Harvest’s clients range from large, downtown Cape Town corporations with rooftop gardens to small, socially conscious projects in underserved communities. The novel business model, called social entrepreneurship, leverages relationships with companies such as Woolworth department stores, ABSA financial services, and the Shoprite groceries chain to fund projects and community development. 

For example, the garden at the Mary Kihn school is supported by a Cape Town supplement company that has paid for the installation and maintenance of four school gardens in the city.

The semester-long work with Getz, along with the site visit, allowed students to expand their vision of possible career paths. 

“Eventually I want to pursue development economics, namely partnerships between the public and private sectors,” said Miru Yim, a graduate student in agricultural and applied economics. “Here they’re partnering with schools, their own client base, and the government, so this was a great opportunity to see how all those things can be integrated into a successful program to tackle food insecurity.”

Students as teachers

For two students, the program in South Africa was an opportunity to apply and share everything they’d learned in the classroom and on the soil judging team in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. 

Joe Paterson and Grace Bartlett, both members of the soil judging team, led a talk about the soil health of the operation, which led to a conversation with farm staff about farm regenerative programs.

The students and faculty spent two days at the Living Soil Community Learning Farm in a regenerative land-management project that serves as a public and private partnership in the Lynedoch Valley, about 25 miles east of Cape Town. 

The 4-acre farm is a partnership between Woolworths department stores, Spier vineyards, and a local nonprofit organization, the Sustainability Institute.

“The past two semesters I’ve been on the soil judging team and gone to the past two competitions, which gave me a lot of hands-on experience in terms of soil color, texture, and structure of healthy soil,” said Paterson, a senior majoring in crops and soil science. “It made all the experiences of judging feel real and gave us a chance to apply them to help people, which is why I’m grateful for this experience.”

More information about the study abroad program in South Africa is available online and on the web page for the Pathways minor  global food security and health . 

Dave Guerin

540-231-0871

• Agricultural Research and Extension Centers
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Related Content

Australia has a food allergy crisis impacting 10 per cent of infants, but critical research is underway

When Rupert Hastings first tried peanut butter at just six months old he reacted almost instantly.

Within 20 seconds, he had hives all over his face, which spread to his body. Then his eyes and lips started to swell.

"My friend's a nurse and I messaged her pictures of Rupert's reaction. She said I'd probably take him to hospital, so that's what we did," Rupert's mother, Emily says.

"It was scary."

Now, Rupert is 15 months old and is severely allergic to peanuts and egg, and mildly allergic to Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds. 

Emily says the journey has been "incredibly hard".

"We found the information hard to gather and then decipher what was the best course for Rupert and we still don't know what the best course of action is," she says.

They had been seeing an allergist in Brisbane, but are now travelling 1,000km to Sydney to see a specialist in oral immunotherapy. 

It's a treatment for allergies, not currently approved in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

"But reading through all the research papers and speaking to some other families who have had really great results on it, I think it's something that we definitely need to explore," Emily says.

"That's something that we have to weigh up as his parents.

"Do we strictly avoid the allergy and the peanut, and he lives his life for the rest of time with an Epipen, constantly avoiding 'may contain' or anything that has peanuts in it?

"Or do we try something and in the process risk anaphylactic reactions, but potentially desensitise him to peanuts so that he has a freer life?"

'We've got a big problem'

Allergic disease is one of Australia’s greatest public health challenges, with one in 10 children developing a proven food allergy in their first year of life.

The most common in the first twelve months is egg, but generally it is outgrown by six years old.

However, three quarters of those with an allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and seafood carry the allergy into adulthood.

According to data released to the ABC, the number of children being admitted to hospital with anaphylaxis is also rising.

In Queensland alone, there was a more than 300 per cent increase in the number of children between 0-17 years who were admitted to hospital with anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock due to adverse food reaction in the past decade to the 2022/2023 financial year.

Queensland Health says it is unclear whether this reflects a true increase in allergy prevalence or improvements in awareness, diagnosis, and healthcare practices in the past 10 years.

However, national figures from the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care also reflect a rise in emergency presentations for anaphylaxis — 51 per cent in the five years to 2019/2020.

