Global Nutrition Perspective (Dietary Fiber in Staple Crops)

How can agriculture directly improve public health? In collaboration with researchers from University of Nebraska–Lincoln, CIMMYT, Rothamsted Research, and multiple international partners, we contributed to a perspective proposing a new paradigm linking crop breeding, food systems, and health outcomes. The work highlights how improving dietary fiber levels in staple crops such as wheat could reduce risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer at the population scale. By integrating plant breeding, food processing, and public health systems, the study outlines a framework for delivering healthier staple foods without requiring major dietary changes.

Figure 1. U.S. food and healthcare expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1960 and 2020. Data sources: GDP from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) National Income and Product Accounts; healthcare expenditure and national share from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; food expenditure from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.