The answer to future global food challenges may well come from the past. Since the 1960's, diets in many Western countries have relied heavily on meat. But with global food demand soars set to soar by 70 percent by 2050, other sources of high-quality proteins are needed. The answer could be found in plants such as quinoa and amaranth, which were already known to the Maya and Inca civilisations and are now back in style. Futuris went to Italy, where researchers at the National Research Centre (CNR) are studying these ancient crops as part of the EU-funded 'PROTEIN2FOOD' project. The project aims to develop high-quality food protein from several kind of seed crops (such as quinoa and amaranth), grain legumes (lupin, faba bean and lentils), using a multi-disciplinary approach involving genetics, agronomy, and food-processing engineering. One of its main goals is to accelerate consumers' shift from animal-based proteins to plant-based proteins. We travelled to Italy to visit an experimental farm near Caserta as well as a bio-laboratory in Ercolano, both run by the CNR. We also met a cook in a restaurant to see how to make these grains appealing for consumers. Full of nutrients "Quinoa and amaranth proteins contain all essential amino acids, so even if they have a lower protein level than leguminous plants, they have a higher nutritional quality," says Cataldo Pulvento, researcher at the CNR-ISAFOM. In Italy and in the other countries part of the 'PROTEIN2FOOD' project - a consortium of 19 partners ranging from breeders to farmers, food producers and product manufacturers from 13 different countries (11 from the EU, plus Peru and Uganda) - researchers are testing various crops to see which ones are best suited to specific soils and weather conditions. "Quinoa and amaranth tolerate abiotic stress quite well. In the south of Europe the main types of abiotic stresses are water shortage and salinity," says Pulvento.The goal of these 'stress-tests' is to reach the best crop yield using as little water as possible. One of the key advantages of plant-based proteins is that growing them is much less harmful to the planet than intensive meat production."We can eat meat, it tastes good, but it's very costly considering the land we have to use to produce the plants needed to feed the animals. And then we have a huge consumption of water for every kilogram of meat (produced), which is around ten times higher than for the plants," says Sven-Erik Jacobsen, professor at the University of Copenhagen and Protein2Food project coordinator. From farm to fork At the CNR in Ercolano, not far from Naples, scientists are leading in-depth 3D analyses to study how seeds respond to these stress tests. "For the farmer it's important to be sure to cultivate a plant that has a good yield for his business. We also study the seed's various components, each of which has properties that can be attractive to consumers," says researcher Giacomo Mele. The Protein2Food project aims to increase by 10 percent Europe's arable land destined to protein-crop production, and enhance the protein production by 25 percent through new effective breeding techniques and optimised crop management. As the project covers the entire food supply chain - from farm to fork - it also explores how these seeds and grain legumes can be cooked and appeal to consumers. "The main problem is that people don't know much about quinoa, but if we combine it with other legumes, it can be a great ingredient to make high-quality soup, for instance," says Raffaele Ingico, chef at the restaurant Giòsole in Capua. Scientists leading the project say that if our consumption shifted from animal-based to plant-based proteins, it would bring down our carbon footprint while improving both biodiversity and human health. "Our diet will be much more diverse, soil fertility will improve. We can say: it's only benefits," says Prof. Jacobsen.
Quinoa e amaranto: il cibo del futuro? La risposta ai futuri problemi alimentari mondiali potrebbe venire dal passato. Piante come la quinoa, già note alla civiltà degli Incas, sarebbero un'alternativa al consumo di carni. Qui a Caserta, nel sud dell'Italia, si stanno sperimentando questo tipo di coltivazioni nell'ambito del progetto Protein2Food. Un giorno queste piante potrebbero modificare i nostri regimi alimentari, attualmente troppo ricchi in proteine animali. Secondo la Fao entro il 2050 la domanda di cibo nel mondo aumenterà del 70%; saranno dunque necessarie fonti alternative di proteine di alta qualità, come la quinoa e l'amaranto, che hanno valori nutrizionali simili alla carne. Come ci spiega Cataldo Pulvento, ricercatore presso il CNR-ISAFOM, la composizione delle proteine di quinoa e amaranto è costituita da tutti gli amminoacidi essenziali, per cui anche avendo un livello proteico inferiore alle leguminose hanno una qualità (nutritiva) superiore. In Italia, come negli altri paesi che partecipano a questo progetto finanziato dall'UE, i ricercatori studiano diversi tipi di colture per capire quali sono le più adatte a crescere in particolari condizioni. "Quinoa e amaranto sono culture molto tolleranti agli stress abiotici. Nella zona del sud Europa gli stress abiotici principali sono la scarsità idrica e la salinità", prosegue Pulvento Durante i test, le piante vengono annaffiate a ritmi differenti con acqua a salinità variabile. Proprio l'acqua è una delle principali vittime della produzione intensiva di carne, in quanto ne sono necessarie enormi quantità per la coltivazione dei mangimi degli animali. "Possiamo mangiare carne, è buona, ma consuma molta terra per produrre il foraggio che usiamo per nutrire gli animali. Inoltre c'è un enorme consumo di acqua per ogni kg di carne prodotta, che è circa dieci volte superiore a quella usata per le