5733_NHLS_Fayçal_KEFI

BCFN Young Earth Solutions YES! The development of a model linking biodiversity, food consumption and nutrient intake Abstract: The erosion of biodiversity is due to climate change, agricultural practices, dietary habits and industrial requirements. It is fundamental to preserve the biodiversity and diffuse more information to consumers to better meet their nutritional needs with high nutritional quality food and varieties. This will contribute to improving nutrition, health and food security. Our research project targets essentially the Mediterranean Region as it was recognized one of the main biodiversity hotspots in the World. This region is one of the eight centres of origin of cultivated plants and one of the 35 global diversity hotspots that were counted by Conservation International. The main idea that we are proposing to enhance biodiversity and to show its role in Sustainable Food Security in the Mediterranean Region, is to develop a model in a tabular form in order to assess both quantitative (energy availability) and qualitative (micro-nutrient intake) food security. The selection and calculation of various food quality indexes permit to show the impact of the difference in food composition between different varieties of the same product, and then we evaluate their nutritional value and health impact. This model will enhance the control on food biodiversity and its importance to human nutrition and health.

Author

Fayรงal Kefi

Context The demand for food and feed crops will almost double in the next 50 years.

The population increase is above the rate of yields rise of the three major grains (wheat, maize and rice) that meet most nutritional needs. The response to the increased demand is identified in the combination of land conversion and intensification of agricultural systems. (Secretariat Convention on Biological

Diversity, 2008) The necessary growth in world agricultural production requires a major contribution of intensive agriculture. (Secretariat Convention on Biological

Diversity, 2008) This mode of production has led to environmental damages such as soil depletion and erosion, pollution of surface and groundwater, attenuation of biodiversity by selecting some "more profitable" varieties, and the loss of some organoleptic quality (Gerber, 2004).

We also note that despite the diversity of the final products, genetic resources used for food tend to weaken. (Esnouf, C. Russel, M. et Bricas, N ; 2011) However, the agronomic constraint is not the sole responsible for this reduction of varieties, since industrial processing and equipment in food industries are developed to transform staple food having specific characteristics. Hence, this industrial system disadvantages the biological diversity. (Esnouf, C. Russel, M. et Bricas, N ; 2011) Furthermore, the importance and usefulness of the composition of consumed food, especially in terms of genetic resources, are increasingly acknowledged.

Differences in nutrients between varieties have a major impact on nutrient intake estimates, insofar as the higher consumption of a variety over another can lead to a regulation or a deficiency in certain micronutrients. For this reason, nutrition research looks at both the composition and consumption. (Burlingame B, Charrondiere R, Mouille B ; 2009).

Dietary energy supply can be met without diversity but the supply of micronutrients can be satisfied only by the presence of an adequate biodiversity.

(Burlingame, 2010) 1

Our research project targets essentially the Mediterranean region as it was recognized one of the main biodiversity hotspots in the World. This importance is also illustrated by the fact that it represents the source of almost one third of the food consumed by humanity. The three main factors that contributed to this diversity are: its position at the intersection of two main landmasses (Eurasia and Africa), its incredible topographical diversity with vast differences in altitude and its unique climate with rainfall that can vary from 100 mm to 3000 mm (Capone et al., 2012) This region is one of eight centers of origin of cultivated plants whose Nikolai Vavilov revealed the existence. Vavilov could inventory more than 80 plants from the Mediterranean. The most important are cereals, legumes, fruit trees and vegetables.

(And many spices, spice plants, horticultural crops and ornamental plants). (Capone et al., 2012) In addition, considering the 35 global diversity hotspots that were counted by Conservation International, the Mediterranean one is the second one in the world for its size and the third one for its richness in biodiversity, with more than 13,000 endemic species and about 30,000 species plants. Thus, it is considered a center of endemism comprehending 10% of plants of the planet on about 1.6% of the surface land (Capone et al., 2012).

Solution The main idea that we are proposing to enhance biodiversity and to show its role in sustainable food security in the Mediterranean region is to develop a model in tabular form allowing to assess both quantitative (energy availability) and qualitative (micronutrient intake) food security. This table aims to bring together the different breeds or varieties of consumed foods in order to estimate their intake of energy, their micronutrient intake compared to the recommended level, and their health impact.

Thus, our model will stress and put in practice the concept of sustainable diets that was expressed by the following definition: "those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable;

2

nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources." (FAO 2010).

Technical elements In order to accomplish our goal, we used indexes of food quality (such as NQI index, MAR, RRR) to show the impact of the difference in food composition between different varieties or breeds of the same product. The nutritional compositions of food products are those of the INFOODS database. (Results of the first nutritional indicator for biodiversity, developed by FAO 1. Food composition) The formulas of the indexes are:

MAR (Mean Adequacy Ratio) attention a’ la vraie citation de l’indice !(Allen, 2010) NQI (Nutritional quality index) attention a’ la vraie citation de l’indice! (Allen, 2010)

nn: Total number of nutrients considered NUTij: quantity of nutrient j in 100 g of food i; ANCj: the recommended dietary nutrient j RRR (ratio of recommended to restricted RRR = Somme (%DVrecommended /6) / food components)

(%DVrestricted /5) DV is the % of the daily intake of the food µnutriments.

(The

µnutriments

are

recommended (protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber) and are restricted µnutriments (energy, Saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium)).

3

To start, we calculate the MAR index (Mean Adequacy Ratio) of a single food product, wheat for example, for different varieties consumed, which allows to classify the varieties studied according to their daily intake of micronutrients. This index provides a global classification of the varieties or breeds consumed.

A second index, based on the NQI index, is calculated to zoom in micronutrients one by one.

A third index, the RRR, is applied to evaluate the report between recommended and restricted micronutrients, always at the races or varieties level for the same food (eg maize or beef).

We have already established collaboration with the main scientific experts of biological food diversity in FAO and Bioversity International. This expert’s consultation permits to preview larger research scenarios, to have nutritional information and data for the most important food products and standards, in order to lead the calculation and analysis processes. The model has a strong potential to be furthermore developed.

4