But there is still a lack of specialist services available to families, and the Australian Department of Health says the only approved treatment available for severe food allergies is adrenaline in emergencies.

The current advice is still strict avoidance of the allergens. For families like the Hastings, it means constantly being on edge.

"It's always on our mind, we have to watch what we eat if we go out to restaurants," Emily says.

"And obviously, we have to pack an Epipen for him wherever we go, so it's something that you can't forget about.

"I'm now back at work, and that's something to consider when he's not in my care — about what can potentially go wrong.

"All those things that you think about normally as a parent, it's then heightened by the fact that this is something that is severe.

"You think about allergies and you think, 'Oh yeah, that would be hard', but until you're faced with it, and it's your own child's life, it's a whole different ball game."

Paediatric immunologist and allergist Dr Jane Peake says Australia is known to be the “allergy capital of the world”.

“We've got a big problem in Australia,” she says.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, but I do think that there’s a lot of inroads starting to happen.”

In Queensland, the only public paediatric multidisciplinary specialist immunology and allergy clinic is at the Queensland Children’s hospital.

In 2023, QPIAS Specialists saw almost 7,000 patients from across the state — 1,595 of them were new patients.

Riley Bloomfield has been travelling from Rockhampton with his mum Nicole for years to see Dr Peake — first for a dust mite allergy, and now for dairy and beef.

"We’d have to come back to Brisbane every six months while he was undergoing that desensitisation [for dust mites] and that lasted three to four years," Nicole says.

"It’s definitely made a difference to his day-to-day life, just for that dust mite allergy.  To get rid of that at least has been huge, and that’s all thanks to the clinic here."

Dr Peake says work is underway to educate and upskill general practitioners, paediatricians, nurses, pharmacists and dieticians, to help manage mild allergies, or allergy concerns across the country. 

"We do need more allergists and immunologists in Australia and there is a number of doctors in training," Dr Peake says.

"[But] we need to continue to look at how we make best use of our time and so we're always looking at new ways of managing patients.

"One of the positive things that came out of COVID is the fact that we can now do a lot of telehealth consultations. So we're often doing that with patients for the first time, particularly if they live in rural or remote areas."

Inquiry recognised Australia's allergy problem

The exact cause in the rise of Australia's food allergy is still unknown.

Placed under the spotlight in a 2019 bipartisan parliamentary inquiry, 24 recommendations were made to address the critical need for a national action plan.

In 2022, federal government funding saw the establishment of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) and the National Allergy Council.

The NACE, now the country's peak allergy research body, will help accelerate research and streamline the start-up of clinical trials across the country.

The Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which hosts the NACE, has become the lead site for several allergy trials, and Professor Kirsten Perrett is the principal investigator on eight.

"For the first time we have an Australian allergy research body, bringing together experts in drug, food, insect and respiratory allergic disease to address this national critical problem," Professor Perrett says.

"This is a critical step forward in our fight against all aspects of allergic disease.

"The clinical trials network helps to give Australian families faster access to emerging treatment options, many of which are already under investigation overseas."

Fifteen-year-old Ted Wardle is taking part in one of the multi-centre national trials called Aravax, which is investigating a novel immunotherapy injection.

He's struggled with a peanut allergy from birth, and says it impacts his daily life.

"If I'm hanging out with my friends I always have to double check what I'm about to eat or sometimes I won't be able to eat the same things that my friends will have," he says.

"It's always a presence… I've got to be careful, I've got to check what I'm about to eat.

"[Otherwise] I get rashes, my throat can close up, I get really itchy – I could die."

The trial is currently looking for four to 11 year olds in Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and South Australia.

The injection aims to retrain the immune system to tolerate peanut allergens and reduce the risk of severe reactions. 

At MCRI and Queensland Children's Hospital, another peanut trial is underway using a drug patch, VITESSE.

"Which has been very promising," Dr Jane Peake says. 

"That was in young children aged one to three. We're now enrolling patients from four to seven."

It works by exposing a small amount of peanut protein via the skin, designed to desensitise a person through repeated exposures.

The trial is currently recruiting four to seven year olds in Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. 

'People are looking for that holy grail'

Researchers hope with ongoing support from the Australian government, community and industry partners, they can keep the "momentum going".

