“Displacing empty calories with nutrient dense food: How can UK farmers be rewarded for practices that promote nutrient density?”
| Objectives of Study Tour: 1. To understand, what is nutrient density? 2. How do farming practices alter the nutrient density of foods 3. How can farmers be financially rewarded for providing greater nutrient-density Messages: A growing number of researchers and farmers are exploring how farming methods affect the nutrient quality of food. Through my study tour, I identified four key areas where evidence demonstrates a clear link between farming method and nutrient density: 1. Soil Health: Regenerative farming practices that improve soil health can increase the populations of beneficial microorganisms, which play a crucial role in nutrient cycling. Healthier soils could therefore lead to more nutrient-rich crops. 2. Breeding and Variety Selection: Selecting and breeding crop varieties with a greater ability to take up nutrients could help to improve nutrient density. 3. Biofortification: Enhancing the nutrient content of crops either through selective breeding to take up a particular nutrient, or by applying nutrients directly to plants during growth, potentially leading to foods that are richer in minerals. 4. Animal Feed: Influencing the nutritional content of animal products: meat, milk and eggs, through optimising the animals’ diet. While the benefits of these methods are promising, there is still much work to be done. Collaboration between researchers and farmers is essential to gain further understanding about the impact of different farming practices on food quality. Large-scale human health trials may also be needed to confirm the health benefits of consuming more nutrient dense foods. Additionally, healthcare professionals must become more aware of how food quality, influenced by farming methods, can affect health. |
To read the full report, please follow the link here to download it: Nuffield report final – Hannah Fraser_.pdf
