Alexander J. Stein

European Commission | ec · Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)

Use of zinc (Zn) fertilisers may be cost-effective in increasing crop yields and in alleviating dietary Zn deficiency. However, Zn fertilisers are underutilised in many countries despite the widespread occurrence of Zn-deficient soils. Here, increased Zn fertiliser-use scenarios were simulated for wheat production in Punjab and Sindh Provinces, Pak...

Eradicating hunger in all its forms, including chronic and hidden hunger, requires good understanding of the problem's magnitude, trends, and determinants. Existing studies measure “hunger” through proxies that all have shortcomings. We use a more comprehensive metric, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), to quantify the burden of hunger and sho...

View-only version: https://rdcu.be/clkgs or access article via: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03681013 || Abstract: In the political discussion, the promotion of local food systems and short supply chains is sometimes presented as a means to increase the resilience of the food system, e.g. in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is a...

Free full-text access to a view-only version of the paper: https://rdcu.be/cBQoY || Abstract: Improving the sustainability of the global food system is a policy priority. There are multiple types of sustainability labels in the food market, and policy-makers need to know what constitutes an effective label. We discuss the use of labels to inform co...

Following its approval in the Philippines in July 2021, provitamin A-rich “Golden Rice” is set to become the worlds' first commercialized genetically modified crop with direct consumer benefits. Despite supplementation and fortification programs, the burden of micronutrient deficiencies remains high. For Golden Rice to be successful in reducing vit...

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) - Issue Paper 69 https://www.cast-science.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CAST_IP69_Biofortification-1.pdf

Genetic modification (GM) has been advocated as an alternative or complement to micronutrient interventions such as supplementation, fortification or dietary diversification. While proof-of-concept of various GM biofortified crops looks promising, the decision tree of policy makers is much more complex, and requires insight on their socio-economic...

It is often stated that consumers in Europe reject "GM food" – or that GM crops would be outright banned. While the latter is patently false, there is also little tangible evidence to support the assumption that Europeans wouldn't buy food that was produced using genetic engineering: The impression of a general rejection of GM crops by Europeans re...

Background In this review, we examine the potential of Zn-enriched fertilisers to alleviate human dietary Zn deficiency. The focus is on ten African countries where dietary Zn supply is low and where fertiliser subsidies are routinely deployed on cereal crops. Scope Dietary Zn supply and deficiency prevalence were quantified from food supply and co...

While less apparent than outright hunger or obesity, the lack of essential vitamins and minerals in people’s diets is one of the leading contributors to the global burden of disease. Current interventions, such as supplementation or fortification, are being implemented with varying success, but—while important—overall progress in the fight against...

When measuring food and nutrition security, focusing on proxy indicators such as food availability, or on selected head count figures such as stunting rates, gives an incomplete picture. Outcome-based global burden of disease (GBD) studies offer an alternative for monitoring the burden of chronic and hidden hunger. Judging by this measure, the inte...

Dietary micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) are widespread yet their prevalence can be difficult to assess. Here, we estimate MND risks due to inadequate intakes for seven minerals in Africa using food supply and composition data, and consider the potential of food-based and agricultural interventions. Food Balance Sheets (FBSs) for 46 countries were...

Researchers and policymakers are paying increasing attention to the nexus of hunger, malnutrition, and public health, and to the related measurement of food and nutrition security. However, focusing on proxy indicators, such as food availability, and on selected head count figures, such as stunting rates, gives an incomplete picture. In contrast, g...

The links between food security, nutrition and public health—and thereby economic development —receive increasing attention. At the same time the use of the proportion of hungry people as key indicator for food and nutrition insecurity (FNI) is being questioned because of its reliance on mere food availability data. This begs the question which alt...

Selenium (Se) is an essential human micronutrient with critical roles in immune functioning and antioxidant defence. Estimates of dietary Se intakes and status are scarce for Africa although crop surveys indicate deficiency is probably widespread in Malawi. Here we show that Se deficiency is likely endemic in Malawi based on the Se status of adults...

+++ Open Access: https://rdcu.be/bd4Sy +++ Malnutrition—in the form of insufficient energy intakes—affects millions of people worldwide and the negative impact of this kind of hunger is well acknowledged, not least by agronomists trying to increase yields to ensure a sufficient supply of food. This review focuses on another, more particular and “hi...

AgroSalud is a project coordinated at the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical and aims to increase nutrition security in Latin America through biofortification – i.e. through plant breeding with the objective of increasing the micronutrient content in staple crops. Thus AgroSalud should help prevent the negative economic and health consequ...

It is well acknowledged that national differences in the regulation of the cultivation, commercialization and use of genetically modified (GM) crops cause problems in international commodity trade, for instance because tolerance levels for material from approved GM crops in non-GM products are not harmonized. However, over the last 1-2 years also t...

Although less obvious than outright lack of sufficient food, micronutrient malnutrition represents an economic and public health problem in many countries. Over the last years zinc deficiency has emerged as another major micronutrient deficiency, with a large proportion of the population being at risk, especially in the developing world. However, s...

This study addresses a new issue in the commercialization of GM crops, namely the occurrence of traces—or "low-level presence" (LLP)—of nationally unapproved GM material in crop imports. The commercialization of GM crops is a regulated activity, and countries have different authorization procedures. Hence, new GM crops are not approved simultaneous...

Biologische Anreicherung von Grundnahrungspflanzen ist ein neuer Ansatz zur Bekämp-fung von Mikronährstoffmangel. Hierbei werden Pflanzen so gezüchtet, dass sie höhere Mengen an Mikronährstoffen enthalten. Dieser Ansatz zielt vor allem auf Entwicklungs-länder ab, wo viele Menschen in abgelegenen ländlichen Gebieten kaum von anderen Mikronährstoffpr...