"To change the trajectory of allergic disease in Australia, it’s going to take a collaborative approach," Professor Perrett says. 

Dr Peake says people often look at Australia as being very "conservative" in the way it manages allergies.

"I think that's because we do seem to have allergies in the more severe end of the spectrum," she says.

"But more importantly, I think we're really very keen to be sure that we're doing safe evidence-based care."

Dr Peake says it isn't a "one size fits all".

"And I think we have to be really careful to select the right patients for any treatment option, and to consider always the pros and the cons of those treatments," she says.

"I think we have a lot of people looking for that holy grail, the cure of their child's allergies, and I think that that's still probably a little bit elusive."

• X (formerly Twitter)

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'life-changing' injection for food allergies approved in us, not yet on the cards in australia.

'Bans do not work': New national guidelines say education is key to managing food allergies

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Australia is the food allergy capital of the world. How did this happen and what can we do about it?

• Infant Health

Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy, Research, Capacity and Influence

Prci's second global gathering offers space for collaborative reflection, planning for future.

April 15, 2024

PRCI held the second Global Gathering this March in Washington, DC, bringing together collaborators to reflect on initiatives and prepare for future impact

Washington, DC – The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security, Policy Research, Capacity and Influence (PRCI) hosted a Global Gathering from March 6-8, 2024, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The event, the second of its kind, brought together leaders from five centers and a continent-wide network of agricultural policy research centers in Africa; nine centers across South- and Southeast Asia; and officials from USAID and several development partners. 

The Gathering’s overarching goal was to share learnings about the implementation of programs to promote locally led strengthening of sustainable institutional capacity for conducting food security research that impacts policy. The event, hosted in a hybrid format, involved 70 in-person and 53 remote attendees over three days of sessions.

Building on the first Gathering, held in Accra, Ghana in April of 2023, the 2024 event featured the discussion of several assessment studies on components of PRCI’s program. This year’s iteration also included a wider range of USAID staff across panels, discussions and breakout groups, which centered around developing guidance on programmatic design and implementation.

The opening session featured a program recognition and overview from PRCI, USAID and MSU collaborators, including Ann Vaughan, Deputy Assistant Administrator with REFES/USAID, who recognized the development of PRCI.

"Very excitedly, we're gathered here to celebrate five years of this great Feed the Future activity of the Food Security Innovation Lab for Policy Research, Capacity and Influence,” noted Vaughan. “I'm really proud that USAID and our bureau have examples such as PRCI where we can work together across a wide range of partners to explore how to support important USAID principles, especially localization and locally led development, and how to strengthen the importance of evidence for policy impact."

Titus Awokuse, Associate Dean for International Studies and Programs with MSU, also addressed attendees during the opening session, reflecting on PRCI’s success so far while hinting at the potential of what’s to come of the ongoing work and collaborative partnerships.

"PRCI has been very successful, from my perspective,” commented Awokuse. “That doesn't mean that there are no challenges … but from my perspective … PRCI has been very successful, with excellent outcomes and potential for even larger impact in the future, depending on what we do here and what happens beyond that."

Day one of the gathering featured presentations on partner accomplishments and internal program assessments, before transitioning to moderated panels and group sessions discussing initial takeaways. Day two took a closer look at the structure of PRCI and the results of the Lab’s research initiatives. The final day of the gathering stepped back to consider future program design, concluding with a high-level panel on how USAID and its partners can stay on course for localization and local capacity-strengthening for strong policy research and engagement. The panel high-level included leaders of the local centers, USAID staff heavily engaged in the agency’s localization and local capacity development initiatives, and MSU and IFPRI as key development partners of USAID.  Engaged public discussion of issues across these groups was a highlight of the event.  

In the closing session of the Global Gathering, Amy Davies, Director of the Office of Policy, Analysis and Engagement at USAID - Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, commended PRCI partners for being agents for policy reform and recognized the value of global connections, before considering the true impact of the ongoing work.

