Grand Challenges in Nutrition and Food Science Technology

GRAND CHALLENGES The twenty-first century is marked by multiple unprecedented environmental challenges that could threaten human survival. The combined impact of climate change, energy and water shortage, environment pollutants, shifting global population demographics, food safety, and growing disease pandemics, all place undue stress on the planet’s food system, already in a sensitive balance with its ecosystem. These threats, natural or man-made, obligate the scientific community to proactively seek new breakthrough food and nutrition solutions to insure global food sustainability and nutrition security in the future. To achieve this, innovative solutions need to be considered throughout the whole food chain inclusive of food choices and dietary patterns in order to make any significant improvements in the food supply, nutritional, and health status. Any changes to the food supply will inevitably impact food, nutrition, and health policies, particularly pertaining to food production, agricultural practices, dietary patterns, nutrition, and health guidance and management. Climate change, droughts, and floods have exacerbated concerns related to land availability for agriculture usage, animal and crop production, as well as quality and yield. The resulting effect of energy shortage has directed attention to bio fuel as an alternate source of energy, particularly from crops such as corn and oil seeds. This sets the stage for an added competitive demand for crops being used as fuel in addition to food and feed. As a result, there is an urgent need to find alternative solutions to improve the efficiency and sustainability in the food supply chain by reducing food waste and enhancing nutritional qualities of foods through fortification technologies (i.e., biofortification and chemical fortification). Another area receiving increasing research interest is food safety. The presence of chemical contaminants in the food chain, such as PCB and dieldrin, is particularly troubling. In addition, the emergence of new food pathogens, particularly viruses, as well as the reemergence of known food pathogens, have captured considerable research attention. For example, alteration to diet pattern and nutrition affect microbial population, with consequential effect on the immune system, disease pathogenesis and health (1, 2). To elucidate microbiome interactions with food, nutrients, and food substances, and their potential involvement in disease ecology, novel approaches adapted from various disciplines are needed. The United Nations projected that by 2050 the world population would reach 9.6 billion (3). The 60+ adult population will constitute 19% (2 billion) and 27% (3 billion) of world population by 2050 and 2100, respectively. There will be proportionally more women than men in the 60 and 80+ age groups by 2050 (4). Concomitant with the aging trend is the increase in the number of older adults with mental and physical disabilities (5). These facts necessitate new solutions to address primary and secondary prevention care and geriatric research. For the first time, the major cause of global deaths (36 million or 63%) will be from non-communicable diseases (NCD) instead of infections. Four categories of NCDs account for 80% (20 million) of global mortality causes: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases (6). The World Health Organization estimates that over 20 million deaths can be prevented by reducing the exposure level to key modifier risks such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco, and alcohol use (7). Thus far, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes continue to pose significant risks at pandemic proportion. Of further concern is the growing number of children who are overweight and at risk of obesity, sedentary behavior, and early onset of type 2 diabetes. Taken together, obesity, sedentary behavior, dietrelated diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, mental health problems, chronic malnutrition, and maternalinfant health represent areas of growing concern and research challenges.