Biofortification: how can we exploit plant science and biotechnology to reduce micronutrient deficiencies?

Throughout the developing world, the long-term consequences of insufficient amounts of essential micronutrients in the human diet can be more devastating than low energy intake. Micronutrients are involved in all aspects of development, growth, and physiology of the human body (including from early embryonic stage), and their deficiencies can cause birth defects, permanent physical and mental impairment, as well as an increased risk of death by infectious and chronic diseases. As plant scientists, we are now facing challenging and urgent goals: how to feed the world’s increasing population and how to feed it better. In other words, we need to produce more plant food in sustainable ways and such food should be of the highest nutritional value. This e-Book aims to provide the most recent advances on plant biofortification for micronutrients as well as a comprehensive overview of the different approaches that can be pursued for producing micronutrient-rich staple plants. We list here some of the major points arising from these papers.