piante " Sven Erick Jacobsen, Professore presso l'Università di Copenaghen e Coordinatore del progetto Protein2Food. I ricercatori del CNR di Ercolano studiano in dettaglio, attraverso immagini in 3D, l'impatto degli stress test sulla produzione e la qualità dei raccolti. Fattori chiave per capire il potenziale delle colture. "L'importanza per il coltivatore è quella di essere sicuro di coltivare una pianta che ha una buona resa per la sua azienda, per il consumatore andiamo a distinguere le diverse componenti del seme, ognuna delle quali presenta delle proprietà che possono essere desiderabili dal punto di vista del consumatore", ci fa notare Giacomo Mele, ricercatore presso il CNR-ISAFOM. Il progetto si basa su un approccio multidisciplinare, che copre tutta la catena di approvvigionamento alimentare, ecco perché si deve tenere conto anche della parte culinaria, visto che ha un impatto diretto sui consumatori. Raffaele Ingicco, chef presso il ristorante Giosole Capua, ci spiega che il principale problema è che la gente non conosce la quinoa. "Se la abbiniamo ad altri legumi può essere un ottimo ingrediente per far fare un salto di qualità alle zuppe, per esempio." In pratica queste antiche colture, come sostiene anche il Professor Jacobsen, miglioreranno la nostra dieta quando saremo seduti a tavola per cenare con la famiglia. La nostra alimentazione sarà più ricca. La fertilità del suolo ne trarrà un grande beneficio. Incentivando la produzione di proteine vegetali si porteranno vantaggi anche all'ecosistema e quindi alla nostra salute. Secondo gli scienziati del progetto, infatti, la transizione dalle proteine di origine animale a quelle vegetali porterà una riduzione della quota di emissioni di CO2.
Quinoa, amaranth: Ancient grains hold promising future
Cataldo Pulvento;Giacomo Mele;
2017
Abstract
The answer to future global food challenges may well come from the past. Since the 1960's, diets in many Western countries have relied heavily on meat. But with global food demand soars set to soar by 70 percent by 2050, other sources of high-quality proteins are needed. The answer could be found in plants such as quinoa and amaranth, which were already known to the Maya and Inca civilisations and are now back in style. Futuris went to Italy, where researchers at the National Research Centre (CNR) are studying these ancient crops as part of the EU-funded 'PROTEIN2FOOD' project. The project aims to develop high-quality food protein from several kind of seed crops (such as quinoa and amaranth), grain legumes (lupin, faba bean and lentils), using a multi-disciplinary approach involving genetics, agronomy, and food-processing engineering. One of its main goals is to accelerate consumers' shift from animal-based proteins to plant-based proteins. We travelled to Italy to visit an experimental farm near Caserta as well as a bio-laboratory in Ercolano, both run by the CNR. We also met a cook in a restaurant to see how to make these grains appealing for consumers. Full of nutrients "Quinoa and amaranth proteins contain all essential amino acids, so even if they have a lower protein level than leguminous plants, they have a higher nutritional quality," says Cataldo Pulvento, researcher at the CNR-ISAFOM. In Italy and in the other countries part of the 'PROTEIN2FOOD' project - a consortium of 19 partners ranging from breeders to farmers, food producers and product manufacturers from 13 different countries (11 from the EU, plus Peru and Uganda) - researchers are testing various crops to see which ones are best suited to specific soils and weather conditions. "Quinoa and amaranth tolerate abiotic stress quite well. In the south of Europe the main types of abiotic stresses are water shortage and salinity," says Pulvento.The goal of these 'stress-tests' is to reach the best crop yield using as little water as possible. One of the key advantages of plant-based proteins is that growing them is much less harmful to the planet than intensive meat production."We can eat meat, it tastes good, but it's very costly considering the land we have to use to produce the plants needed to feed the animals. And then we have a huge consumption of water for every kilogram of meat (produced), which is around ten times higher than for the plants," says Sven-Erik Jacobsen, professor at the University of Copenhagen and Protein2Food project coordinator. From farm to fork At the CNR in Ercolano, not far from Naples, scientists are leading in-depth 3D analyses to study how seeds respond to these stress tests. "For the farmer it's important to be sure to cultivate a plant that has a good yield for his business. We also study the seed's various components, each of which has properties that can be attractive to consumers," says researcher Giacomo Mele. The Protein2Food project aims to increase by 10 percent Europe's arable land destined to protein-crop production, and enhance the protein production by 25 percent through new effective breeding techniques and optimised crop management. As the project covers the entire food supply chain - from farm to fork - it also explores how these seeds and grain legumes can be cooked and appeal to consumers. "The main problem is that people don't know much about quinoa, but if we combine it with other legumes, it can be a great ingredient to make high-quality soup, for instance," says Raffaele Ingico, chef at the restaurant Giòsole in Capua. Scientists leading the project say that if our consumption shifted from animal-based to plant-based proteins, it would bring down our carbon footprint while improving both biodiversity and human health. "Our diet will be much more diverse, soil fertility will improve. We can say: it's only benefits," says Prof. Jacobsen.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