Biofortification of staple crops is. a new approach to control micronutrient malnutrition, These crops are bred for higher concentrations of micronutrients in their edible parts. Especially in, developing countries,: the objective is to reach target populations that live in remote rural areas, where they are. hardly covered by other micronutrient p...

Iron deficiency is a widespread nutrition and health problem in developing countries, causing impairments in physical activity and cognitive development, as well as maternal mortality. Although food fortification and supplementation programmes have been effective in some countries, their overall success remains limited. Biofortification, that is, b...

An often discussed question is whether modern technologies can help developing countries to overcome hunger and poverty. In the past, the technology-driven Green Revolution already helped prevent famines in India. Yet, the country still faces the challenge of reducing widespread poverty. This article discusses the potential role of a new agricultur...

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects millions of people, causing serious health problems. Golden Rice (GR), which has been genetically engineered to produce β-carotene, is being proposed as a remedy. While this new technology has aroused controversial debates, its actual impact remains unclear. We develop a methodology for ex ante evaluation, taking...

In Entwicklungs-und Schwellenländern lebt die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung auf dem Land und ist dort zum Großteil von der Landwirtschaft abhängig. Ein in diesem Zusammenhang viel diskutiertes Thema ist der mögliche Beitrag moderner Agrartechnologien zur Hunger-und Armutsbekämpfung im ländlichen Raum, wo die Bevölkerung zumeist traditionell geprägt und...

Consequences, opportunities and challenges of modern biotechnology for Europe The analysis report : contributions of modern biotechnology to European policy objectives Biotechnology is generally considered one of the key technologies of the 21st century, with a potentially wide range of applications in e.g. healthcare, agriculture, and industrial...

Background: Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many developing countries. Its negative impact on income growth is recognized in principle, but there are widely varying estimates of the related economic cost. Objective: To discuss available studies that quantify the cost of micronutrient malnutrition, and to develop an alter...

To estimate the potential impact of zinc biofortification of rice and wheat on public health in India and to evaluate its cost-effectiveness compared with alternative interventions and international standards. The burden of zinc deficiency (ZnD) in India was expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. Current zinc intakes were derived...

Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious public health problem in many developing countries. Different interventions are currently used, but their overall coverage is relatively limited. Biofortification-that is, breeding staple food crops for higher micronutrient contents-is a new agriculture-based approach, but relatively little is known about its...

Micronutrient deficiencies are a recognised public health problem in the Near East. Although this problem is often exacerbated through mineral-poor soils, so far agricultural interventions have attracted less attention as complementary approaches to current interventions like pharmaceutical supplementation or industrial fortification. Yet, especial...

Through biofortification the micronutrient levels in staple foods can be increased, making this a potentially good agricultural approach to control micronutrient malnutrition. No biofortified crop is currently widely consumed on a regular basis and a comprehensive evaluation of the potential economic costs and benefits of this new approach is missi...

Genetic engineering (GE) in agriculture is a controversial topic in science and society at large. While some oppose genetically modified crops as proxy of an agricultural system they consider unsustainable and inequitable, the question remains whether GE can benefit the poor within the existing system and what needs to be done to deliver these bene...

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects millions of people world-wide, causing serious health problems. Golden Rice (GR), which has been genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene, is being proposed as a remedy. While this new technology has aroused controversial debates, its nutritional impact and cost-effectiveness remain unclear. We determine th...

Genetic engineering (GE) in agriculture is a controversial topic in science and society at large. While some oppose genetically modified crops as proxy of an agricultural system they consider unsustainable and inequitable, the question remains whether GE can benefit the poor within the existing system and what needs to be done to deliver these bene...

Cost-effectiveness analysis, which ranks projects by quality adjusted life years gained per dollar spent, is widely used in the evaluation of health interventions. We show that cost effectiveness analysis can be derived from two axioms: society prefers Pareto improvements and society values discounted life years, lived in perfect health, equally fo...

In der öffentlichen Debatte wird Agrartechnologie oftmals lediglich mit Steigerungen der Nahrungsproduktion in Verbindung gebracht. Da der Hunger von Vielen in erster Linie als Verteilungsproblem gesehen wird, wäre die Rolle von Agrartechnologie in der Hungerbekämpfung demnach sehr begrenzt. Diese Sichtweise greift jedoch zu kurz. Auch in Zukunft w...

Millions of people worldwide suffer from micronutrient malnutrition or “hidden hunger”. The related deficiencies can have devastating consequences for the life, health and well-being of the affected individuals, but they may also perpetuate a vicious circle of undernutrition, low economic productivity and poverty. Hence, in many developing countrie...

This publication is available online for free at the following two locations: https://www.ifpri.org/publication/analyzing-health-benefits-biofortified-staple-crops-means-disability-adjusted-life-years AND http://www.harvestplus.org/content/analyzing-health-benefits-biofortified-staple-crops-means-disability-adjusted-life-years-app I already pointe...

Hunger is acknowledged to impose a heavy burden on humankind with severe negative health consequences. Micronutrient malnutrition, or "hidden hunger", is an even more widespread problem, to which economic development and income growth alone are not expected to provide a solution any time soon. Existing micronutrient interventions like pharmaceutica...

Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious problem in many developing countries. Recently, agricultural technologies have been discussed as a complement to other intervention programs. Plant breeding, targeted at developing staple foods with higher contents of essential vitamins and trace minerals, could benefit the poor in particular. Yet, the econom...