“I want to step back to the very big picture now and just say the past few years have seen numerous compounding shocks with profound impacts to global food systems and food security,” reflected Davies. “We're currently experiencing another El Niño, with the potential for La Niña later this year. There are continuing conflicts that are impacting food flows. and weaker currencies are stretching food affordability for the poorest. Such challenges often produce major reactions. I really want to emphasize the following point: our complementary development work, to address these challenges and strengthen food systems, will not have maximum impact if locally-led evidence-based policy responses are not enacted. I'll reiterate my point that your work absolutely matters.”

PRCI Director and AFRE Professor David Tschirley said “We are so grateful to the work that everyone involved in PRCI has done over the past years, and to be able to bring everyone together again to cast a critical — but also celebratory — eye on what we’ve done. The lessons we take away will heavily inform all our collaborations going forward. It has been an inspiration to work with this group and we look forward to many years of fruitful collaborations.”

MSU and its partners left the gathering inspired, with important insights on next steps, and motivated to move this work forward over the coming years. 

Further engage with Global Gathering resources and PRCI initiatives through the links below.

AGENDA WITH HOTLINKS

• ISRA-BAME’s Mardi du Bame  (Senegal)
• PiLAF’s research and outreach (Nigeria)
• EPRC’s intensive research and policy engagement on sugarcane (Uganda)
• Localization and local capacity strengthening
• Policy engagement and regional networking
• What is "unique" or "unusual" about PRCI?

PRESENTATIONS AND PAPERS (Links to the right)

• Bonnell-PICA                                        PRESENTATION         PAPER
• Babu-Asia                                              PRESENTATION         PAPER
• Kapuya-ANAPRI                                    PRESENTATION        
• Maredia-Learning Agenda                    PRESENTATION         PAPER
• Bryan-Gender                                          PRESENTATION       PAPER
• Theriault-TechTraining                            PRESENTATION       
• Babu-Asia                                                PRESENTATION       
• Schreiber-STAAARS+                              PRESENTATION              
• FatouFaye-STAARS+                              PRESENTATION       
• Thurlow-ClimateRsch                              PRESENTATION              
• Reardon-ClimateRsch                            PRESENTATION      
• Boughton&Attavanich-ClimateRsch      PRESENTATION       
• Wineman-Shocks                                    PRESENTATION       PAPER       FULL REPORT         Country briefs           Ghana         Kenya         Nigeria         Tanzania         Senegal         Zimbabwe
• Makiwa-Shocks                                        PRESENTATION        
• Kirimi-Nutrition                                        PRESENTATION         PAPER
• Wineman-Nutrition                                  PRESENTATION        
• FatouFaye-Nutrition                               PRESENTATION       
• Napasintuwong-AsiaRsch                      PRESENTATION        
• Viengsavang-AsiaRsch                            PRESENTATION        
• Amarasinge-AsiaRsch                            PRESENTATION        

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• Review Article
• Published: 19 May 2020

Crop biotechnology and the future of food

• Michael A. Steinwand 1 &
• Pamela C. Ronald   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4107-1345 1 , 2 , 3  

Nature Food volume  1 ,  pages 273–283 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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• Agriculture
• Molecular engineering in plants
• Plant biotechnology
• Plant breeding
• Plant molecular biology

The global population continues to rise, as does the likelihood of reduced yields of major food crops due to the changing climate, thus making the development of genetically improved, stress-resilient crops a research priority. The convergence of low-cost genome sequencing with improved computational power and high-throughput molecular phenotyping technologies has accelerated the identification of genes underlying important agronomic traits relevant to food production and quality. Here, we discuss the evolution of plant improvement, and how researchers leverage genomic analyses and revolutionary new plant breeding technologies like site-directed nucleases to enhance food crop traits through agricultural biotechnology. Deployment of these products from the laboratory to the field remains hindered by biological and regulatory bottlenecks that require further development.

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Acknowledgements

We apologize to those authors whose research could not be cited due to space limits. We thank H. Bartram for a careful reading of the manuscript. M.A.S. was supported by the Corteva Agriscience Open Innovation programme grant entitled “Gene Editing for Organic Agriculture.” P.C.R. was supported by grants from the US National Science Foundation (award no. 1237975), the Crary Social Ecology Fund, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (award no. 534683) and the National Institutes of Health (GM122968).

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Steinwand, M.A., Ronald, P.C. Crop biotechnology and the future of food. Nat Food 1 , 273–283 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0072-3

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