The whole grain manifesto: From Green Revolution to Grain Evolution

Peiman Milani, Pablo Torres-Aguilar, Bruce Hamaker, Mark Manary, Suha Abushamma, Amos Laar, Roy Steiner, Mehrdad Ehsani, John de la Parra, Daniel Skaven-Ruben, Henriette de Kock, Corina Hawkes, Namukolo Covic, Chris Mitchell, John Taylor

Research output: Contribution to journalShort surveypeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Grains have historically represented a major component of human diets and were predominantly consumed in whole form until the first half of the 19th century, when a combination of technological innovations and market dynamics made refined grains, hitherto a premium product, affordable and available to the masses. Grains still account for more than half of the total caloric intake among vulnerable populations worldwide, and their dominant consumption in refined form turns a nutrient-dense, protective food into a nutrient-poor one contributing to growing rates of obesity and noncommunicable disease. Shifting a substantial portion of global grain consumption to whole grains is potentially one of the most significant and achievable improvements to diets and food systems worldwide. In countries with significant micronutrient deficiencies, a switch from refined to fortified whole grain foods can enable institutional channels such as school feeding programs to measurably improve diet quality in a budget-neutral way.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100649
JournalGlobal Food Security
Volume34
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2022

Keywords

  • Diet quality
  • Micronutrient deficiencies
  • Whole grains

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The whole grain manifesto: From Green Revolution to Grain Evolution'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this